This futuristic racer introduces unique racing elements and plays at a high level but a few minor problems set it back
The racers are people merged with a "Kinetic Suit", which is like a marriage between an armour and a race car. These makes for a racers who come in various shapes and sizes (and genders) thus determining their racing capabilities. They also appear like futuristic superheroes of sorts, well designed and coloured.
Each racer is capable of doing trick stunts, which add to their speed boost meter. This makes up the foundation of the game, stunting to keep accumulating boost and using it constantly to keep up with the others.
And keep up are words that I would like to emphasize since the AI racers are brutally good and quick. The majority of races need to be done with minimal mistakes and as much stunting as possible to keep the boost up. Bottom line is, you won't be winning anything unless you're constantly racing at near-maximum speed.
Apart from the tough AI racers, Kinetica's levels are made for its unique racers. Each can race from the ground, to the ceiling or the sides and it is encouraged since levels are full of pitfalls and blockades that can be quite hard to see due to the extreme level of speed maintained. This could frustrate a lot of players easily and makes the learning curve quite steep - as if mastering the art of stunting wasn't tough enough.
The game is one of the better looking PS2 games for its time and the sound and ambient music are used sparingly but match the game well.
A few framerate problems persist in some levels. It fluctuates and causes some slowdown especially in tracks with long pitfalls. There also isn't a lot to play for once all characters have been unlocked unless the players totally enjoy the game.
Kinetica is an extremely fast-paced and tricky game to play and master. Races are not limited on the ground, a constant extreme level of speed must be maintained and performing topnotch stunts must always be conducted. It should pose a challenge to most casual gamers but any racing game vet or aficionado should get a thrill out of the uniqueness of this futuristic racing game.