Developer: Varkian Empire
Publisher: Varkian Empire, Deck13
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Obliteracers – Review
Mario Kart is one of those titles that is worthily deemed ‘the destroyer of friendships’ due to the mayhem and last minute misfortunes a player can experience, often by the hands of his very own friends. Perhaps a new competitor has arrived to fight for the same title, namely Obliteracers, which is able to pit 16 players against one another locally, making sure you’ll be able to duke it out with your friends properly when the time comes. Explosions, mayhem, carnage, destruction and crazy characters, it seems things can’t go wrong for a game such as this. Invite lots of friends, enemies, neighbors or total strangers for all we care, and go nuts.
Story
Seeing the game is all about vehicular combat in a multiplayer setting, it was to be expected there was no story value to be found. While this game is still thrilling without any storyline, perhaps it would have been nice to give a bit of extra content seeing you are stuck playing one character in the career mode. Due to this it would have been quite amusing to add a bit of background for said character.
Graphics
Obliteracers is presented in a rather comical and flashy style, making the game very appealing to a big range of racing enthusiasts. While the character models all have a cute look, some models have been slightly overused as most vehicles are copy pasted four times with a different paintjob, while the game already ‘only’ counts sixteen characters. Same can be said about the characters, which are often variations of each other, only presenting you with a handful of actual different models, but in the end it all crumbles down to a very colorful plethora of bright levels, explosions and a heap of vehicles all striving to be the last man standing.
Sound
Right off the bat you’ll be treated to a very happy-go-lucky soundtrack that makes you rather cheerful the moment you start up the game. Nonetheless, mere moments later in the midst of battle the music will immediately drop to the background as you’ll find yourself in the midst of explosions, crashes, gunfire, electric pulses and so on, which perfectly suit the game. There is not that much more this game needs when it comes to catchy tunes and proper SFX that help you set the proper mood.
Gameplay
Obliteracers is all about vehicular combat with a healthy dose of actual racing on the side. Those who played TNT Racers will immediately know what this game is about as it follows the same formula, namely PVP with adorable looking cars in different game modes.
Even though the game presents you with a few different game modes, they all boil down to the same thing, namely whack your opponents and score the most points. Some modes offer a bit of variation. Take for example the mode where every kill counts, rather than getting points for being the last man standing. There is also a mode where you’ll get more points if you’re driving in the lead and people behind you die, among other fun modes. That being said, you’ll find that the overall content might be on the low side, but the replay value is off the charts for this one.
The different weapons and the controls prove to be just as straightforward as the actual gameplay and thus you’ll get the hang of it rather quickly. As the game has a unique mechanic which allows local multiplayer up to 16 different players, things get rather interesting when you have people over. Seeing your computer will only support a specific amount of controllers, it’s very amusing when your company can simply use their smartphones, tablets or laptops to join in on the frenzy. While the laptop is the easiest way of controlling your vehicle if ignoring the controller, the smartphone and tablet options pull their own weight, albeit with a clear disadvantage compared to the other two options. Perhaps a bit of extra tweaking on these modes could balance the scales a tad more in favor of those two.
A sixteen player game where no one can leave the screen, or they are destroyed instantly, will make a lot of people frown as it seems undoable or simply too chaotic. Nonetheless, the developers did a great job in keeping things rather distinct, albeit after the player has spent a bit of time on the game playing a few races. Wiggling your control stick (or touchscreen equivalent) right before a round starts will indicate where you are, making sure you can get a proper start without running of the course without actually knowing where you were. The bright color palettes of the different characters tend to help a lot as well, even if there are only a few different character models and vehicles to choose from.
Conclusion
Olbiteracers is a great in-between title or simply a fun multiplayer title be it offline or online. Even though you’ll have to prove yourself worthy in the midst of a chaotic battlefield, things prove to be straightforward and simple to start dealing punches in mere moments. Most of all this game is the funniest when you have a bunch of friends over, who can join in on the parade with their smartphones, tablets or laptops, with the latter being the best option. Buckle up and hopefully you’ll be able to survive the coming mayhem.
Obliteracers - Review,
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Looks like Mashed,
Feels like Mashed
Plays like Mashed
Oh I do love this game like I love Mashed on the PS2!