Reviewed by playing a on January 6, 2016.In an age where F-Zero and Wipeout aren't around much, it's promising to see a new futuristic racer. Considering Fast Racing Neo has some big shoes to fill, just how does it hold up to these classic racing series? The feeling you get from whipping around corners is nothing short of thrillingThe makers of the enjoyable twin-stick shooter have branched out into racing games.

If you've ever played the previously mentioned futuristic racers then you already know what to expect. You control a hovercraft by steering, boosting, and holding the shoulder buttons to lean into turns. Also, an interesting new mechanic is the ability to switch between a blue and orange aura in order to take advantage of coloured patches. If your colour matches then you get a boost but a non-matching colour will result in your vehicle drastically slowing down. The controls are implemented intuitively and gameplay feels incredibly tight and responsive.

THE Formula One on-board camera delivers a frightening experience, conveying a dizzying sense of speed to the viewer as the cars barrel down straights and glide through corners. But it resembles a. FAST Racing NEO shines when racing against a large number of opponents, but this feeling fades when faced with a 1v1 race. On the other hand, local multiplayer supports up to four racers and can be.

This is great news seeing how the difficulty can get brutally challenging. Overall, Fast Racing Neo's gameplay makes it an absolute blast to play.One area where Shin'en Multimedia always excels is presentation. Fast Racing Neo boasts visuals that are up there with the best looking PlayStation 4 and Xbox One games.

The tracks are detailed and animated with such features as monstrous creatures getting in your way and falling rock hazards. What makes it go the extra mile are the mind-blowing blur and weather effects that give an overwhelming sense of speed. In my decades of gaming, I don't think I ever played a game that made me feel like I'm going this fast. To add a layer of adrenaline, an exhilarating electronic music soundtrack will definitely get your blood pumping. In the end, its impressive presentation blends perfectly with the satisfying gameplay to craft one must-download futuristic racing game. Split-screen racing reminds me of the good old daysFast Racing Neo's single player portion consists of a Championship mode with four cups that can be played on three different difficulty settings.

Each cup is broken up into four races making a total of 16 tracks. The fact that there are 16 tracks and each one is unique enough to set itself apart from the rest is just awesome. Quantum gateway router review. You can challenge these tracks separately in Time Attack mode, too.

If you ever manage to reach Hypersonic difficulty then you'll unlock Hero mode where your boost gauge becomes a health meter. When it comes to multiplayer, you can enjoy local split-screen matches or take the race online. It's incredibly easy to set up and jump in to either of these multiplayer modes. However, you can't play with a mix of local and online players (like you can in Mario Kart 8) which is a missed opportunity.

That being said, there's enough content here that this exclusion is easy to forgive.Although Fast Racing Neo is one radical racer, it does have a couple of issues. I don't have a problem with difficult games but when the challenge comes off as unfair at times, I can't help but get frustrated.

This occurs when your vehicle crashes which happens much more often than you'd think. Most of the time, crashing is undeniably your fault but sometimes it just doesn't make any sense. Once, I flew off a ramp and was soaring above the track. I lined up my vehicle to land safely yet for some reason it flashed in mid-air and I respawned well before the ramp. What the heck happened? Did I fly too close to the sun?

Most racing games allow you to return to where you crashed or even a bit further down the track yet Fast Racing Neo tends to put you way back. You get some boost replenished but you can't use it often because you'll quickly crash again. Finally, the tracks require too much memorization in order to master. Knowing where every obstacle, tricky turn, and shortcut is becomes mandatory. Because of this, your raw skills are only part of the equation. Yes, it sure is fast!

Thanks, sign.Fast Racing Neo is one incredible must-download game for anyone looking for a thrilling futuristic racer. It does have its shortcomings but the pure racing joy at breakneck speeds more than makes up for any of them. Maciejewski (crazyaejay): Thanks for reading my review of Fast Racing Neo. Feel free to ask any questions about the game or provide feedback and I'll gladly reply.ultraviolet (ultravio1et): good review.

