Beetle Adventure Racing Review

Beetle Adventure Racing

It's seems to be an unwritten law that every console system must have more racing titles than all the other genres combined. Now, this wouldn't be a bad thing if they were great games, but the majority of these are poorly designed, mediocre titles.

In a genre this over-populated it's seems an almost
impossible task to create a title that stands out from
the rest. However, Paradigm Entertainment has created a game
that not only stands out from the rest, but in my opinion
sets a standard which all future racing titles should
aspire to surpass.

The oddly titled Beetle Adventure Racing stars none other than the new Volkswagen Beetle. The game's only drawback is the fact that you can only drive the new beetle. Given the game's Need for Speed heritage it would've been nice to see a few different vehicles. However, that said there are a number of variations of the standard beetle that can be earned. Modifications include low suspension and spoilers. There are also hidden beetles, like the prized Police beetle waiting to be found in the game.

As disappointing as that may sound, once you start playing
the game you won't care that there's not another make of car in sight. The games plethora of features and addictive gameplay will keep you coming back again and again.

The game revolves around six absolutely huge tracks(each lap takes about 3 minutes to complete!). The tracks are littered with shortcuts most of which are amazingly well hidden. For instance, on one track you have to make a jump over a broken bridge, but this time you miss the
jump, only to go crashing through a cave wall into a previously unseen part of the track. And it's in this exploring and thrill of discovery where the game truly shines.

The graphics in the game are incredible. There's minor pop-up, but the framerate is consistent throughtout. From the well-detailed car models to the breath-taking environments, you'll be hard-pressed to find anything bad to say about the graphics.

The sound effects in the game are top-notch. All the tyre
screetches, collisions and background noises fit in perfectly with the game and help add to the atmosphere. However, My one complaint in the sound department is that the music seems out of place and mostly doesn't match the track you're racing on.

If the wealth of gameplay to be found in the single-player mode is not enough to convince you to shell out your hard-earned cash for this masterpiece, then the 4-player mode will.

Four players can take part in a Beetle Battle, in which the
object of the game is to collect six differently coloured 'bug' icons to open an exit and escape the level. The catch is that only the player who posseses all the icons can leave the stage, so the players have to prevent each other from collecting all six icons by any means possible.

To do this, players are provided with various power-ups including rockets, invulnerability and a fog that blocks the other players view.

As if the amazing number of shortcuts wasn't enough to pump up the replay value, there are boxes scattered throughout the tracks, which once all are collected open up new beetle battle arenas.

With excellent single and multiplayer modes, a ton of replay
value and the cute little beetle as the game's main star, there should be no reason why you don't own a copy of this game.

Gavin Frankle