If, like me, you had been involved that you simply hadn’t performed the first Tremendous Woden GP, put your thoughts relaxed, as Tremendous Woden GP II is a very standalone sport. And, susceptible to slight spoilers, a reasonably gratifying one too!
Sure, Tremendous Woden GP II is a racing sport from Vijuda and Eastasiasoft, promising to take us again to the early days of racing video games of the early ’90s, the place playability and enjoyable had been extra necessary than the newest whizz bang graphics.
However in a world the place Forza Motorsport exists, is there room for a bit racing sport to set the world on fireplace? Effectively, possibly gently smouldering could be a greater analogy…
In Tremendous Woden GP II you might be given a sequence of races to compete in. You’re additionally given a automotive and have to strive your greatest to be able to come out the opposite facet as a winner. Motivation is just about all there’s to Tremendous Woden GP II.
That’s wonderful, however this sport commits the cardinal sin of a racing expertise, at the very least in my ebook. You see, these behind it haven’t paid for any licences to make use of actual automotive names, however have then gone proper forward to create a reasonably detailed mannequin of the actual automobiles. As an example, my Soop Avenger MkIII is a Ford Capri, there aren’t any two methods about it, and there are blatant copies of the Subaru Impreza, Toyota Supra JGTC (proper right down to the distinctive purple, inexperienced and white livery) and the record goes on. Even the title display reveals a automotive that’s clearly a racing McLaren F1, within the well-known Gulf livery, however this isn’t acknowledged wherever within the sport.
Apart from this, Tremendous Woden GP II appears okay. It’s an isometric racer, the place the automobiles race diagonally round small circuits and all of it appears nice. It strikes at a really quick tempo too, and by no means have I seen a suspicion of slowdown. The smoke from the tyres as you drift round corners, the sparks as you hit different automobiles, the varied completely different landscapes as you race about – from a moist speedway monitor in America (I assume) to a dusty rally in Kenya – all work nicely, as do the climate results equivalent to rain and snow.
After all, the precise racing is simply half the story, as there’s a big quantity to do away from the racetrack, and an intuitive map interface lets you entry all of the bits you’ll need. It reminds of the map display from Gran Turismo 2, which is not any dangerous factor. All of the automotive sellers are there, together with icons for the opposite issues you are able to do – starting from arcade racing by to the Music Room, the place you may, imagine it or not, hearken to the music on supply.
Talking of the music, that is all in step with the fashion of the sport and matches the temper completely, however sadly the engine noises are flat and one dimensional – all variations on the “bee in a tin can” sound that we had been so used to again within the day. A bit extra variation would have been good. Nonetheless, all in all, the builders have made an honest fist of the best way this sport is introduced.
Now, on to the gameplay, and there are a number of completely different elements to it that come collectively to kind the sport. Beginning with the only mode, Arcade, we’re taken off to a very separate interface for this part, and it’s traditional Arcade gameplay. It’s right here the place we discover a rally stage that we have to full in a sure time, and if we don’t, we lose a credit score and have to begin the part once more. Lose all three credit and we’ve got to begin the entire thing over once more, so the problem is there!
The rally phases additionally make an look in the principle space of Tremendous Woden GP II, beneath the heading “Go Race”, which does what it says on the tin. You possibly can select from common races, the aforementioned Rally occasions, Endurance occasions and even Time Trials if you wish to be taught the tracks – and that is beneficial. The juxtaposition between racing diagonally and nonetheless steering round corners feels awkward at first, however it quickly turns into second nature, and the controls all work rather well.
After all, you wouldn’t count on Tremendous Woden GP II to present you entry to all the pieces straight out of the field, would you? Effectively, you’d be proper and as we race, we earn stars; various quantities of that are wanted to entry new occasions. And as these new occasions have limitations on not solely the kind of automotive that you should use, but additionally the ability of the automotive, there’s a good tuning little bit of the sport to go at – even together with the “oil change” and “wash automotive” options that I’ve seen in a sure PS2 racing traditional…
Tuning a automotive clearly helps with the races, however it is advisable to win races to get the credit to purchase the components, so a cycle is ready up. And I for one am right here for it. It doesn’t depend as grinding if you’re having enjoyable, proper?
So, all in all, Tremendous Woden GP II is an efficient racer that harks again to the glory days of arcade racing. The problem within the later phases is intense, whereas the chasing of credit and stars to get new occasions is agreeable in and of itself. Personally, I hate that actual automotive names aren’t within the sport, however that doesn’t actually have an effect on the motion on supply.
