Mad Tracks - Review
Added June 8th, 2007 by LightK
Load Inc. (Legacy of Artists and Developers), a conglomeration of former Ubisoft employees, brings Mad Tracks to XBLA. Many may know this title from the PC demo and pay-for digital content on Load’s website. For 800 Microsoft Points, let’s see what this title has to offer in the way of an action-packed, arcade-style, weapon-toting, toy-car racer for the 360.
In single-player mode, you’ll traverse 15 different challenges, which range from Blackout (race 3 laps in a darkened room); Beastie Balls (you are situated in a large bowl and must avoid rubber balls); and Foosball (careen down the table to sink your ball in the opponent’s goal). It’ll take approximately an hour to an hour and a half to unlock all the challenges in SP and earn at least a Bronze medal in all.
There are a total of 12 powerups, from Rocket (this is fun as no aiming is required and if your foe is close enough, it’ll flip him); Freeze (turn your opponent into an ice cube); to Barrel Drop (you drop 3 barrels onto the playing field, but beware as they don’t disappear fast and can actually hinder you in your objective).
Not much strategy is required in the racing challenges. Your car is equipped with a spring engine. When you accelerate, your spring goes down. Release your gas and the spring goes back up. When your spring is completely flat, your car will slow to a crawl. Thankfully, it doesn’t take much time for your spring to recharge. I’m assuming this was thrown in to keep players from keeping the pedal to the metal throughout the entire race.
The graphics are fairly solid. It’s a fun, cheesy, Toy Story-esque looking game. Your environments include a putt-putt golf course; a dining room table replete with wine glasses and dinner plates; and a pool table. As for the audio, it is what one would expect for an arcade game. Nothing really stood out and once I stopped playing, I was hard-pressed to remember what type music had played.
Boasting of 12 different cars, I didn’t notice any difference besides colors and slight variations of models. Even when hosting a MP game, you can only select your weight class and country (only 4 countries are available). Mad Tracks isn’t a “pimp your ride” or adrenaline rush, thrill-laden game. Instead, it’s more of a Mario Kart imitation. The different game challenges are varied and should provide a ton of fun, but sadly the title lacks much entertainment. The online multiplayer lobby is disappointing and frustrating. When searching for a match, I often sat there for several minutes. Put simply, there are not enough people playing this game. Once you complete a race/challenge, you must create a new match, and re-invite your friends. This becomes a hassle as the challenges are over much too quickly (sometimes just a minute or two) and you’re back to the drawing board.
On the upside, it does come with free gamer pics. To get these, just go into settings and press the X button. Also, planned in the near future are 30 additional challenges via downloadable content.
Summary:
Overall, the single-player is a boring affair. Online multiplayer is not worth the hassle. If you have a few friends over, split-screen is worth looking into for some easy, fun, party-style gaming or if you want to entertain a 6-8 year old child, this is an inexpensive babysitter. Otherwise, I’d have to recommend passing on this one.
In single-player mode, you’ll traverse 15 different challenges, which range from Blackout (race 3 laps in a darkened room); Beastie Balls (you are situated in a large bowl and must avoid rubber balls); and Foosball (careen down the table to sink your ball in the opponent’s goal). It’ll take approximately an hour to an hour and a half to unlock all the challenges in SP and earn at least a Bronze medal in all.
There are a total of 12 powerups, from Rocket (this is fun as no aiming is required and if your foe is close enough, it’ll flip him); Freeze (turn your opponent into an ice cube); to Barrel Drop (you drop 3 barrels onto the playing field, but beware as they don’t disappear fast and can actually hinder you in your objective).
Not much strategy is required in the racing challenges. Your car is equipped with a spring engine. When you accelerate, your spring goes down. Release your gas and the spring goes back up. When your spring is completely flat, your car will slow to a crawl. Thankfully, it doesn’t take much time for your spring to recharge. I’m assuming this was thrown in to keep players from keeping the pedal to the metal throughout the entire race.
The graphics are fairly solid. It’s a fun, cheesy, Toy Story-esque looking game. Your environments include a putt-putt golf course; a dining room table replete with wine glasses and dinner plates; and a pool table. As for the audio, it is what one would expect for an arcade game. Nothing really stood out and once I stopped playing, I was hard-pressed to remember what type music had played.
Boasting of 12 different cars, I didn’t notice any difference besides colors and slight variations of models. Even when hosting a MP game, you can only select your weight class and country (only 4 countries are available). Mad Tracks isn’t a “pimp your ride” or adrenaline rush, thrill-laden game. Instead, it’s more of a Mario Kart imitation. The different game challenges are varied and should provide a ton of fun, but sadly the title lacks much entertainment. The online multiplayer lobby is disappointing and frustrating. When searching for a match, I often sat there for several minutes. Put simply, there are not enough people playing this game. Once you complete a race/challenge, you must create a new match, and re-invite your friends. This becomes a hassle as the challenges are over much too quickly (sometimes just a minute or two) and you’re back to the drawing board.
On the upside, it does come with free gamer pics. To get these, just go into settings and press the X button. Also, planned in the near future are 30 additional challenges via downloadable content.
Summary:
Overall, the single-player is a boring affair. Online multiplayer is not worth the hassle. If you have a few friends over, split-screen is worth looking into for some easy, fun, party-style gaming or if you want to entertain a 6-8 year old child, this is an inexpensive babysitter. Otherwise, I’d have to recommend passing on this one.
