If you enjoy more realistic racing games and own a 3DS, you should definitely check this one out.
I do enjoy arcade racers, but generally I do like more simulation-y games better. That's why I got this as opposed to Ridge Racer, Need for Speed, Nascar, Asphalt, or even Mario Kart. One of the best things about this game is you can adjust how "realistic" or not you want to play it. Some of the assists literally include the car braking for you, and also anti-wheelspin, anti-skid, etc. I personally like driving with all the assists OFF. However, I have the AI set to "Medium", and I turned off the weather changes, damage, tire wear, and penalties. Eventually I will turn that stuff on but you can see now what I meant by adjusting the realism of the game.Now let's begin scoring the game on stuff.
GRAPHICS: 7.9/10
- The graphics in this game are pretty darn good; the screenshots look almost nothing like the actual game though, in person it looks much better. The lighting is done well, and the cars are nicely modeled, and each car even comes with its own cockpit view. There ARE some flaws, though. Sometimes the environments beyond the track like trees and stuff don't look too nice, some of the textures on the cars are blurry, and the "cockpit views" really just change the texture of the steering wheel; nothing too detailed. A lot of this stuff is kind of nitpicking, though, and overall the graphics are quite good.
GAMEPLAY/CONTROLS: 9.2/10
- The game plays really nice. The cars all handle different like they should and the driving is pretty realistic. The controls do take some getting used to, even if you normally play racing sims with a controller. Once you get the hang of things and find your favorite car, though, the gameplay is really fun and addicting, and racing is a blast. One of the main complaints about this game from other people were about the AI drivers. Honestly, the AI isn't that horrible. I haven't played the console versions of this, so I'm not comparing it to that or anything, but the AI is quite unpredictable. Sometimes it's frustrating, other times it's actually amusing. A lot of times, the AI will try to MURDER you ruthlessly, trying to hit you off the track so that you spin out. At other times, though, they accept the fact that you're about to pass them and let you move right along. In fact, the only time the AI is really super mega brutal is the starting grid. Taking off from the starting grid in one piece is a challenge in itself. The drivers will intentionally bump you from the side, then you'll spin out, get hit by everyone else behind you, and next thing you know you push "restart race". Really, though, that's the only thing one might consider frustrating, and once you spend some time getting the hang of things you'll have a blast playing.
VARIETY/REPLAY VALUE: 8.1/10
- This game has lots of modes for you to play, including career, championship, grand prix, quick race, time trial, and multiplayer and challenges. Many of these modes simply build upon each other though. A quick race is what you'd expect: a quick race. Grand Prix is choosing a track like quick race, but you go through the weekend sessions and practices and all that stuff. Championship is picking your driver and racing an entire season composed of grand prix's on each of the tracks in the game. And Career is going through 3 seasons building a reputation for yourself. Time trial is your standard time trial, and you'll do timed time trials in the weekend sessions of a grand prix. Challenges, however, provides the only mode completely different from all these modes. There's 60 of these things ranging from "complete the lap in x amt of time" to "avoid obstacles while going fast". Multiplayer does include online, but as of now there's almost NOBODY playing online so it's useless. Overall, the modes are all fun and yeah they build upon themselves more than anything, but they're still fun and racing is the whole point of the game after all.
OVERALL: 8.0/10
- If you like realistic racers and want one on the go for your 3DS, then at least give this a rent if anything. I personally thought it was more than worth the purchase, though. It's a great game with tons of modes and some overlookable flaws; overall though it's really fun to play.
THE END
by jamiljamtheman(a.k.a. starwarsmario)