4PGP - Review
When this game first popped up on my radar, I watched the reveal trailer and was left wondering what the game was trying to do. It gave me a similar feeling to a Kickstarter trailer, where they try to look like more is going on than there is. By the time I finished playing the game, I realised that trailer was pretty much spot on, as 4PGP is a game that offers dumb fun, but not much else.
While this is a racing game, there is no story mode like so many others have tried to put in them over the years. There is a career mode, so you can progress through the cups, but that is it. Sadly, calling it a career mode is a little generous, as all you do is select your cup and then race. There is not even any unlocking the next cup by completing the one before it, which is appealing in its own way, but not really a career. The best way to think of the single-player mode is just that, a way for a solo player to race against the computer on three pre-selected tracks. Beyond that mode the game also offers a single race option and a time trial mode, giving you a few ways to play the game. There is also multiplayer for those who want to test their skills against their mates. When you are playing solo the game has four difficulty options to choose from, Rookie, Novice, Veteran and Expert and each ramps up the challenge, but there is a problem there.
The problem is that the racing is just not fun. No matter the mode, the game has a few issues that jump in the way of having a fun time and the most annoying one is that you don’t need to use your brakes. This is noy hyperbole, on my first lap of my first ever race, I was being cautious and braking as you would expect to, but everyone else just flew around the corner and then on my second lap, I did not brake and had no issues. When I tried using my brakes I was passed quite easily by the CPU. The problem is that when I did not use my brakes and just took every turn as fast as I could, I still could not catch up to anyone in the lead. I did spend a lot of time doing laps in the Australia circuit, trying to get my perfect line going, but when I got into a race, I just never managed to take first place. The game has the opposite of the rubber-banding that older Mario Kart games are known for.
What makes all this annoying is that the game has a good sense of speed, when the speedo read 300km, you feel like you are doing it. Even when you do a split screen race, you can feel that sense of speed, but the there is a catch to it, it is always there. The moment you begin to race, it takes barely a few seconds before the sense of speed is activated. The problem is, unless you get shoved off the track by the other racers, which happens, you won’t lose that sense of speed. I appreciate it, but I just wish it was more organic in how quickly it was turned on. I mentioned before about how the racers will put you off the track and that is because they don’t have any issues in trying to cut you off. As they are F1 like cars, there are a few spaces where it is easy to get hooked on and then spun out off the track.
Speaking of tracks, there are 12 of them unlocked at the outset, with two more that you can unlock by completing the single player cups. Each track is basically the F1 circuit from that location, just with fake brands and all that sort of stuff. There is nothing wrong with any of the tracks, they are one of the strongest parts of the game, but even with a reverse mode for each, there is just not enough. The cars are mostly ok, there are a good number of them, about half of them are locked away and unlock when you clear cups on the various difficulties. Some of them have some insane stats, which really drive home, pun intended, that sense of speed but unless you are playing in time trial, you may not notice.
Something you will notice are the visuals, because without a doubt they clearly are inspired by games like Daytona USA and other arcade games of the time. There is not a lot to look at outside of the tracks, there are trees and hills, but they are purely decorative. Some tracks do have city buildings around them, but that sense of speed can sometimes make it hard to see details, but they look fine. The tracks themselves feature the usual colours, so turns will have the red and white curbing on them and even tires along the walls. The grass and gravel is not just recoloured racetrack, if you get thrown off and land in the gravel, you will come to a stop, but also see it thrown up in the air. The cars look like what you might expect, but again each sports that familiar sponsorship that is not the real brand, but is close enough at a glance.
On the sound side of things, it honestly feels like they realised at the last moment that they needed audio in the game. The same instant sense of speed applies to the cars, without much effort they hit the top of their revs and sit there, only if you brake or go off track does that go away. For some random reason, when you complete a lap, this upbeat music kicks in, lasts for about 20 seconds and then stops. There is no other music in races, outside of that.
4PGP is not a bad game by any stretch, but it is one that excels when you play the game with mates. When there are two or more of you on the track, all speeding around curves and getting in each others way, the game feels great. The problem is that from a solo player experience, there is very little to do and with challenging AI, it can be a fight to get even some of it done. If you know you will play this game with mates, then check it out, but if this is going to be a primarily solo experience, you had best wait for a sale, before you leave the pits.
The Score
6.5
Review code provided by 3goo
The Pros
Unlocking cars is a nice challenge, which could keep you going back
When you are playing with mates, the whole game takes on a new life
The Cons
There really isn’t much to do in the game, once you have done each of the courses, unless you like going in reverse
The CPU is aggressive and it makes catching up much harder than it needs to be, more so given no one uses their brakes
