I think you've already noticed that we've got something new in our file archive. It's a demo-version of a very unusual arcade - Moonshine Runners that is being developed by the guys from Kalingrad, Russia K-D LAB. I'm sure that you all know that The Daily Telefrag is the source number one in the Internet that brings you the latest and hottest Russian projects. Today is another day that proves our height reputation. A game that will reach the rest of the world only tomorrow is available for viewing, downloading and playing today only on our website. The game's on my hard disk and my first impressions of the game are here, in this article, loaded with shots for your examination and facts from the game.

The demo-version isn't too big - 25 megabytes. But size is not a beneficial factor - in the demo you'll find three levels/missions/tracks (what ever you call them), five game characters to your disposal (there will be ten in the release version), beautiful music and about forty different spells that you'll use on your vehicle. A vehicle isn't actually what you'll be riding. It's something like a bootlegger device. At the start of the game you are offered to put together a vehicle using three parts: the front wheels, the rear wheels and the hood. In each part of the vehicle you can put a spell.

Your first goal is to collect green Bottles that can be (available only in the release version, the demo doesn't have such an option) used to by spells and also buy your exit to the next level. The Bottles can be found at the checkpoints. You receive them when you make it though the checkpoint. The closer you are to the winner, the more Bottles you get. If you're first - take them all, second - one less, third - two less and so on. If you come in last - you loose all your Bottles that you've collected. Plus if you come in first you'll get a unique and very special spell. Or you can even buy the spell if you have the necessary amount of Bottles on you.. Then the track is considered accomplished and you excel to the next one. During the race you can collect other bonuses. For example you can collect special crosses that are distributed by clock-work toys. A blue cross gives you manna for your spells, a green cross recovers your health and the red one allows you to speed up your speed (ten crosses maximum). You'll also see a toy with Bottles - don't forget to pick them up too.

Now you've heard some familiar words, right? "Manna", "energy", "speed". Smells Diablo'ish doesn't it? Good guess. In Moonshine Runners you'll need to find manna for your spells. If you are out of energy - you pedal cycle will fall to pieces and you'll loose a lot of time on putting it back together. And don't forget that you'll have a lot of "helpers" willing to put you on an energy shortage using different spells. So you'll have to keep your eyes open and ready any moment to protect yourself and also to cast a couple of spells on your opponents. The speed in the game is also an important feature. All the circuits in are designed for high speeds, so you'll have to drive fast, avoid obstacles and defend yourself from your enemies. You'll have spells that'll speed you up (some spells will even allow you to fly in order to cut the corners and avoid traps), jump-pads (getting a bit "mario'ish" here) and "accelerators" that are situated on the track. Take care while using them - you might end up in the wall if you overdo it.

What else can I say about the game? Oh, almost forgot, the graphics. When I started the game, I set the resolution to 1024x768 and I was shocked. I started thinking that my PC is way out of date (I recently upgraded it). The game became a slideshow. I asked the developers why the game is so slow and here's what I heard from them. The thing is that the game has millions of polygons used that really slow down everything. So I had to choose 640x480 and I was amazed. The graphics didn't change at all - everything remained beautiful and colorful. The coders down at K-D LAB are amazing people. Remember the stupendous Vanger voxel engine they made? It's out of this world! I wonder what they're going to do in their new project. Sacrifice and The Giants will be forgotten for sure! The graphics in the game are superb - bright, warm colors please the eye. Just check out the shots from the game and I'm sure you'll start downloading it immediately.

In addition I should note the various multiplayer options the game has. Hot-seat and split screen game modes are available. That means that two persons can play on one PC. And how about turn-based racing using your e-mail? Did I forget? Apart form real-time you'll be able to game in turn-based too. Can you believe an arcade racing game in turn-based mode? Set up the waypoints, program the moment when you'll use your magic, hit "Enter" and see for yourself what you've planned for you bolide.

I would highly recommend the game for those of you, who's tired of the usual games on the market nowadays. If you're looking for something new - download the Moonshine Runners demo and enjoy the new experience. The guys from KD-LAB say that the game didn't turn up what people expected from them. People expected a new Vanger-type game. But the guys from K-D LAB like making dissimilar games. They like colorful and innovating games, cheerful arcades produced at a very high technical level. For me Moonshine Runners came out as fun and exciting racing arcade for kids on one hand, and a very fine, trendy, unique strategic-thinking game on the other hand.