Wreckreation - Review
When the creators of Burnout left Criterion, I had hoped that they would continue to create games like Burnout at whatever studio they ended up at. Their first game was a gun range shooting game, cool but not for me, their second game felt like Burnout 3, but not quite the same. Then came word about Wreckreation, a game with a massive map that players could explore, race around and tweak to their hearts content. Were the results a real paradise, or did it just smell like burnt rubber.
I will be honest here, Wreckreation is just Burnout Paradise 2, only with a different name. This is not a bad thing, but if you have played Burnout Paradise at any point since it first released in 2008, you will understand what you are getting here. This is not hyperbole, where I make some random connection about them both being racing games, no this is much deeper than that. The game has you begin events by pulling up to them, some are at lights and others in the middle of the street and you pull your accelerator and brake buttons to start. As you drive around the massive world, you will spot billboards to jump through, gates to smash and even cars to shut down as they scream past you. Even the narration voice is the same lady as the opening moments of Burnout Paradise, this is without a doubt the sequel to that game.
Except it is not, where Burnout Paradise had a fun city to explore and a few mountain roads, Wreckreation has a hole county to discover. Think of it is Burnout County and you are more on track for what you get. The world is massive, doing a single lap around the outside, took me almost 2 hours and yes, I did keep getting distracted. Even trying to just blaze from the bottom of the map straight up to the top takes time. Throughout the world are countless events to undertake, things to smash and items to collect and that latter one is something I will get to. As you race around, one of the big things is that you can mix the world to your liking. That means if you don’t like that its bright skies, bring in some rain, hate that there are almost no cars around you, increase the traffic density. The game is really open for you to tweak, letting you do as much of it as you like or as little.
This is where the live mix comes into play, once you have unlocked the option, either through the d-pad menu or by clicking in the right stick, you can jump into live mix. Once in there, you can simply drop down a ramp, or some barricades and even some sky track, again once unlocked. These remain in the world, so if you create a fun little course off road, full of jumps and such, when you race back around hours later, they are still there. With these you can create challenges for your mates, to see who can get the highest score whilst navigating your saw-like path, or you can use them to try and get something around the world. You can also create your own events, placing down a start point and then drawing any path you desire, baring a few restrictions. It is quite a simple process and unlocks a way for you to again make the world your own. As you complete some races and level up, you do unlock things, but you will often find pieces littered about the world, so you can just drive up to and through, but others will need a ramp or other assistance to reach.
Outside of races and road rage events, smashing billboards is most of what you will do. Here there are basic billboards that you just smash, some that have you going for the highest score and some that require a skill to be completed whilst going through. Those skill ones can be as simple as doing a 180 or 360 as you smash throw, some require barrel rolls or more and sometimes getting the right stunt can be a fun challenge. The good news is that your map automatically flags those billboards, along with parking lots, gas stations and gates, so if you want to go back you can. Even better it marks the ones you have completed as done, so you don’t need to spend hours doing laps of a region to see if you completed them all.
I mentioned before about using the d-pad menu to access live mix and that is another carry over from Burnout Paradise. But with this menu you can also access the radio stations, as well as customise your car and you do that in real time, no loading into a menu. It is also where you tweak the time of day, weather and traffic settings. I had no issues with the menu in Burnout Paradise, as it was mostly relegated to the online offerings, but here it is a little cumbersome. When you are racing around and you are sick of one radio station, trying to change it is hard, unless you come to a complete stop. You can do it, but trying to dodge traffic whilst using a menu, it becomes a problem and for one simple reason, the crashes.
This honestly pissed me off, when you are driving at speed, the slightest touch to a car and you wreck. Now this is not me saying that driving head on into a truck results in a wreck and it should not, no this is trading paint and you wreck. The reason why this annoys me so is twofold, the first is that traffic check was added to Burnout in the third game, and it was in all the games after that. The second reason it is a problem is that the game has issues loading in elements and it is not uncommon for cars to spawn in, giving you little time to dodge. When the day is sunny and clear, that is not an issue so much, but when it’s snowing and visibility is down to mere metres, having a car spawn in just ahead of you is dangerous.
If those were the only issues with the game, then I might not be that upset, but sadly there are more problems. The first major issue is that the game has a lot of pop in. This could be forgiven if it was a circuit-based racer, but as its open world, that is just not on. This is not just trees on the side of the road, but as I said before, cars and trucks, along with signs and other decorative aspects. The game also has issues with the cars connecting to the ground, under every car and I mean every car, there were these weird lines where the tires would hit the ground. The problem is those lines are visible through the car, no matter the angle you take, and they are always there.
What makes these visual issues annoying is that the game honestly looks great, in all the weather and of course when you are at speed. Even when the game slows down so you can see your road rage playing out in slow-motion, it looks amazing. Having issues with pop-in and other visual oddities just ruins that experience. There is also an issue with the AI, there were countless times when they would be trailing me, then out of nowhere, they would get a speed boost and fly past me. This is more Mario Kart rubber banding than proper racing, which just feels wrong here.
The sound side is good and not good, with the good being the sounds of the cars and the voice work. The not good is the music, there are a dozen radio stations, but apart from one featured artist, you are not going to see any music you know, as it was all original compositions for the game. Nothing against them personally, but hearing temu AC/DC, Latin or 50s songs gets annoying quickly and as you have to use that d-pad menu to change stations, often means you are gonna hear a lot of that radio station. I understand from a budget point of view, the developer is small and does not have a massive budget for licenced songs, but I feel this was just the wrong way to go.
Burnout Paradise 2, I mean Wreckreation is a fun game, there are a lot of things to do and that is before you bring your mates in or enter into live mix. That latter one is where the game really comes together, you can create a lot of things and being able to share with friends is a blast. The problem is the game is a visual mess at times and I can only imagine a world full of folks all editing will set things off even more. If you are looking for an open world racer that has lots to do, then Wreckreation will suit you fine, just know that there are some issues to contend with.
The Score
7.5
Review code provided by THQ Nordic
The Pros
Is basically Burnout Paradise 2, just with a new name and I am ok with that
Live Mix is without a doubt the best addition, being able to plop down a ramp to get their item at any time is amazing
The Cons
The game has a lot of visual issues, which can pop up and cause problems, especially when the weather is intense
The games music is just not for me, other folks might like it, but I would rather just listen to my own as I drive
