Hello Time Wasters!
With the release of the PS Vita this week, entering a local Magic: The Gathering tournament (Standard two-headed giant and came in third in case you’re wondering) and a small vacation I found it hard to find time to sit down and play any random flash games this week, but I do what I must for my fans (all of which I just lost with my arrogance, lol).
So, what free time I did have I tracked down and played Hot Rod Racing. Spawned from the old school Flash stunt bike games comes a racing version with cars! Okay I know we already talked about a game like this before, Cyclomaniacs anyone? Still, it never hurts to check out two similar games.
When it comes down to customization Hot Rod Racing has Cyclomaniacs beat hands down. With 20 different cars and the ability to customize various different features such as suspension and wheel size on the cars there is a fair bit that can be done to make a car "yours".
Also, there is the feature to swap out the Hot Rod Racings’ music for something a bit less bland. I decided to use Limp Bizkit – Rolling as my theme throughout the game (no hating on my musical taste)(No, Billy, your editor says: hating). The only real issue is that only one song can be played at a time. The only way to change the track is to go all the way back to the title screen and select a new song. It doesn’t leave much room for variety in music but at least it’s something right?
Overall Hot Rod Racing doesn’t look bad but the lack of details on some of the cars leaves one wanting for a bit more. Sure customizing helps out but the overall look of the cars remains the same. With no ability to change the color of the vehicles or to change the decals back to previous ones after that stat has been upgraded it sometimes left me not wanting to upgrade my ride for fear I won’t like the next design.
I think the real reason I can’t rate Hot Rod Racing as high as Cyclomaniacs would be because of its lack of flavor. Cyclomaniacs may have less customization but the zany antics of the riders and the sheer amounts of ridiculousness found in the game makes it strangely lovable in comparison to Hot Rod Racing.
I can’t say Hot Rod Racing is a bad ride but with other more colorful games out there it will be overshadowed. It also probably doesn’t help that I had to drag myself away from the PS Vita to do this review.
Hot Rod Racing wins 2 GiN Gems out of 5!