Fireburst – Review
There’s a certain sense of wonder when an indie-studio decides on creating a racer. It’s by far the most downplayed of genres when it comes to the indie scene, a community that’s often quick to pronounce its love for role playing games, old school platformers and quirky strategy games.
Kudos to exDream then, for developing Fireburst, an action-packed racer that’s obviously aiming to be a runaway hit during a good, old, gamer couchfest.
Story
Story, what story? This is a racer, you guys. Nothing to see here, move along.
Graphics
When it comes to graphics, Fireburst certainly doesn’t fail to please your eyes. Based on the Unreal Engine, the game works miracles in bringing its courses and models to life, offering carefully designed cars and assets instead of obnoxious ones, like most low-budget racer and action games do.
Sound
Fireburst’s soundtrack fits the game to a fault. Load punk and metal tracks accompany the action. They don’t necessarily complement the gameplay, which is presented in a more carefree way, but it does fit the game’s art and its surrounding vibe.
I’ll provide a handy link to anyone curious about the soundtrack; there are some decent songs among it.
Gameplay
Fireburst’s main attraction is its focus on nitrous boosts as your main tool in winning a race. Only, not in the way you might think. Sure, boosting will increase your speed, but use it too often and your car will be turned into countless tiny bits of smoldering scrap metal.
Instead you’re boosting long enough for your car to transform into a speeding ball of fire that destroys anything in its way. Yes, that does mean hitting your opponents at 200 mph will result in a loud and satisfying bang.
It’s a clever mechanic, that’s obviously designed so to improve bouts of old-fashioned, split-screen competitions. Preferably with some chilled bears, some nachos and a delicious pizza.
Regretfully, preparing your friend’s car for car-heaven, doesn’t do much to hide Fireburst’s many faults.
Most importantly, the game fails to offer a proper racing experience. Controlling your car works well enough as long as you’re going straight ahead. Take a sharp turn, though, and dare to hit even a millimeter of a corner and it’s time to take to the skies, make a sudden 180° or get stuck between the scenery.
More often than not, you’re left staring blankly at the screen, wondering what caused your car -that can withstand a fire of several hundred degrees- to behave in the strange ways it does.
There’s also a distinct lack of single player content, another sign of the game’s intent on becoming a party-hit. It’s not as much the lack of a large number of tracks -because what’s there most certainly shows plenty of creativity- as it is the lack of proper challenges for solo play.
Add to that an online lobby that’s been collecting dust, and there’s little left to actually do.
Conclusion
Clunky physics and cars that lead their own lives, Fireburst has many things going against it.
A shame, because underneath it all is a great idea, that could have meant tons of multiplayer-mayhem. Great level design also shows us we can expect great things from the men and women at exDream. As it stands, though, you and your friends will have to hit the bottle to be able to laugh off another defeat caused by wobbly design.
Fireburst - Review,
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