User Summary
The sequel to Interstate '76 and I'76: Nitro, Interstate '82 took the series into the 1980s. It saw the return of Taurus, Skeeter, and Groove Champion, and also introduced Skye Champion, Groove's younger sister.
Like the original I'76, I'82 included a full single-player storyline campaign, as well as support for several multiplayer modes including racing, "Capture the Trout" (Capture the Flag), and "Hot potato". User-made maps were supported and were widely available.
One of the most significant new features of I'82 was the ability for players to exit their cars in order to perform various tasks on foot (generally flipping switches), or to change vehicles mid-level.
Another new feature was the ability for players to create their own paintjobs for their cars, which would be automatically uploaded to other players when they joined an online game.
Like previous games in the series, most of the vehicles featured in I'82 were directly based on real-world counterparts but with changed names. Some models returned from I'76, while many others were new, including some that looked remarkably similar to the iconic vehicles of television shows and movies like Back to the Future, Magnum P.I., and Knight Rider.
Several new high-tech weapons were introduced, such as cutting lasers, karpoons, and even the LARS, an obital beam weapon system that could destroy most vehicles with a single hit.
Though widely disliked by fans of I'76 due to greatly simplified gameplay, occasionally bizarre physics, and the absence of several wished-for (and in some cases promised) features, it still created a large following of dedicated players.