Wheelspin Preview

14 Aug 2009 at 16:24:19 by Andy Alderson

“It’s the biggest selling console in the world,” says Archer MacLean when we ask why he chose to develop a racing title for the Wii, “and it’s the one with the most fun games on it.” Throughout our time at Bethesda’s offices with the Wii racer, “fun” is the word that comes up most often. Whereas some racing games focus on realism and visual fidelity, MacLean still believes there is a market for out and out thrills in the genre. And with Wheelspin’s top speeds of 650 kph, with the game moving at 60 frames per second, it’s all about the thrills.

The game is structured like a three-sided pyramid, MacLean explains, divided into three disciplines: solo, race and battle. We begin with the solo mode and we’re told that in order to advance (or unlock “level links”) we need to accumulate 40 Zone points. This is achieved entirely through speed – building up speed requires you to avoid hitting barriers and obstacles while hitting the various boost pads littering the track. Once you begin to reach the higher speeds, the screen takes on a bloodshot-eye effect and you’re officially in the “Zone” and begin to accumulate points. However, staying in the Zone is the hard part and, as your pace increases, you’ll need to work hard on timing your movements to avoid losing speed.

Using the standard Wiimote control scheme - the game supports all major peripherals, although is best suited to Logitech’s force feedback wheel says MacLean - steering is handled by tilting the horizontal Wiimote. It takes a little getting used to at first and MacLean explains that the control scheme is highly adjustable, allowing the player to adjust the steering sensitivity to taste.  The control scheme in general is refreshingly simple – hold the 2 button to go faster, 1 to go slower and down on the D-pad (from the horizontal Wiimote perspective) for the handbrake. It’s telling that throughout our time with Wheelspin that we barely used the brake. After all, this is a game about boost pads and high speeds, who wants to ruin it by cornering sensibly?

After a brief jaunt around a mountain track to get to grips with the controls, we’re then set loose on a space-based track, complete with devilish corkscrew sections and some enormous jumps. In Wheelspin you have to deal with more than just simple corners - you’ll often find yourself upside down with speed the only thing keeping you on the track. Slow down too much through these sections and you’ll simply float off into space. Luckily, there’s an instant respawn button (mapped to A) meaning that should you crash, you won’t lose too much time before getting back into the action. This isn’t a game about restarting races, says MacLean, it’s all about the fun. And comparing stats, he adds.

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