sciteach
Ripstone has ported over an iOS and Android title for the Vita to race on. Ready to race?
 |
| Colorful graphics! Tracks are sweet |
The $8 game opens up with access to 1 vehicle, and as you progress you earn coins to "upgrade" it. Each car can improve its boost, handling, etc. You can buy more coins, but even with tons of money you can't buy the next car yet. You have to progress through the different championships to unlock them first. And the upgrades? I couldn't tell if the competition leveled with me as I bought all the upgrades. The tracks had some tough races that I had to beat later on with a faster car.
You can purchase paint upgrades (which costs every time. Even if you get all the possible paint jobs for each car you have to repay with each spray. Choose wisely!) You can get "Wheel Weapons," which help boost different things about your vehicle. A jump wheel, a shield activator wheel... some work well. The spiky wheels didn't seem to have any effect on the combatants.
Pick ups around the levels include rockets, EMP blasts, bombs... they work pretty well both on the offense and defense. But... they're just missing a level of umph... of fun to them. They're just not as strong as I'd hope.
Controls? Simple. You have a gas button, reverse, and you steer. I wanted a big brake button to really crank the drifting, but it didn't do that. You activate wheel weapons and other boosts with your R1 and L1. Now, I started playing and I thought something was broken. I could ONLY look into reverse. I could not look forward. Then I realized that touching the rear touch pad gives you a rear view. I was holding it wrong. No worries, once you figure that one out.
The tracks are pretty creative. From a Japanese noodle bar to a toy ridden table, they are detailed and pretty nice looking. Some even have secret paths you can jump to (if you have the right wheels on). They run forward and backward, so there is a little variation to your racing. The game has several different modes, like drift mode and special events, to mix it up.
But as far as online goes, you better hope you have some close friends nearby, because trying to get into an online match is tough to find or connect to. Since I didn't get to an online battle or have anybody nearby to ad-hoc with I can't cover that portion here.
 |
| Looks like Local only... |
Verdict
7/10
A fun little game that offers a variety of cars to mess with. Tracks are clever and well made, but the game lacks the punch other racers have to them.
Let us know what your favorite racing game is in the comments!
Posted in: 