Ever performed a racing sport that focuses solely on the racing side and avoids any pointless gimmicks or micro transactions, and respects its roots to the T? I’m not positive about you however for me, Tokyo Xtreme Racer suits that invoice, a sport I’ve been enjoying incessantly over the previous few days. For individuals who are unaware, the Tokyo Excessive collection has been round for nearly three a long time and primarily focuses on night-time avenue racing on Tokyo’s Shuto Expressway. Its Japanese title actually interprets to “Metropolitan Expressway Battle”, a sign that you’ve got go to head-to-head in opposition to your rivals and defeat them by both damaging their automotive or taking a considerable lead over them.
The gameplay in Tokyo Xtreme Racer is extraordinarily straight ahead. That includes a battle system known as as “Spirit Battle”, it’s essential wipe out your opponent’s well being by luring them into making a mistake, crash into them or overtake them and prolong the lead over a sure distance. All races within the sport are 1v1 encounters that are initiated by getting behind your rivals and flashing your headlight. As famous beforehand, this gameplay mechanic is straightforward however extraordinarily addictive on the similar time.
“That includes a battle system known as as “Spirit Battle”, it’s essential wipe out your opponent’s well being by luring them into making a mistake, crash into them or overtake them and prolong the lead over a sure distance.”
Happening in a large world stretched throughout 180kms of Shuto Expressway, there are many rivals that you may face off in opposition to, every with various ranges and AI behaviors. This will consequence into races that may be accomplished inside seconds or some that would final a number of minutes ensuing right into a difficult mouse and cat like expertise. You can simply crash into obstacles or into ongoing visitors, thereby dropping the lead and the match. Actually, your competitor AI may make the identical mistake and provides away the result in you. It’s this unpredictable system that makes racing in Tokyo Xtreme Racer a blast.
At its core, Tokyo Xtreme Racer is an arcade expertise, but it surely’s backed up by some participating development mechanics. As you race and win extra duels, you can be awarded with ability factors which can be utilized to unlock automobiles, storage house, new automobile elements and even enhance assault and protection parameters of the automobile. Whereas most of those addons like unlocking elements or growing automobile stats make sense within the context of a racing sport, a few of the stuff like limiting capability to earn cash behind sure ability obstacles is absurd. If you don’t improve this ability kind, you won’t be able to earn any more cash past a sure level. You would want to repeatedly improve that ability kind in order that you don’t lose your race credit.
It’s a bizarre mechanic that is senseless in any respect, and I query and marvel in regards to the logic behind such a system. Tokyo Xtreme Racer additionally permits you to purchase new automobile elements and even alter a number of settings of your automobile. It’s not as detailed as say one thing like Gran Turismo 7, but it surely’s an choice for gamers who wish to management a few of the finer settings of the automobiles. You too can customise varied sections of the automobiles like bumpers and tyres. Desire a cool neon mild popping out from all the perimeters of your automobile? The sport has you coated. All in all, regardless of being an arcade sport, Tokyo Xtreme Racer excels in its development and customization mechanics.
“Tokyo Xtreme Racer additionally permits you to purchase new automobile elements and even alter a number of settings of your automobile.”
Tokyo Xtreme Racer additionally contains a story that’s advised by voiceless textual content strains and fundamental imagery. Nevertheless, this was one of many least fascinating elements of the expertise as the sport makes no effort in engrossing the participant in its plot. It’s so fundamental that the sport could be utterly positive with out it. Hopefully, extra shall be revealed within the last model, however I discovered its inclusion to be fairly nugatory at this level.
As famous earlier, Tokyo Xtreme Racer options 180 kilometers price of the Shuto Expressway to race upon. The map is split into ramps and every of them will be unlocked when you cross by them. The sport implements a fairly inconsistent quick journey system. When you unlock a ramp, you may solely quick journey to it by going by the storage. Nevertheless, when you’re on the observe, you can’t quick journey to any ramps of your selection. This made mission completion a tedious endeavor as every rival is situated in a unique space of the map. So, you must both drive to succeed in there (thoughts you, a few of the places are fairly distant) or give up and return to storage and quick journey to nearest ramp. Additionally, the sport’s map lacks intermediate diversions.
Assume that you’re on one aspect of the highway and wish to go on the opposing aspect. You could have two methods and each of them are tedious. You possibly can return to storage and quick journey to the closest ramp or simply journey to a diversion that can doubtless be miles away out of your present location. In a racer that’s centered on quick and fast motion, these bizarre design selections deter it from reaching its full potential. Hopefully, these obstructions shall be eliminated or redesigned within the last launch as serve to only artificially enhance the gameplay time.
In its early entry launch, Tokyo Xtreme Racer options solely a handful of soundtracks. They get the job completed and jibe properly with the motion however hopefully the checklist shall be expanded upon with future updates. Visually, the sport goes for a novel however a nostalgic artwork model that’s paying homage to the PlayStation 2 period. Not each sport needs to be a Forza or a Gran Turismo by way of graphics, Tokyo Xtreme Racer has its personal identification, its personal feel and look, and I’m glad it sticks to that. The sport can be fairly mild on PC necessities, and I used to be in a position to run at a secure 60fps with each setting maxed out at 4K decision.
As famous earlier, Tokyo Xtreme Racer’s gameplay relies on draining your opponent’s well being bar. Nevertheless, when automobiles crash into one another, there isn’t any visible harm indicator. I’m not saying they need to do advanced harm physics like those seen within the F1 video games however no less than static harm marks and destruction vfx results ought to be applied. It is a little element, however I’m positive it can make the racing much more immersive.
“In its early entry launch, Tokyo Xtreme Racer options solely a handful of soundtracks.”
Tokyo Xtreme Racer, in line with the developer, shall be in early entry for 4 months, so, hopefully, the staff will be capable to repair a few of its extra urgent points. On the time of penning this overview, I haven’t been capable of finding a roadmap for the sport, so it’s tough verify what sort of updates are coming sooner or later.
So, the present state of the early entry model of Tokyo Xtreme Racer is basically satisfying. There are a number of design points by way of map structure, quick journey and locking max foreign money restrict behind a number of ability obstacles, however there’s a lot to love right here. The 1v1 racing, the visuals and efficiency, the straightforward but addictive gameplay and its adherence to the collection’ roots is what makes Tokyo Xtreme Racer standout from the competitors.
This early entry model of the sport was reviewed on PC.
