Fatal Racing (a.k.a. Whiplash): Gremlin's 1996 Loop-and-Corkscrew Stunt Racer
Status unclearYear: 1996 · Developer/Publisher: Gremlin · Designer: Les Spink & Ade Carless · Platform: DOS · Theme: Driving/Racing, Multiplayer
Gremlin released it as Fatal Racing; a year later, Interplay put it out in the US under the name Whiplash. Same game, two names, and a clear debt to Geoff Crammond’s Stunt Car Racer, though Fatal Racing pushes the stunt-track formula further with high-resolution graphics and a roster of genuinely inventive courses.
The conceit is simple: eight fictional car manufacturers compete in a championship, each supplying one car and two tracks apiece, for sixteen courses total. Those tracks are the game’s real achievement. Loops, corkscrews, twister jumps that punish you with a roof-scraping crash if you hit them at the wrong speed, crossovers, and “loopscrews” turn each course into something closer to a stunt gauntlet than a conventional racetrack, taking the basic idea behind Hard Drivin’s stunt sections and building an entire game’s structure around it.
Controls stay deliberately simple (gas, brake, gear shifts, steering), with the depth coming from the tracks and the multiplayer structure rather than any mechanical complexity. Network and modem play, plus split-screen for two players, were genuine features rather than afterthoughts, and teams of two could issue simple commands to a partner (ordering them to take out a rival driver, for instance), which added a layer of cooperative strategy uncommon in arcade racers of the period. Gremlin’s engine did draw criticism at the time for lag in SVGA modes, a limitation that period reviewers noted would stop being a practical concern once faster Pentium machines became standard.
Don’t let the approachable interface and colorful presentation suggest an easy game. On the medium difficulty setting, finishing better than 13th against the computer AI is rare, thanks to what reviewers described as impeccable AI driving. Six difficulty levels, adjustable damage modeling, and the ability to turn engine damage off entirely give players real control over how punishing a given race session gets.
It never quite reaches for the realism Need for Speed built its name on, and it isn’t trying to. What Fatal Racing offers instead is a specific kind of adrenaline: loops and corkscrews taken at speed, smart AI opponents, and enough multiplayer structure to keep a small group occupied for a long stretch of evenings.
How to run it today
Fatal Racing runs through DOSBox without special configuration; this CD-rip build doesn’t require the pure-DOS workarounds some period CD-ROM racers need.
Compatibility: DOS (via DOSBox) · Controls: Keyboard or joystick, standard arcade-racer control scheme · Setup difficulty: Low
Legal status
Gremlin no longer exists as an independent studio, having been folded into Infogrames and later Atari, and Interplay’s original US publishing arm underwent its own reorganizations since releasing Whiplash. Neither the UK nor the US release has had an official rerelease under either name, and there’s no confirmed party currently maintaining rights to it — a status that remains genuinely unclear rather than settled.
If you liked this, try
Stunts (a.k.a. 4D Sports Driving) (Distinctive Software’s stunt-track racer and design tool), Hard Drivin’ (Domark’s arcade stunt racer, one of the genre’s foundational entries), and Screamer (Graffiti’s arcade racer from the same general period).
Frequently asked questions
Is Fatal Racing the same game as Whiplash?
Yes. Interplay released it in the US as Whiplash a year after Gremlin's original UK release under the Fatal Racing name.
How many tracks does Fatal Racing have?
Sixteen. Eight fictional car manufacturers each supply one car and two tracks, and every track has its own signature hazards, from loops and corkscrews to twister jumps and crossovers.
Does Fatal Racing support multiplayer?
Yes, through network and modem play, plus a split-screen two-player mode. Teams of two can also coordinate, sending each other simple commands like ordering a partner to take out rival drivers.
Is Fatal Racing a difficult game?
Yes. On the medium difficulty setting, finishing better than 13th place against the computer's AI is genuinely rare, and there are six difficulty levels above that for players who want more punishment.
Can you adjust damage and difficulty settings?
Yes. Cars can smoke and catch fire as they take damage, engine damage can be toggled on or off entirely, and six difficulty levels are available alongside options to replay and edit video clips of past races.
Who designed Fatal Racing?
Les Spink and Ade Carless, working at Gremlin, designed the game before Interplay picked it up for its US release under the Whiplash name.
Did Fatal Racing have any known technical issues?
Gremlin's SVGA modes drew criticism for lag at release, a limitation tied to the hardware of the time rather than the game's design, and one that stopped being a practical concern once faster Pentium-class machines became common.