Back in 1995, a small kart racing game was released by developer Maniac Media Productions called SuperKarts.  The game was a bit like a PC knock off of the original Mario Kart, but at the time I didn’t have any console and the game had a simple, clean look and the gameplay was addictive.  I mention this 17-year-old racer because Bang Bang Racing reminds me of the game that sucked many hours of my time away so many years ago.

Bang Bang Racing has several modes to choose from: Career, Championships, and Free Play, with support for up to 4-player split-screen in Championships and Freeplay.  Career mode is broken down into four series of races.  Each series has five or more races on unique courses that are modified by shortcuts or reversed layouts.  As races are completed additional cars become unlocked.  Each car class handles differently and has unique characteristics, such as stronger body frames, better turning and traction, faster acceleration, or better turbo boost.  The cars are modeled after real-world cars, but no official licenses are used.

The tracks cover a wide range of environmental themes, including a sunny beach, a sandy desert, a Japanese garden, and a NASCAR-inspired infinity loop.  Depending on the race each track may have shortcuts available or barrels that spill oil or water or cause explosions.  Flower petals and fallen leaves can cause cars to slip while sand allows tires to get a better grip.  Races are a mix of traditional laps, time trials and elimination runs.

While all of this sounds basic and routine, what makes the game fun are the tight controls and the increasing sense of speed as additional cars unlock.  Racing is fast and the turns on most every track are tight, but mastering the art of timing brakes and acceleration at just the right moment makes for a compelling and addictive arcade experience.  Even in races starting with the player’s car in the last position, the other cars predictably bunch up at the beginning, which makes for a convenient hole to drive through. While gaining a sizable jump early in the race is an advantage, the game does a good job of almost having a rubber band effect without being too obvious.  Perfect timing and quick reflexes make for a nail biting, down-to-the-wire finish every time. This style of seat-of-the-pants racing in Bang Bang Racing is what reminded me of SuperKarts from so many years ago.

While there is plenty of fun with both the local split-screen and solo challenges, there are a few aspects to the game that are a bit frustrating.  First off, the game has only two camera modes, and neither option comes off without a hitch. One camera angle follows the car with every turn, but given the winding tight curves of each track, the camera spins back and forth to a dizzying degree.  The other camera option still spins, but stays on a more fixed track.

The other mildly disappointing aspect to the game is the lack of online multiplayer.  While I admit that I’m not a huge fan of online anything, I do enjoy ghost racing similar to what Evolution Studios did with the recent MotorStorm RC or what Criterion has done with Autolog in their take on the Need for Speed franchise. Bang Bang Racing has a scoreboard, but it is limited to total points earned across all races.  Don’t get me wrong, the local multiplayer experience is fun and the option for up to four players is very welcome, but having a more robust leaderboard or challenge mechanism for score chasing would add an extra layer to what is overall a solid racer.

With Bang Bang Racing, Digital Reality has released a bright, fun arcade racer that is well worth taking for a spin around your preferred digital download block.  The controls are responsive, the track designs are excellent (and there are plenty of devious obstacles to avoid upon mastery of each track), and races are quick to load and each takes only a few minutes to complete, all synching together in harmony to fuel a compelling and addictive experience.  Arcade racing fans should find plenty of enjoyment in Bang Bang Racing.

Pros:
+ Quick load times
+ Lots of variations so the tracks don’t feel too repetitive
+ Tight, responsive controls
+ Up to 4 player local split-screen

Cons:
– No online racing
– Camera can be dizzying

Game Info:
Platform: Reviewed on PS3 via PSN, also available for PC and Xbox Live Arcade
Publisher: Digital Reality
Developer: Digital Reality
Release Date: 6/6/2012
Genre: Racing
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Players: 1-4 (offline multiplayer only)
Source: Review code provided by publisher

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Sadly this game fails to deliver anything that begins to earn even the budget price. You won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t read further, just please make a note never to buy, rent or play this game on any platform. I also had some play time on the PSP version, and it is no better.

There are three major areas of the game to consider: the technical details such as graphics, sound and controls; the physics and core racing elements; and the breadth of cars and tracks as well as multiplayer elements that contribute to keeping players engaged. Unfortunately the best part of the game is also the least important: technically the game looks and sounds quite good. It is not up to the standard of the photo-realistic simulation games, but the look and feel of the cars and environments is pretty reasonable. The reason I say ‘unfortunately’ is that there are some significant problems: I was not surprised to find that this was also a PS2 game – the graphics look very much like they are from that generation of console, and do not scale well to a high-resolution PC display. While that is good in terms of lowering the system requirements, it makes the game look lousy for most players. This lack of detail extends to the cars: there is little that distinguishes one SUV or off-road truck from the next in terms of their appearance, certainly nothing that makes you anticipate unlocking new vehicles.

It only goes downhill from there (no pun intended): I have a top-notch sound system that I can hook up to my PC as needed, and something like a racing game is a cool thing to feel and hear at a higher volume as you tear through the turns and speed over bumps and jumps and slides. So it is unfortunate that the sound is… underwhelming. The cars sound like little three cylinder Geo Metros rather than powerful off-road vehicles, and when you move and groove on the various surfaces you get nothing that reflects the slipping and sliding and normal noises you’d expect. Moreover the guitar-heavy soundtrack is annoying at best and really doesn’t fit with the feel of the game.

Things like graphics and sound don’t make or break a game, but the fact that you pay too much attention to them often indicates either that they are superlative or that the rest of the game is failing to hold your attention. The reasons are pretty clear: Ford Racing Off Road is a lackluster experience that offers little distinction between vehicles and tracks. As an example – have you ever gone off a paced road in real life? Your handling and perception change pretty dramatically. But in this game, it is hard to tell one track from the next, and one surface feels pretty much the same as another. And if you leave the road it is often like running into a wall – you stop dead in your tracks. The sense of speed you get from racing fast cars, or power from muscle cars is also missing – replaced by what often feels like a trip down the odd country road that has a 55MPH speed limit but also some twists and turns. In other words – don’t anticipate getting your pulse racing.

Finally there is the physics model: as physics and math are my life, this is one that really offended me. Racing games have advanced so much in their use of collision models and tracking physics and other aspects of making the games look and feel more real that Ford Racing Off Road stands out for having done such a lousy job in this regard. While I understand that the multiplatform aspects of this game (it is also available for the PSP and PS2) make it harder to encompass realistic effects, even PSP releases such as the Burnout and Test Drive games include realistic feelings to the vehicles as they collide and crash. Damage modeling is also lousy, as it rarely reflects what is going on… and was something my kids had hoped to exploit.

In a crowded game market, a new entry needs something to differentiate it from the crowd – not necessarily innovation or top-notch graphics or even ground-breaking gameplay, but perhaps low price combined with a charming presentation, or a brand link that attracts fans. Ford Racing Off Road attempts to lure gamers who like off-road racing, budget games, and are partial to Ford’s vehicles. It is unfortunate that they do little to exploit any of those potential markets, and instead produce a sub-par racing game that is easily dismissed as yet another piece of licensed ‘shovelware’ to be avoided.

Pros:
+ Looks decent
+ Budget Price

Cons:
– Indistinct cars
– Indistinct tracks
– Indistinct surfaces
– Lousy soundtrack
– Poor physics

Game Info:
Platform: Reviewed on PC, also available for PS2, PSP and Wii
Publisher: Empire Interactive
Developer: Razorworks
Release Date: 9/23/08
Genre: Racing
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Players: 1-2