I love a bit of powersliding around a corner. You don’t really see enough of that in games these days. There was a time, back before this website existed (and I expected before some of you were born) where you couldn’t see a single cover-based shooter through the dense forest of arcade racers. They sprouted thicker and faster than a TV-dad’s afternoon shadow, and then they just disappeared. Kazunori Yamauchi Thanos-snapped his fingers and most of them were wiped out of existence. I was sad.
So, it gives me great pleasure to report that Hot Wheels Unleashed, from Milestone, a game developer known these days for sim racers but who originally cut its teeth on a string of tremendous arcade racers, nails the powerslide. Getting it right in Hot Wheels Unleashed, watching your chosen mini car skid perpendicular to the corner’s apex before straightening out like it’s being driven by Jason Bourne, is a thing of real beauty. It is, on its own, reason enough to give Unleashed a try.
Top marks to Milestone for nailing this most wonderful racing game mechanic, then. But what of the rest of the experience? In truth, I’m somewhat torn over the direction the dev chose to go in, even though it makes perfect sense given the license it’s working with.
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