rheaton's Full Review: Rumble Racing for PlayStation 2
Ok, say for a moment you took the insanity of SSX, mixed it with the good natured competitiveness of Mario cart and then added a strange breed of Twisted Metal meets NASCAR. What would you have? EA Sports Rumble Racing!
It might sound like a receipe for distaster but what comes out is really some incredibly fun "racing" action.
While you start with a fairly good sized number of cars and three tracks to race on. The cup modes allow you to unlock cars, tracks, and additional cup challenges. Not enough? Ok. Eah track as an easter egg hidden somewhere on it. No Really an EASTER EGG. It's all painted up, just waiting to be found. And it's often in the LAST place you'd ever SEE, much less think about. Nearly every one that I've found ( less than half ) have so far been revealed one of two ways. Either I got blown up and saw it as I spun crazily out of control ( and then had to remember where it was on the next lap). Or by methodicaly searching after beating a track. This is NOT simple. Some tracks have as many as SEVEN hidden shortcuts and often the Egg is hidden on one of these, tucked into a corner that you'd never see. Unless you went around the course BACKWARDS and some of them you can only SEE that way. You still can't get to them. But each egg is good for a new car, so it's worth the effort.
The Cup challenges are well done. Three races, point leader gets the Gold. You get 10 points for first, 8 for second, you can earn points as low as 6th place. But face it, If you aren't in the top 2 ( maybe a rare third ) youmight as well hit the restart. You aren't going to win the Gold Cup. Unfortunately Bronze and Silver cups are worthless. Get the gold and unlock everything for the Challenge, Car, Next CUP, and new Track. I think they could have given you one item for each cup. Win bronze get a track, Silver get a car, Gold go on to the next Cup. But, it does add to the challenge.
The Cups themselves are well set up. You move from Rookie, to Pro to Eltie to Stunt challenges. They get progressively harder too. Rookie you can rip through in an evening. In Pro mode it gets MUCH tougher. You'll have to re-do a few challenges. Eltie mode is for true psychos. You have to be the best. One mistake and you can forget it. Even a minor slip and your in fifth place so fast you'll think you stoped for a burger or something.
There are four challenges in each level. There is a Rookie Cup, Cup2, Cup3, EA Rookie Cup, and the same for Pro and Elite. Once you move from Rookie to Pro, the PRO cars open. These are basicly tweaked versions of the same cars in rookie mode with a few extra stripes to set them apart. The same happens once you complete PRO mode and open Elite mode. You get the next level of cars. This works, but it would have been nice to have an Gran Turismo like option where you can buy parts to upgrade your car as you go and set it up to suit your driving style and then open new parts with PRO and Eltie mode. But as I said, the generic upgrade works OK.
Stunt Mode is where everything goes right out the window. Actually stunt mode is important in EVERY race. You can grab big AIR in Rumble Racing and while you're up there you might as well pull off a couple of filps and spins. Doing so gets you two things. Trick points ala SSX and an instant speedboost. This can ba a bit maddening. If you land funny, and aren't ready for it, the speed boost can send you smashing into a wall or into an obstacle. Maybe they should have taken another page form SSX and let you decide when to use your earned boost. On the up sode of this is that the bigger the trick, the bigger the boost, and they compound. Do three killer tricks off three successive jumps while still boosting from the first trick, and your boost can get uncontrollable real fast. Also, the bigger the trick, the longer it lasts. Tricks win races. Even in Rookie mode.
There are also the standard "cart" racing power ups. Bombs, landslides, tornados, bad gas, oil slicks, ramming shields, invincibility. It's all here. But in a really nice twist, they are all timed. In other words, use it or lose it. Fast. Every item has a set time limit the it will be available for once you pick it up. This keeps your buddy from saving that killer blast until you are about to cross the finish line. If you don't use a power-up in a few seconds, you lose it. Of course, you can hold and USE two powerups at a time. A great combo is the speed boost and the tracktion power ups. Get them both going and everyone gets out of the way. Becareful using the power-ups though. They can work against you. There is a "Joker" or wild power up that you never know what it will be until you use it. And often times it works in reverse. Grab a joker and it turns into a powerboost. Use it and it might boost all your oponents, but not you. Or get a joker "bad gas" boost and when you use it it might give YOU bad gas. Use at your own risk, or better let time run out on it. In the Pro and Elite series, it's too risky to use.
Two player mode.
This is my only complaint. While you can race either with or against the person next to you on the sofa ( team mode is kinda neat), you can only race with one other person. This game BEGS for a 4 player mode. Especially in team mode. 4 Players equals Two teams. I'll let your twisted little minds think up all the evil that you could do with that!
Graphically this is a great treat. I've yet to see any pop up or draw in. And while much of the graphics tend towards the SSX brand of over the top cartoony circus look. Many of the "natural" settings look great! Plus, there is plenty to look at both around you and above you. More than once you will wreck simply because someone went flying over your head from a shortcut you can't see. It's pretty wild.
While the sound effects were great ( and there is even an honest DOLBY mode! Woo hoo! ) they weren't stellar. What was awesome is the commentator. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. This guy will rip you at every oportunity. What's even better is there are only two that I have heard that could even be considered mildly offensive to parents. Of course, you can also ( in another stroke of genius ) turn the frequency of his comments to one of four levels including off. SO if you do get tired of his chatter you can tone him down a bit.
In short, I rented this game on a whim. I bought it before my rental was over. It's fun and very easy to pick up and learn. Now, If Rumble Racing Two comes with a 4 player mode, LOOK OUT!
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