Wheelspin Preview Page 2

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

In each of the three game modes, you build up an Apex score which is basically a summation of how good you are at the game. In solo mode, your Apex score is based around lap times, with quicker times resulting in a higher score.  In race mode, it works slightly differently. Your Apex score is based not on lap times, but on medal points which are acquired by finishing in the top four places. It’s the Apex scores that players will compare with each other, says MacLean, and they act like badges of honour. Play against someone with a high apex score and you’ll know they mean business. To do well in races you’ll need to maintain your speed and keep an eye out for shortcuts as well as making sure you’ve got the right tools for the job.

Each car in the game has a beautifully simple ratings system (think the triangular player summary in PES) based on three factors: acceleration, speed and grip. Heavier cars may offer better grip, but acceleration suffers as does your turning circle and it’s crucial, if you want to get the best times MacLean explains, to choose the right car for the track. Between races, you can also purchase simple upgrades for your vehicles as well as countless (well, around 70-80) skins.

The final mode we get to take a look at is the battle mode, which will be instantly familiar to anyone who grew up with Mario Kart. The arena levels are dotted with weapons for you to collect with which you’ll lay waste to the other competitors. The weapons are assigned to the three remaining directions on the D-pad and your goal is to inflict enough damage on the enemy in order to clear the level. This mode, says MacLean, is all about multiplayer. While it can be played solo, the AI is utterly ruthless and you’ll have to develop good offensive and defensive manoeuvres to survive, he explains. We see a couple of weapons in our brief time in battle mode: mines which you can drop on the track as a trap for your opponents and the electricity-tastic Tesla beam. In an eight player free-for-all we can see battle mode being enormously chaotic, fast-paced fun.

And there’s that word again. If there’s one disappointing aspect of Wheelspin it’s that the game does not support online play (apparently due to the development costs) meaning you’ll need a fairly big TV if you want to take advantage of the eight player local play without squinting at the screen till you go blind. However, in these days of large scale online gaming, it’s sometimes nice to see a good, old-fashioned local multiplayer game. In fact, the overwhelming feeling we get from playing Wheelspin is one of nostalgia. Not that the game looks or feels particularly dated (when flying along at full whack the visuals are actually quite impressive), but rather it harks back to classic action racers like F-Zero and more recently the excellent Trackmania series. With collectibles (secret spanners!) and short cuts littering the tracks, Wheelspin is a nice antidote to the clinical, realistic racers out there at the moment and we look forward to more time with it. 

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