15th October 2021, 9:26 PM
(This post was last modified: 15th October 2021, 9:27 PM by A Black Falcon.)
Most of my game reviews on this site I ended up posting as threads and not in the review forum, which is kind of dumb perhaps I admit, but ... well, it's what I did.
My review of the game is on my site here: https://blackfalcongames.net/?p=149 I also posted it on this site in a thread, but it looks like I added a bunch to the version on my site some years later that I never did to the forum version here. My review of the game is here on this site here: https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=5446
Comparing the two reviews, mine and yours, is somewhat interesting. I think my number one takeaway is that you care a lot about the sliding turbos while I do not care about them much at all; I never mention that the game doesn't have them, and don't think I care at all that it doesn't. They aren't something I consistently use in kart racing games anyway. Mickey's Speedway USA is a fairly simple game for a kart racer, certainly, but the drifting mechanic adds plenty of depth to the game.
What I think I emphasize more than you, though, is just how fast this game is in the highest difficulty! I know Mario Kart games also increase in speed as you go to the harder cups, but Diddy Kong Racing didn't do that, I'm pretty sure. In this game the speed increase is present and dramatic; the final parts of the game are very, very fast, and very tough.
Indeed, and I don't entirely make this connection in my review either (you probably get closer than I do due to mentioning the game more), but in the final cup I think this game is almost more a modern R.C. Pro-Am game than it is a kart racer. I mean, it's a very fast and challenging memorization-heavy racing game about drifting around corners. It's also a kart racer, but ultimately I'm not sure if the focus is actually on the kart racing as much as it is the 'RC Pro-Am but in 3d' driving elements. When you say "everything you need is here, and nothing more" to describe the gameplay, I think you pretty significantly understate the challenge and skill required in the top difficulty; the high speed and drifting mechanic combine to make this a good racing game which certainly requires skill to beat. You do later say that the game is hard though, so this is confusing... is it hard, or isn't it? I don't understand why you care so much about drift boosts but the mechanics are a good match for the challenge.
Regardless, I get why the game was considered disappointing at the time, and it isn't as great as Diddy Kong Racing certainly, but still it's a pretty good game which I definitely like. I'd certainly take it over CTR any day, but I've never understood why people (mostly Sony fans) overrate that game so much... but anyway that's another issue.
My review of the game is on my site here: https://blackfalcongames.net/?p=149 I also posted it on this site in a thread, but it looks like I added a bunch to the version on my site some years later that I never did to the forum version here. My review of the game is here on this site here: https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=5446
Comparing the two reviews, mine and yours, is somewhat interesting. I think my number one takeaway is that you care a lot about the sliding turbos while I do not care about them much at all; I never mention that the game doesn't have them, and don't think I care at all that it doesn't. They aren't something I consistently use in kart racing games anyway. Mickey's Speedway USA is a fairly simple game for a kart racer, certainly, but the drifting mechanic adds plenty of depth to the game.
What I think I emphasize more than you, though, is just how fast this game is in the highest difficulty! I know Mario Kart games also increase in speed as you go to the harder cups, but Diddy Kong Racing didn't do that, I'm pretty sure. In this game the speed increase is present and dramatic; the final parts of the game are very, very fast, and very tough.
Indeed, and I don't entirely make this connection in my review either (you probably get closer than I do due to mentioning the game more), but in the final cup I think this game is almost more a modern R.C. Pro-Am game than it is a kart racer. I mean, it's a very fast and challenging memorization-heavy racing game about drifting around corners. It's also a kart racer, but ultimately I'm not sure if the focus is actually on the kart racing as much as it is the 'RC Pro-Am but in 3d' driving elements. When you say "everything you need is here, and nothing more" to describe the gameplay, I think you pretty significantly understate the challenge and skill required in the top difficulty; the high speed and drifting mechanic combine to make this a good racing game which certainly requires skill to beat. You do later say that the game is hard though, so this is confusing... is it hard, or isn't it? I don't understand why you care so much about drift boosts but the mechanics are a good match for the challenge.
Regardless, I get why the game was considered disappointing at the time, and it isn't as great as Diddy Kong Racing certainly, but still it's a pretty good game which I definitely like. I'd certainly take it over CTR any day, but I've never understood why people (mostly Sony fans) overrate that game so much... but anyway that's another issue.
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