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| | Genre: Action | | | Min OS X: 10.6 |
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Requirements: Mac OS X: 10.6.6Review: by Andrew Lennox
Unfortunately, when it comes to racers on the Mac there isn’t a massive selection from which to choose. Other platforms, such as the PS3, Xbox 360 and even iOS devices, have a much wider range of choices. This has made it very hard for a developer to see a reason to develop a game for the Mac platform, but due to the recent resurgence in Mac gaming more titles have been making an appearance. One such title is Decane's recently released kart racing title, Hard Rock Racing.Hard Rock Racing is a cute yet explosive kart game which draws you in for the ride of your life. While waiting to start in your first race, it may seem a bit amateurish in terms of graphics and uniqueness, however this little game can hold its own with the competition out there. The game itself is set in an unnamed city in the middle of nowhere. This city contains the usual downtown, hospital, business and grassland districts. Even with all these areas the graphics quality is lacking greatly in comparison to other games in this genre. Even at the highest detail setting I could see more rectangles then polygons. Some games on the iOS platform look much more attractive. But, it could be seen that they deliberately used this lower graphics style in order to replicate the aged look of the vehicles being driven. You control a car which has two devices attached to it. A mine launcher as well as a rocket launcher. With these two destructive weapons teamed together you see a massive amount of carnage on the battlefield... I mean race track. The weapons were more than adequate for the majority of races, but when compared to games like Mario Kart the weapon choice seems very basic. More of these power-ups / weapons would be a great addition for a future update. The cars seem to replicate a “remote control” model car that we usually see in the discount bin at a “Toys R’ Us”. The massive wheels, soft suspension, and the “over-the-top shinny-ness” reminds me of those old toy cars which I would thrash and trash until they worked no more. This choice of style makes us begin to see the point of the game. While other racing games obsess over performance and reality, Hard Rock Racing goes back to the roots of this genre - just having a damn good time. Blasting around corners with cars, signs and fire blazing everywhere you turn, it can get quite difficult when the massacre gets out of hand, but luckily it's worth doing. Each explosion, air trick and crash acts as a reward. This reward comes in the form of cash to spend on unlocking new levels and customising your car in the setup. As a side note, the car setup function is a little pointless to me, a “car-noob”. I’m more of a person who lets the game decide what the best set up for my car / gun / person is, rather then little ol’ me. During setup you can drive your car and fiddle with the options live rather then go in and out of an option sequence. It’s nice that the game provides this function for those who like to optimise there car specifically to their liking.
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