Game Info
---------------------------------------------------
Developer: Zeus Software/Gaelco
Publisher: Unreleased
Year of Release: 1995 (no commercial release)
Game Review & Impressions
---------------------------------------------------
Another curiosity from Spanish arcade games outfit Gaelco, Last KM appears to be a prototype unit developed in partnership with Zeus Software. According to info over at retroaccion.org (http://www.retroaccion.org/preservacion-de-maquina-arcade-last-km-de-zeus-software-gaelco), the game was never commercially released, although prototype boards did exist. The game's programmer donated a working board to RetroAcción, and the ROMs were durifully dumped and added to the MAME library.
It seems the game wasn't intended as arcade release, instead targeted at gyms. From information in the article, it would seem a series of phsycial bikes were connected together with a wiring harness, allowing competitive play between the different riders. The prototype in MAME involves hitting a series of buttons to pedal your cyclists bike in a fast-paced race, occasionally tapping other buttons to change gear. There's no collision between the other cyclists, and it's really difficult to determine exactly what effect changing gears has. Rather than modifying your own speed, rivals can turbo into the distance and leave you in the dust, which is all rather odd - perhaps it made more sense with the full physical bike setup.
In any case, it's a cool piece of gaming history, if not an exactly enthralling title.
Information & Trivia
---------------------------------------------------
- Music is an unlicensed version of Giorgio Moroder's "Chase" from Midnight Express