Really want to play this, just don't have a Wii U, but, the developers last game made it on to PS4 so i'm sure this will as wellA.J. Maciejewski (crazyaejay): I was thinking that, too. I hope we see it on PS4 within a year or two. It'll probably be called 'Fast Racing Neo-X'. Let's just hope it's not 'Really Fast Racing Neo'.ultraviolet (ultravio1et): well that never happened did it!:-)A.J. Maciejewski (crazyaejay): Haha, I guess not!:D We did get a cool Switch version, though, with an equally stupid name - Fast RMX.ultraviolet (ultravio1et): yeah i think the games great. Although i've not played enough of it really, plus the menus are very limited in what you can actually do in the game.

It has been 12 years since F-Zero Climax, and so, when Shin’en Multimedia announced that they would be tinkering away at their own futuristic racer, heads rightly turned. That Nintendo would allow their series to whimper over the finish line with a Japan-only Game Boy Advance release has mystified to this day, with Shigeru Miyamoto sharing early last year that they would need to “ ” before they would be satisfied for it to make a return.But, enough about F-Zero. May be an undeniably opportunistic move on Shin’en’s part, but care has evidently been taken to craft it with an identity away from the void that it aims to fill.That sees the German developer draw on lessons learned with WiiWare’s FAST Racing League, but, empowered by the technological advances that the shift to Wii U brought, carry the experience far beyond expectation. Their largest success comes in Neo’s exhilarating sense of hypersonic speed, players thundering around an eclectic assortment of 16 tracks that see you blazing a trail of glory through wintery climbs, down breathtaking canyons, and in the midst of peltering meteor showers.Several game modes will diversify the time that players will spend in the driver’s seat, with Championship namely being the route that most take in familiarising themselves with vehicles and tracks alike. Here, tiered leagues will see you progress from novice difficulty right through to more nail-biting extremities, in which Cobalt, Xenon, Titanium and Neon Cups each present four tracks for you to tackle against CPU drivers. These are consecutively unlocked by ranking in either first, second or third in the previous cup, and also see successful players rewarded with a steady stream of new vehicles to take for a spin.Away from comparing top speed, acceleration and weight, victory in any race is more thanks in part to coloured boost strips and jump pads that are placed along their treacherous paths. At the touch of a button, players can switch their vehicle between emitting an orange or blue glow in response – a correct match granting an immediate speed boost, or seeing your vehicle soar out of harm’s way.

It’s all part of the thrill, that extra gear shift sending the experience into an overdrive of unrivalled glee.Where ‘s execution is more up for debate is in handling, which requires some adjustment. While the controls are simple to grasp in themselves, players can only swerve their way around corners by leaning left or right. This shunting can help you nudge your vehicle in line with pads when on the straight and narrow, but doesn’t feel entirely sufficient enough to be gracefully weaving your way around each track. Practice makes perfect,Beyond the already challenging Championship mode, players can try to beat Shin’en’s fastest laps in Time Attack. Whereas Hero Mode offers an elimination game type that largely replicates F-Zero’s manic wares, in which boost energy acts as a life meter and once your ship explodes you’re out of the race. It’s hair-raising stuff, introducing a whole other level of tension to the game as you battle it out to cross the line first.That naturally lends itself well to multiplayer, which can be enjoyed either locally with up to four players or in the online arena where you will race against eight opponents. Those can be found either by searching through ‘Everyone’ playing or for any ‘Friends’ that you have spotted online.

When widening the net over the weekend, I was often only pitted against two or three players and the remaining slots aren’t populated with CPU opponents. With my competition having far more honed skills, I was left trailing at the back with no way to catch up – aside from wishing that they accidentally span off the course.‘s futuristic soundscape entrances and the graphical fidelity is sublime, but under the hood it’s clear that this isn’t the perfectly tuned engine that many hoped it would be. But, there’s an unbridled thrill in the arcade roots that it looks to emulate, and that accomplishment is more than enough to celebrate.