Developer: Ratloop Games Canada
Publisher: Ratloop Games Canada
Platform: PC, PS4
Tested on: PC
VROOM KABOOM – Review
Have you ever wanted to play a card-based game where you have to destroy the enemy base with lots of different vehicles? Well, enter the developers of Ratloop Games Canada! Last month they released their game VROOM KABOOM. They describe it themselves as a tower rush with vehicles where you have to launch your chosen vehicle in the enemy base to destroy it. Apparently, it’s a new type of game so we’ll have to see if it catches on. Ratloop Games Canada are making their debut on the gaming market with this brand new title. Is it your new favorite card-based game or will it crash and burn on the junkyard? Read and you will find out!
Story
VROOM KABOOM has a campaign mode yet there isn’t any conversation in it nor does it have an actual story. In the campaign you have to complete different levels with AIs as both teammates and opponents. They could have added a nice story where you have to destroy enemy bases for whatever purpose, given nice introductions to the different vehicles that you can you use, etc. But they didn’t do that with the result that the game is focused on the multiplayer experience, which by definition is not a bad thing.
Graphics
The game uses 3D-graphics, and that basically says it all. It looks like they didn’t go for the finishing touch while creating it. While playing the game it had a lot of lag, even with the lowest graphic setting. However, the developers took a very creative turn with the graphic settings names (fastest, fast, simple, good, beautiful and fantastic). So what about the graphics is good then you may ask. Well, the visual look of the different cars in the game is pretty great. Sure they aren’t the most detailed ones you’ll find out there but they look good and are a big advantage in the game.
Sound
The music in-game is a job done well. Every menu has its own sound, but all the tracks fit in the rock ‘n’ roll/country style of the game. What they could have done better is the commentary voice, it’s always the same things that are being said and after a while you get really annoyed with it because it is too repetitive. The in-game sound effects are present, from the sound of the cars and gathering the collectables to the explosion sounds. Everything sounds like it should.
Gameplay
VROOM KAMBOOM brings a new type of gameplay along with it, as the developers describe it themselves, it is a tower rush with vehicles. Basically it’s a card-based tower destroying/defend game with vehicles.
It’s imaginable that the description of the game sounds very vague to you so let’s dig deeper into the game and show you what the goal of the game is, etc.
In the game you start with a card deck, each card presents a vehicle you can use to attack the enemy base. When you deploy a card, the vehicle depicted on it will appear on the road and you can control it by clicking in which lane it should drive. This means you can’t actually control it like a vehicle in a race game. So while you are on the road you can change the lane where you want to drive and collect two different resources; oil and fire. These are used to deploy even more vehicles. Further more the only things you can do are use the nitro button and the special ability (fire a rocket or a gun if you have them). Your ultimate goal is to destroy the enemy’s base by crashing your vehicle into it.
While on the road there are ramps you can use to jump and collect resources mid-air or jump over the enemy cars who are on their way to destroy your base. There are also speed-up arrow strips on the ground which give you a speed boost (yes, like the ones in Mario Kart). That’s about it for the gameplay, which is a bit boring. Let’s continue with the different game modes and see if they add some flair to the game.
When playing the game you can select between single or multiplayer. In single player you can choose from three different game modes; training, campaign and quick match. The training is basically what it says, it lets you get familiar with the controls of the game. The campaign mode is a list that you have to complete. When you defeat the AI’s base you unlock a new, slightly harder one and so on. Like described in the story there isn’t a story or anything, just the same thing over and over again. Then you have quick match which is exactly like a campaign race. So nothing special in the single player menu.
Then we have the multiplayer option. Here you can select if you want to do a duel, a 2v2 race or a 3v3 race. Then it starts searching for online teammates and opponents and you do the exact same thing as in single player mode but then with real online players.
So both game modes are nothing special and even kind of disappointing. Sure they are aiming at the online community with it, but most of the players will eventually quit the game because it gets boring and there is no one to play against.
Then there are two more options in the main menu; customization and collection. In customization you can make your own card decks including vehicles you want to use in-game, you can customize your vehicles (change the color etc.) and you can switch your avatar. In collection you can see all the cards that you have collected.
Conclusion
In conclusion we can say that VROOM KABOOM is a letdown. The gameplay is really minimal with almost no control. Besides this, the graphics aren’t good or enjoyable. The game modes which should make up for this make it even worse. The lack of online players causes you to close the game and start up a game that actually does have players. To end on a good note, the music is well done and all the in-game sound-effects are there and very pleasant.
VROOM KABOOM - Review,
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