Polaris SnoCross
Windows - 2000
Description of Polaris SnoCross
Snowcross is an above-average snowmobile racing game from Wanadoo.
While it is not as fun as Konami's popular line of snowboarding games, it is still a fun game that introduces a few interesting innovations in the genre. As in most other racing games, you can choose from 3 gameplay modes: single race, tournament, and league. In the tournament mode, you must win 3 different leagues in sequence. In both league and tournament, the races take place both during daytime and at night.
The graphics - especially during nighttime - is excellent, taking full advantage of 3D cards to offer very detailed snowmobiles and scenery. There is a nice sense of progress in the game: you can win points on races by performing tricks and stunts on jumps and falls throughout the races. With enough points, you can rig and modify your snowmobile for better speed, etc. Winning multiple races will unlock extra tracks and new bikes.
In another nice touch, you can win races in any way possible - including underhanded ways such as forcing your opponents off-course and knocking them from their bikes. You can also can move off the track to find short-cuts and alternative routes to the finish line. With 12 racing courses (actually 24 if you consider how different they look and feel during day/night) and 18 different snowmobiles, Snowcross offers more than a few hours of solid gaming.
So what prevents Snowcross from being a Top Dog? For all its high points, the actual race is not executed very well. The computer opponents, for example, is not very smart, and pursues an annoying strategy of letting you lead the whole race, before speeding up and trying to ram into you during the last 10 meters of the race. The graphics is also suspect - I don't get much of the feel of racing on snow - the tracks feel too smooth and the snowmobiles "glide" too easily.
All in all, it's a competent game with enough production values to entertain you for a while - if you don't look too closely at realism. Recommended, but not a Top Dog.
Review By HOTUD
External links
How to play Polaris SnoCross Windows
The game released in Europe under title Snowcross and in US under title Polaris SnoCross. Both versions are identical, only difference is the soundtrack and racetracks' names
Install & play guide:
- Mount the disk image of the game. It's a .CUE-file (disk image), you will need the utility for mounting disk image files, like Daemon Tools Lite, UltraISO, WinCDEmu, Alcohol 120%, etc.
- Start the installation from Setup.exe
- After installation is done, install the fix by beha_r. Originally the game works only on Windows 9x systems, to play the game on Windows XP / Windows 7 or newer OS, use the fix by beha_r
- Launch the game and play
If the game doesn't run - right click on Snocross.exe - Properties - Compatibility - Set Run this app in compatibility mode with Windows 95/98, Win2000 or Windows XP, then run again.
If it didn't help - open Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del by default) and check for processes Snocross.exe and rundll32.exe. Close Snocross.exe but don't touch rundll32.exe (it's a Windows app for running old apps from 32-bit operational systems, most old games running through rundll32.exe). Now try to launch the game again, it must work. Don't forget to close rundll32.exe process in Task Manager after finishing playing
The game has been tested with fixes on Windows 7 64-bit, works okay. If you have troubles with the game, like there's no audio or you want to play in high resolution, try to use utilities that helps to run the old games on new PCs, like DXWnd or dgVoodoo
Captures and Snapshots
Comments and reviews
waffleman 2024-01-02 0 point
Works just fine. Only big hangup is the resolution but you can fix that with dxwnd
Raven_04 2023-09-25 1 point
Both US and European version works, (Windows 10) but there is no way to change the resolution in the options menu, it stays at 640X480.
Any ideas how to fix this?
Btw if the game wont launch for you, try running the game in compatibility mode.
Raven_04 2023-09-23 1 point
Used to play this for hours every day when i was a kid. I remember upgrading your snowmobile did not changed much, and the game was hard because ai was cheating, but still i managed to beat the game somehow. and i was so happy when i finished it.
Good old days, i miss them :(
Alex 2023-01-28 0 point
Not working on windows xp sp3 32 bits. Tried everything possible, even in compatibility mode and the last one, killing the snowcross process and letting alive the rundll32, still not a thing. It just displays a black screen when opening the game. Any ideas?
admin 2021-10-28 0 point
Has a very low detection ratio https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/fa5018e146d4528c26ce12c22cb89722c4e72533cdad4ae0de7999383e279e9d
Nico 2020-10-10 1 point
I can't play the game :((( when I try to launch it on windows 10 it simply doesn't do anything
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Windows Version
37 MB
470 MBGame Extras
Various files to help you run Polaris SnoCross, apply patches, fixes, maps or miscellaneous utilities.
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