Suspecting foul play and seeking vengeance, fellow vigilante Taurus convinces Jade's brother Groove to join him in his investigation.

Although reluctant, Groove proves himself a talented driver and a capable fighter, quickly picking up on the necessary skills to survive in battle.

Further investigation clues them into spying on the deal to acquire the bomb, during which they learn of its intended delivery: an old military fort built on top of North America's largest oil reserve.

In a desperate maneuver, he ramps over the fort's outer wall and crashes into the compound, wrecking his car in the process and knocking himself unconscious.

As he arms the nuclear bomb, Malochio openly gloats that he has been hired by OPEC to destroy America's oil reserve in order to perpetuate the crisis and keep prices high.

mode), players can choose a wide array of weapons and accessories based on their preference, and can also alter the vehicle's parts such as engines, brakes, and tires.

The game's vehicles are faithful reproductions of various cars and trucks from the era, both in appearance and driving characteristics, though the names have been changed for licensing issues.

Lead designer Zack Norman recounted: "The idea came from a desire to use the Mech [Warrior] II technology to the next level and make a real action-simulation hybrid - a vehicle action simulation - but also infuse it with a style and a soul that hadn't been exploited before".

[4] The developers eschewed the convention of using more detailed models for cutscenes, preferring that the game remain stylistically consistent across the interactive and non-interactive portions.

It consisted of various musicians, all from well-known acts, such as Arion Salazar from Third Eye Blind on bass, Brain from Primus on drums, Tom Coster from Santana on keyboards, David Shul from Spearhead on guitars, Les Harris from The Ritz on horns, Louis Fasman from Mark Masters' Jazz Orchestra on horns, and Jon Bendich from Starpoint on percussion.

The music was produced by Jason Slater and engineered by Eric Valentine, both of whom created the band Snake River Conspiracy around the same time.

[17] GamePro criticized the bland polygonal graphics, lack of detail in the backgrounds, and difficulty with simultaneously driving and shooting, but praised the funk soundtrack and characters, in particular opining that "every barb from Taurus is a treasure".

The editors called Interstate '76 "more stylish and original [than Quake II], but it suffered a lack of good 3D support and an irritating save feature"; however, the game did receive the 1997 "Artistic Achievement" award.

PC Zone said that Nitro Pack "thankfully builds on the graphical shortcomings of the original Interstate '76 by adding all sorts of 3D support.