Remote Racers from Qubic Games is a 3d arcade-style racing game for download on the DSi shop.
There are 3 game modes. The first mode is a "grand prix" mode, sort of. That is to say, the main objective is to get first place in 1 of 4 different races (which are also available for play in the other two modes). These are not 4 back to back races, though. You must race them separately. You can achieve bronze, silver, or gold status depending on how fast you finished (and assuming you got 1st place). Of course, the better you do, the more things you unlock. More on unlockables later.
The second mode is a simple race vs. an assortment of computer opponents (sadly, no multiplayer for this game) in which the objective is to... get first place. Here, your time is not a factor as there are no titles (bronze, gold, etc) to achieve. Here, you win and receive points for coming in first. These points are part of the unlocking system, it should be noted.
The third mode is a time trial mode, having you go for the fastest lap time. When you get a new record, more points for you!
The game is a typical kart racer in that there are weapons to utilize to gain the upper hand. Only 3, so variety isn't in the cards in terms of strategy. You gain these power ups by hitting green gems placed throughout the tracks. Some later unlockable vehicles come with weapons built into them, which makes them unfair in many instances, especially when you are hit by a missile AND a bomb at the beginning of the race. As in the very beginning. Not good for my best lap records, lol.
Now to the unlockables. At first, you start with only 2 vehicles, a racecar and a monster truck. As you tackle the time trials, prix mode, and vs modes you rack up points for unlocking the 6 other vehicles on offer, as well as the 15 stages on offer. Not bad for $5, right? Each vehicle handles pretty differently, and as I previously said some of them have sneaky tricks that give them a slight advantage. The stages get crazier and more complex as they are unlocked as well.
The graphics are pretty solid, at times they can get boring, as the color scheme seems a tad dull. I had a slight tiff with boundary issues, sometimes my kart would hit a hill, and instead of climbing up it, it would send me into polygon darkness, where the entire screen became black (except for the exhaust from my vehicle) and I was basically stuck in limbo until pressing L and R to right myself on track. It happened more than once.
The music is so-so, the quality of it is decent but the actual music is typical and forgettable. The lay-out is nice, and it struck me as interesting that you can't even use the touch screen to select the levels. this is all button presses, baby.
For 500 points, you could do a lot worse than Remote Racers. I found myself really wanting to get that best time, so I could unlock whichever course/vehicle looked cool to me. A few nigglings aside, I recommend this as a valiant effort in downloadable gaming, especially in the much neglected racing/kart genre. 3.8/5
Thu May 30, 2013 2:01 pm by Nintendo Furniture
Calendar
Subject: Remote Racers for DSiWare 
