“If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough.”
I love top down racing games and Micro Machines and Rock and Roll Racing are still among my favourite racing games of all time but top down racing games has largely been forgotten in this era of flashy, realistic graphics. This year has already seen two very promising top down racers disappear into obscurity but I've seen a lot of Mantis Burn Racing and my hopes were set very, very high.
There are three game modes to keep you going here, Career, Single Race and Online Race. Career Mode as you might have guessed let's you pick and choose races which are designated along a career path which you work your way around during your career. There are several race types for you to compete in. There is a three lap race, Knockout where the person in last place at the end of each lap gets eliminated, Accumulation sees you gunning towards a set total of points and the first to reach 10,000 wins and Time Trials where race alone against the clock. There are a total of eight disciplines to compete which makes for a nice variety of different challenges. The Single Race does exactly what it says. You can customise any race how you like and invite your mates around to indulge in some four player split screen mayhem in local multiplayer races. Online Race let's you set up a lobby for up to eight players with the same options that are available in the Single Race Mode.
Each race has three challenges that you can complete to win Gears which are the game's currency. You can win up to six gears per race and only three of those gears will be awarded for a victory. The other three will be on offer only if you complete a side task. There are your standard tasks such as besting a tracks quickest lap time, jumping a set amount of metres or drifting for a certain length during a race. But the more obscure tasks challenge you to destroy a set amount of scenery, perform an awesome drift or boost for a set amount of time during a race.
Another aspect to keep you coming back is the Weekly Challenge which changes week to week. VooFoo have promised to really mix these up and this week challenge is to see how far you can race around a track in seven minutes. The distance you achieve is then uploaded to a leaderboard where you can compare your score against people around the world and your all important friends list. I love this feature and it's the first time I've seen this included in a racing game under the ID@XBOX label. These challenges along with the optional gears challenges are a great addition and they challenge you to tackle each race and course with a new strategy as well as adding that always important replayability.
There is only a small selection of cars to choose from and each car is in one of three classes. Dune buggies are the lightweight class and they have fantastic acceleration but that comes at a cost of a lower top speed. The Middleweight vehicles are average at best and they don't excel in any particular attribute and the Heavyweight vehicles are extremely slow accelerating but have a high top speed to compensate. How the vehicles handle can make or break a game like Mantis Burn Racing and I'm glad to report that the handling is tight, responsive and very easy to get to grips with. You'll soon be attacking courses as if you were in a downhill slalom as you pull off some amazing drifts. On some of the tighter corners I was able to keep a drift going from one corner to the next. It's impressive stuff. Sometimes it's all too easy to blame a game's handling but when you crash here you'll know it's your down to your shoddy driving and not the game. Each vehicle can be upgraded by spending the XP you earn as you compete in each race\season. Unlocking upgrades quickly becomes a necessity and you will need to use some of you XP to unlock new vehicles to compete in different race classes. You'll earn XP simply by playing through the game but drafting, over taking, drifting and using shortcuts all earn you additional points as well as charging up your always important boost.
Graphically Mantis Burn Racing looks gorgeous. Plumes of dust erupt from your rear wheels and seek to blind your opposition or if you're unfortunate enough to be behind you'll be the one blinded . Each stage has itsown setting and although beautifully rendered they do become repetitive very, very quickly. Each location has its own distinctive look and feel but with only two location available you will soon become bored of them. There is a good variety of tracks on offer though and each one is reversible and you will play them multiple times during the career mode. You'll quickly get use to these tracks and it's always a pleasant surprise when a new track is thrown into the mix. There is a great challenge to be had as the AI vehicles become faster and more importantly more aggressive as your career begins to take off. The difficulty spike increases at the right speed and upgrading your vehicles becomes of paramount importance.
For a game to do so much right and then to stumble at the end is unforgivable. Going from one race to the next is torture. After every race is finished you must sit through a two minutes loading screen. I wouldn't mind so much if something interactive was taking place but it's just a static screen with a picture of your car. It only server to take you completely out of the game.For a game that prides itself on speed it's shocking.
If you love old school racers like Micro Machines, Rock and Roll Racing or even more recent titles like Motorstorm RC on the PS Vita, Mantis Burn Racing is its bigger, better looking and ballsier brother. The only downsides are the lack of track variety and the absolutely abysmal loading times. The game is a blast to play with fantastic handling and a great look. I can't recommend Mantis Burn Racing enough and I can only hope and pray that the loading issues are sorted out very soon with a patch.
Developer: VooFoo Studios
Publisher: VooFoo Studios
Website: Mantis Burn Racing
Twitter: @VooFoo
Mantis Burn Racing is available now for £11.99
Review Code Supplied by PREMIER