Genre: Racing
Developer: BlueSky Software
Publisher: Atari

MotorPsycho is exactly what one would get trying to port "Super Hang-On" to the Atari 7800: to its credit though, the bike sprites are fairly large, and unlike its closest competitor on the platform in the form of "Pole Position II", the track even sports hills, although the backgrounds aren't as interesting to behold as in that classic. Glowing orange pylons threaten to knock the player off the track and onto the bordering chevron signs. MotorPsycho is a good looking racing game overall.

The buzzing sounds of "Pole Position II" were clearly an influence here, with the engines of passing bikes interrupting the sounds of the player's own machine. There is a nifty title screen tune, which is about as good as music on a 2600 or 7800 can sound, absent a Pokey chip. A pleasant chime plays when the player executes a nice jump, and beeping indicates that extended time has been achieved.

MotorPsycho makes use of the same "Low / Hi" configuration as "Pole Position II", to go along with an accelerate button. But where one would expect the second button to brake, instead it causes the bike to leap into the air! It's fun learning which hills allow for the safest catching of air. Driving off the track on the opposite side of a turn, before the turn itself, is an effective way to pre-emptively slow down. The tracks are extremely well designed, and the collision detection is fair.

It's impossible to evaluate this title without constantly comparing it to "Pole Position II" at every juncture-- the biggest difference being that if anything, this game is perhaps more fun, as this reviewer found himself wanting to play over and over, attempting to master each of the four selectable tracks in turn. Overall, MotorPsycho is an excellent alternative for 7800 fans looking for additional racing action.