With Moto Racer 4, all our old memories are back from a distant past, back in 1997 when the first game in the series was launched on Playstation and PC. This sequel to the all time classic is now available, but from what we have seen so far, it's not as polished as what we expected it to be. The PC version we have tested have indeed a few framerate issues and some stuttering, which is all the more disappointing as the game is not really impressive visually. Traces of aliasing can be seen in the environment, as well as some obvious pop-in, which leaves us wonder what the console versions look like. We should have PS4 videos to share in the near future, so we'll find out soon enough. When it comes to handling, the sensations are not that bad on asphalt, but the physics engine is too lacking to make the game truly enjoyable on dirt bikes. That being said, we haven't been able to play much, nor have we progressed enough to unlock the faster bikes. As a result, do not take our first impressions for granted.
All comments (3)
Never played MR3, but read many bad things about it and never bothered to try it. Hopefully MR4 gets a few patches to polish it to a decent level, this is one type of game that doesn't need very realistic graphics, just needs to have a superb handling and be very fun to play.
I really miss the Arcade racing genre, games like Top Gear, Outrun, Daytona, Jet Moto, Ridge Racer, F-Zero, San Francisco Rush, Need for Speed (back in the day when it was actually great) and so many more were just a blast to play both alone and with friends.
Really wish more indie developers took chances with some of these seemingly forgotten genres, as much as I love indie games, it's getting harder and harder not to feel that most indie developers are only interested in developing 2D Platforms (Pixelated), Roguelike, Survival, Adventure, Horror, and - for lack of a better word - "Artsy" games nowadays.
All it takes is one superb game that becomes very successful to make the genre relevant enough again to incentivize more developers to invest in it. Wish is why I hope games like MR4, Rollcage and Playtonic Games' Yooka-Laylee are very successful.
Another successful example of indie + unrealistic physics + limited graphical quality was the first Trackmania, and it was brilliant. And by a french studio, too, by the way.