Racing games have been around since video games
were first invented. Often they are marvels of computer
graphics. Demonstrating the newest effects, games such as
the Need for Speed series and Dethkarz demonstrate what 3d
accelerators are truly capable of. Some racing games focus
purely on gameplay and are instant classics, my personal
favorite being Big Red Racing. Unfortunately the racing game
genre suffers from a huge amount of bad titles. Snowmobile
Racing is one of these, not terrible in every way but pretty poor
overall.
Snowmobile racing is just that, snowmobile racing.
You are able to pick from a large variety of mobiles but there
are only four tracks. This, and the lack of a tournament mode
or multiplay, made this game pale in comparison too many
other racing games currently on the market.
Graphics:
The graphics are mediocre at best. There is very little detail
throughout the levels or on the characters. I found myself
becoming very bored by the courses very quickly and losing
interest after the first lap. There are some nice effects like
snow trails and ice. The reflective surface of the ice is very
impressive. The environments are very static and devoid of
life. This makes the game seem very unreal. I didn't notice
any tearing or random dots but I did notice a jerkiness at times
even when there was not much on the screen. Direct3d does a
good job at accelerating this game but it only is able to do so
much. There are only three character animations and I found
this somewhat disappointing. Falling is a standard animation
which bothered me as it would have been pretty cool to watch
my driver fly across the track spraying up snow as he went.
The menu system is very ugly and kills the feel of the game.
Textures are clean and the sky looks exceptionally nice.
Overall the graphics are nothing new and some effects, such as
lens flares, that should be present are not.
Sound:
There are only three or four sounds in this entire game. One
for the menu system, one for engine noise, one for jumping
and one when you start a race. Every sound is well recorded
and very clear but lacks originality. The engine noise seems
accurate and syncs well with the games action. After the first
track the sound became very repetitive and I would have liked
more variety. Overall high quality sound, just not enough of it.
Multiplay:
This game needs multiplayer badly. With almost any racing
game today, multiplayer makes or breaks it. A lack of even
split screen play shows the amount of time that the developers
spent on this game and it is not a good image.
Gameplay:
I was very excited when I claimed snowmobile racing because
I expected that it would be something new. Unfortunately it's
not. This game is the easiest racing game I have ever played.
I won on each of the four tracks the first time I played. I then
upped the difficulty and won again. The game does not have a
tournament mode or a chance to win championships. It is all
based around time trials. I found this very boring and without
purpose. Without the prospect of winning there is very little
that makes me want to play this game. The jumps also
disappointed me. Tricks and aerial maneuvers could have
made this into an excellent game. Too bad they are not
included. Control is satisfactory and very easy to pick up as
there are only four buttons. I was unable to use my gamepad
which I find necessary in order to play racing games. Overall
poor gameplay that just needed a little bit more attention.
Fun Factor:
Since this game is so easy it is not very fun. The level design
is so boring and so repetitive that I cannot wait to delete this
game. Multiplay could have beeen fun but I wouldn't know
since they neglected to include it. Overall a very boring game
that has replay value for about five minutes.
Overall Impression:
I had a good initial impression by the cool ice effects but that
feeling quickly passed when I was shocked by the terrible
gameplay, tracks and animation. I don't recommend picking
this up and I am happy that I am done with it. My overall
feeling is that this game had promise but just needs more
attention and more features.