The good news is it's not a Mario Kart clone. Unfortunately, that's also the bad news.The sign outlaying the control scheme says that the Kirby games have been traditionally simple. That's all well and good, but applying this tactic to a racing game doesn't work out very well.
The game has four Kirbys on Kirby-themed tracks. These tracks have booster arrows, grind rails, etc., as well as the traditional Kirby enemies to steal powers from. The different warp stars used to race around the track (Kirby's vehicle of choice) include a basic warp star, one that flys though the air better, one that boosts better, etc. This sounds like a great idea so far, but there's one problem.
You see, the control scheme is simple. A bit too simple for its own good. You're (supposedly) always moving forward, you steer your warpstar with the stick, and you brake with any button. That's it. The racing mechanic is also a bit strange, wherein as you brake, you also charge up a boost meter, and the higher it gets when you let go, the greater a boost you recieve. You also use the brake button to inhale on-track enemies and steal their powers, using the button again to attack more enemies or other racers.
This becomes a big problem on the tracks where there are severe elevation changes, because you'll stall out if you're hit with something. The only way to peak the hill is to hold the brake to boost, but you'll quickly lose control and slide back down the hill. Multiple sharp turns are annoying too, because you'll brake to take the first one, then boost into the wall in front of you as the turns are close together. It's really frustrating.
The multiplayer is the same as the single player game, except for an additional deathmatch type mode where you'll still need to brake-boost to get around, which is just not very fun to do.
Topic: IMPRESSIONS: Kirby Air Ride (Read 1886 times)
