PDA

View Full Version : Mini review.


linfosoma
07-21-2009, 10:05 PM
After playing for a while (please note that I havenīt finished the game) I think I have a good impression about what the game is about I thought it may be good to share what I think to other people possibly interested in the game.

1-Graphics:
They are good, they kind of remind me to Flatout 2 which is certainly not bad and the game runs just as nice.
It has some nice visual effects and good use of physics.

The user interface is pretty good, itīs easy on the eye and it has many options which are easy to find. It also changes itīs layout depending if you are using a gamepad or a keyboard.
The GPS is very good, it is usefull, simple and non intrusive (something many recent games failed at).

2-Sound:
Sound in general is OK, the music wonīt blow your mind but thatīs what winamp is there for. At least itīs not annoying.

3-Gameplay:
Controls are pretty good (Im playing with a XBox pad), cars are obviously extremely arcade-ish but they are fun to drive.
You can roam freely through the city, enter events or you can try to find unlocks by beating the other drivers that you find roaming around as well.
Events range from destruction derby, fetch quests, standard races and so on.

4-General desing analisis:
Thereīs been a clear amount of effort in trying to make a somewhat believable world, despite the ratter silly history which is the following:

You play as a person who has survived a catastrophe of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), while everyone else in the city has been transformed into a bloodthirsty zombie. You return to the abandoned city, looking for a way to change the zombies back into humans. The only way to survive is to move on fast armored vehicles.

You are presented with small story bits by a diary (meaning that all the story is text based). These diary entries are actually very fun and interesting to read.
The localization (translation) is surprisingly good considering that this is a Russian game.


Youīll find out about how your character feels, with sometimes interestings remarks. Youīll also find creative explanations to most of the stuff going on.
One example is the explanation to standard races, it seems that people are using the traffic cameras to film races and sell them on the web. There, you got an explanation about why are people making races in the game and you also get to know where the price money comes from, was that so hard FUEL?

This may sound silly but I think these little details add a lot to the inmerssion of a game, even if it is nothing else than an updated version of Carmageddon.

Powerups are actually anomalies that look and work exactly like in Stalker. Actually, thereīs a lot of Stalker influenses around, the art style certainly reminds me to that (a bit more Urban though).

It also appears that the cars you find roaming around are part of a cult that worships the end of the world or something, Im not that far in the plot but it seems they are there for a reason.

Finally, the visual presentation while it may not be impressive has lots of cool details.
Cities have strange constructions which seem to have been created after the catastrophe to aid racers raids.
Your car gets filled with blood as you run over zombies turning the color of your headlights into red, things like that.

5-Overall:
So far, Im enjoying the game. It wonīt change your life, it has simple graphics that makes it look like a 2004 game (it is only 750 MB after all), the setting is ratter silly and I doubt most people will get distracted with the little details as much as I do.

Most important, it doesnīt have multiplayer? WHY??
It would be so cool in this game.

Just for that reason alone, if you are interested in the game I would recommend you to wait until itīs aroun $20, which seems a very fair price for what you are getting.

I donīt regret my purchase, but without multiplayer I canīt really say itīs a must buy either.

Hope this helps, I may update this review as I continue to play the game.

*Disclaimer*
Please note that these are my opinions alone, I am not a journalist, just a consumer. Thank you.

DJ_Professor_K
07-22-2009, 03:57 AM
Thanks for the mini-review, really well structured.

Too bad it doesnt have MP tough :/ might wait for the $20 tag.

brotrrwinner
07-22-2009, 04:58 AM
Sounds good enough but the lack of MP kills it

acetken
07-22-2009, 08:34 PM
I was leaning towards the $20 wait anyway, but this review is much appreciated!

antiver
07-23-2009, 07:52 AM
Thanks for your opinion. I think yours is the first published review on the web :)

{Yotsuba}
07-23-2009, 08:02 AM
Yeah, think I'll be waiting till it's 50% cheaper.

Bad_Dan
07-23-2009, 08:06 AM
The fact that theres no multiplayer degrades this game to the "10 bucks waitinglist".
But a very nice review, thanks for that.

linfosoma
07-23-2009, 08:25 AM
No problem, glad you liked the review. Im almost done with the main missions.
It's not that long but the story is GOOD, very good, I was really surprised by some of the badass twist in the plot. There are a lot of side missions and unlockables to find too so that may keep be bussy a little longer.

I still think that this is a $20 game though.

Raz101
07-23-2009, 08:53 PM
Thanks for the review.

Bad_Dan
07-26-2009, 03:54 PM
I still think that this is a $20 game though.

20$ ok, but not for 20€.
And actually, they want 25€ on steam.
So like said before, it has to wait for a reduced price. Maybe some weekenddeal, that would be nice.

LOC
08-02-2009, 06:14 AM
I just got done playing Clutch a few minutes ago. I didn't think I'd even remotely like the game, let alone love it as much as I apparently do. It's just a fun little game. It's like Carmageddon mixed with Flatout (kinda sorta) with great graphics (actually very nice graphics, and the game is smooooth as butter maxed out) and pretty good sound (very nice music soundtrack actually).

This game is by GFI Russia I believe, so that would explain the Engrish in the game and some of the really odd sentences and paragraphs of text. But it's still a very addictive little racer/whatever you want to call it and I think very underrated. Hopefully this game gets more exposure now that it's on Steam. And like most people, I would have totally LOVED a multiplayer mode for the game.

Maybe in a patch? Or hell, a sequel :)

Tides
08-03-2009, 02:52 PM
I looked at the game and thought to myself I would like to play it, but without MP and the 30 dollar price tag I passed it up. Maybe I'll grab it on a weekend sale 50 percent off and if that doesn't happen I guess I will never play it.

ElfShotTheFood
12-06-2009, 10:00 PM
Thanks for the write-up. Info on this one is kind of hard to find; nice to know that it's a good game. The lack of multiplayer is a bit disappointing, but it's not a deal-breaker for me.

PopeRatzo
08-17-2010, 12:08 PM
It's August 2010 and Clutch is 9.99.

I'm in for a copy. I pray every day for a Burnout Paradise 2, but I guess for now this will have to do.

WILL SOMEONE PLEASE MAKE BURNOUT PARADISE 2? Or at least release Big Surf Island for PC?

Koraboros
09-19-2010, 07:43 PM
The game seems very short. Mission selector screen shows 3 episodes.

I'm on episode 3 and only 3 hours into the game.