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Super R.C. Pro-Am (Game Boy) review"Radio-controlled cars are fun little gadgets, you can drive them under normal cars, try performing stunts by going up a ramp and over pits, and freak out your family pet with one, among other things. So, of course, a game where you use a R.C. car in a race against others through hazardous courses sounds pretty cool, doesn't it? Unfortunately, despite cramming Super R.C. Pro-Am with a whole bunch of stuff, Rare manages to make one bland title. " |
Radio-controlled cars are fun little gadgets, you can drive them under normal cars, try performing stunts by going up a ramp and over pits, and freak out your family pet with one, among other things. So, of course, a game where you use a R.C. car in a race against others through hazardous courses sounds pretty cool, doesn't it? Unfortunately, despite cramming Super R.C. Pro-Am with a whole bunch of stuff, Rare manages to make one bland title.
It sounds like a fun game, though. As you race your R.C. car against three opponents, you'll need to try your best to get and stay in the first position while confronting all sorts of conditions. The sharp turns will do their usual job, but you'll also need to look out for puddles that slow you down and oil slicks that'll spin your car out of control and brake it if you hit a corner. In later courses, things like sand, giant cones, and narrowing of the track will get in your way. With all this stuff out there, your competition will eventually catch up to you, which is a good thing you can obtain some weapons. With missiles for the front of the car and bombs that drop out from behind it, they'll obviously come in handy during risky moments.
But SRCPA is so boring. And annoying.
Even though the speed meter says your car is moving at 70 mph, it's really moving very slowly. You're on small courses, which should result in some quick races, but since you're moving at a snail's pace, it takes twice as long. I groan every time I have to race a course with three laps. Making matters worse, the controls are sensitive. To put it more bluntly, they're crap. The only time you'll see your car drive in a straight line is when the race starts. After that... geez. Thanks to the slippery movements of your car, it'll take quite some time to get it driving straight after a turn, and by then, you'll need to make another turn.
However, that's just half the struggle of racing, the other half is all that crap you'll have to encounter on each course. I know they're meant to get in your way, but Rare took it too far. Every obstacle appears way too often, from puddles to oil slicks and cones, you name it. Which is stupid, since every track is really small, and you'll need to dodge hazards every two seconds with your slippery car. Sometimes it's not even possible to avoid them, because Rare normally places them before or after a turn, giving you a split second to react. Of course, of all the obstacles to use near corners, they pick the oil slicks, the most annoying of the bunch. Car crashes, ahoy.
You're probably thinking that the weapons will help you get through each course despite all this stuff. Sadly, even they work against you. Yeah, they're really handy when you need to catch up after a crash by blowing up your opponents. However, if you blow up your competitors "too much" (4 or 5 times), something incredibly stupid happens: they become faster. And I don't mean slightly fast, but fast fast. In one course that had an absurd amount of junk in it, I blew up two cars so much that, when they reappeared after my last attacks, they both zoomed right pass me. Literally seconds later, they were on the other side of the track. It was an unbelievable moment. Though, if you ever try Super R.C. Pro-Am, you'll never experience a moment like that. You'll be annoyed and bored out of your mind by the time the 5th track comes around and quit. Stick to real R.C. cars.
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Community review by pickhut (May 21, 2007)
The Xbox Live Arcade library has a surprising number of shoot 'em ups. Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga, Sine Mora, Raystorm HD, Trouble Witches, and so on. Instead of those, I chose to review Triggerheart Exelica. Because oh well... |
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