Highway Encounter for Windows

Every now and then we run across a recent rendition of a classic video game, and the reproductions are often so faithful that we don't have much to say besides, "If you liked the original, you'll like this, too." This is the case with Highway Encounter, a game originally released in 1986 and lovingly recreated here. By modern standards it's not terribly exciting, but it remains fun and worth playing for the nostalgia factor, if nothing else.

The object of Highway Encounter is to push a Lasertron along a highway riddled with dangerous obstacles. A group of five droids is in charge of pushing the Lasertron, and the player gets to control one droid at a time. The game requires a bit of speed on the controls, but it's mostly about strategy; you must travel ahead on the highway, clearing obstacles and enemies by moving them aside (in the case of the former) or shooting them with your laser (in the case of the latter). If your droid is destroyed, it's back to the beginning to start over with another one. Although there's nothing particularly impressive about this game, we were happy to see a few nice extras, such as the ability to specify which keys are used for the controls and to turn the game's music on and off. Highway Encounter isn't going to rock anyone's world, but users who were fond of the original game will enjoy a walk down memory lane with this PC version.

Highway Encounter is free. It comes as a ZIP file and is accessible after extraction, with no need for installation. We recommend this game to all users.