You can tell from the time the lights go out, BlazeRush is a simple isometric racing game that never lets off the pedal and continues to build on its absolutely chaotic racing. It supports 3-7 vehicles on a track with each racer vying for the best weapons and boost power-ups. It’s simple, fun retro-style racing.
Fans of Rock n’ Roll Racing for Super Nintendo are going to feel right at home. One button for items, one for boost power-up and players use the joystick to direct a variety of sci-fi racers around the track. Ever play Mario Kart? Then you’ll understand how items work in BlazeRush. Each stage has a theme, but each stage’s identity doesn’t affect the racing. It mainly provides variety in the visuals department.
Starting with the single-player mode, players will learn how each racer handles, how projectiles should be used in the heat of a race and when to properly use boosts. The learning curve is not steep at all and inviting friends to sit down or join a race online is never intimidating.
To break BlazeRush down to it’s core concepts; it’s basically a kart racer with a few items. But, it’s damn fun even when playing alone thanks to the car handling. Each car handles a tad bit different, however laying your fingers on thumbstick and tailing around corners feels great. It’s responsive and accurate and players will feel in control while trying to line up a takeover or a launch a machine gun barrage on leading vehicles.
Racing game modes revolve around the simple first across the checkered line wins, there are time trials and king of the hill; basically stay in first the longest to receive points. The most fun that can be had in BlazeRush is the elimination game-type. Players drive as fast as they can in order to escape a devouring goliath steam roller. Points are awarded at the end of each round based on how long you survive. Rounds will continue until someone reaches the max allocated points to win. This mode is a blast and builds the suspense and tense rivalries better than any of the other modes within BlazeRush. It’s also possible to take these game modes online as well. Four-player local races are the most fun, though.
Unfortunately, the art looks as if it needed more time. Menus look like stand-in assets and even the tracks could use a facelift from the bland gray roadways. The animations and lighting are pleasant to see at in motion. An explosion from a homing missile casts dramatic shadows as a the exploding vehicle is launched off track.
Even with the basic art and track design, when everything is in motion and the chaos is in full swing, technical gripes like the art and car models fades to the background. The smoke effects and stylized plasma bursts look stunning. The animations in combination with the car physics move smoothly making the frantic action all that more impressive to observe. In addition, player’s frantic maneuvers on the course can sometimes translate to amusing achievements as well as leaderboard rankings.
It’s a great multiplayer game and a fun as hell racer even if you are playing solo. It’s stupid fun to say the least and it has Oculus Rift support too. I don’t know why, but judging by Steam reviews people are having fun with this game as a VR experience.
Pick this game up. It’s well worth the price.
BlazeRush is also available on Playstation 3.
4 out of 5
