[citation needed] The game offers a choice of six hovercraft vehicles differentiated by their top speed, armour, firepower, weight and appearance: KD-1 Speeder, Berserker, Jugga, Vampire, Outrider, and Flexiwing.

Due to the dimensions of models the vehicles appear different sizes but in fact the collision volumes are all identical meaning that you are just as likely to hit something with the Outrider as you are with the Jugga.

Developer Peter Molyneux stated that in May 1995, EA set Bullfrog under pressure to release Dungeon Keeper in six and a half weeks.

[6] Mark LeFebvre of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the PC version an 8.2, praising the selection of vehicles, the well-balanced challenge, the secret areas, and the networked eight-player racing, though he did remark that there should have been more than six tracks.

[7] A critic for Next Generation also considered the small number of tracks to be the game's one shortcoming, and gave it overall approval for its use of texture mapping and Gouraud shading, sense of speed, and overall fun gameplay.

[18] Next Generation likewise commented that "With its blocky graphics, devilishly slow frame-rate, and nebulous controls, Hi-Octane simply lacks the focus of most console games."

However, he also stated that "One truly awesome concept introduced ... is the realtime morphing tracks which add a great deal to the game's challenge and is sure to be a feature copied in future racing titles.