Xbox One fans have been treated to a lot of great independent games of late and that trend continues with Vector Unit’s Beach Buggy Racing. Originally released as a free to play game on mobile devices such as the iOS and Android, Beach Buggy Racing is a karting game that ticks all the right boxes when it comes to straight up racing fun.
Beach Buggy Racing isn’t a straight port and comes with all new graphics, better detailed environments and a new six player split screen mode. Following on from hit games like Mario Kart and Sonic Racing, Beach Buggy Racing takes off road karting to the extreme with six different game modes to experience across fifteen beautifully sculpted tracks that really make the game stand out above the rest and four different classes of car to choose from, ranging from 100HP-1000HP.
There are twenty five different Power Ups that can be picked up during each race in Beach Buggy Racing and every single one is very different from the next. The usual Oil Slick and Nitro are available as well as some really fun weapons like the Death Bat, which when deployed will hunt down the leading racer and wipe out anyone stupid enough to be in its direct path before annihilating them with sheer force then there’s Low Gravity which lowers the gravity of the track leaving all other racers floating in the air allowing players to take full advantage, my personal favourite power up however is the Chicken which when left on the track will leave the unfortunate racer who runs into it with a face full of clucking and feathers. The Power Ups in Beach Buggy Racing can be a joy to use and a pain if used against you.
As the game loads up you are taken through a quick tutorial on the basics of the game including how to use some of the games many power ups, of which there are twenty five. Once players have been put through their paces they are then sent back to the menu where the game really begins and there are plenty of modes to choose from.
Career mode consists of eight different series ranging in difficulty, the mode starts out with the Coconut Cup which is a pretty short series with only a handful of races. You begin with Rez who has a basic 100HP Buggy. Winning a race or event gives you three stars and a decent amount of coins, with these coins you can upgrade each vehicle you own.
The idea is to make your Buggy the best around and by spending those coins on upgrades your Buggy will become faster and stronger, moving up through the classes. Once you have unlocked enough stars throughout each series you will face off against one of your fellow competitors in a final race, if you beat that particular racer in a one on one event you will gain them as a driver, if you wish to switch your racer out.
Beating the individual racers also unlocks the next series as the game gets harder with more races and new events added to each series as you progress. Each event you experience adds a different dimension to the norm of racing, from Elimination, an event where the racer in last place when the timer ends is eliminated until only one racer remains and is the winner. Another great event is Follow The Leader where you must follow a single racer around a set track, the objective is to pick up the orbs or power ups that they drop, failure to keep up with the the leading buggy ends the race and you will need to restart. There are many great little events to keep the entertainment going and are a nice distraction from the usual races.
As you progress through the Career mode you will also unlock new maps, there are fifteen in total. One minute players could be bouncing off the backs of Turtles in Dino Jungle the next avoiding the lava in Death Bat Alley before knocking a Yeti flying in Blizzard Peak. Every single track has amazing detail to it, with some really cool scenery. Each track is beautifully thought out and a joy to race around.
Aside from Career Mode there is a Tournament Mode, where players must win individual competitions to progress to the next class, fans of Mario Kart will remember this mode fondly. As you progress through the classes more races get added and the pace intensifies to give the game added competition. Overall it is a fun mode and very competitive that will give gamers endless hours of fun.
Daily Challenges is a fun mode in which every twenty four hours, players get a new challenge to compete in with a coin reward for every successful completion. Every Challenge can be repeated until players make it through, daily challenges have become a common theme throughout gaming lately and add an extra feature for returning players to enjoy.
There is also the option to enter a quick race across any of the tracks you have unlocked with any driver you wish, as long as you have beaten them in Career Mode. Coins can be earned by doing this and the quick race is a nice addition if you just want to learn tracks and make a bit of cash along the way
The only sad thing about Beach Buggy Racing is lack of online multiplayer, with only local gameplay an option. I feel that with an online mode the game would have been that extra bit more fun for players to compete against other players across the world would have been a very welcome addition to what already is a very fun game. You can of course compete in local play with split screen mode allowing up to six different players to race against each other which makes for a very fun couch game with friends but I can’t help but feel that the lack of online play might hinder the game in the long run.
From the main menu players can customise the look of their Buggy or other acquired vehicles including the option to give each Buggy a paint job and different design, a wheel with three different options for colour and designs allow you to bring your vehicle to life in an assortment of different ways so if you want to look mean and bad ass you can go with the skull and bones look or racing stripes for the more race car fanatics. Customising your Buggy can add some personalisation to the game and who doesn’t like flying around in a mean machine.
Overall Beach Buggy Racing has brought all the fun from the mobile version of the hit game with it plus some amazing tracks to experience, all with fantastic detail which makes the game very fun to play. The large amount of different power ups allow you to cause utter destruction in your quest to become the ultimate Beach Buggy racer. There are a wide array of different modes to play that should suit most gamers and all the elements make for some great entertainment and at such a bargain price Beach Buggy Racing should be a must. split screen multiplayer gives the game some added fun especially on a night in with friends, the only downside is the lack of online gameplay with only leaderboards to show what could have been.
Beach Buggy Racing is full value for money.
7/10
Previously posted on PressA2Join.com 3.5