Fast on the Track, Furious at the Flaws
I am, it has to be said, a fan of the Fast & Furious film franchise. They are completely ridiculous, don’t get me wrong, especially as it seems like anyone losing a race will suddenly find an extra gear that they forgot about. But as a harmless bit of escapist nonsense they work well.
And speaking of escapist nonsense, there was apparently an arcade game made of the series that had, until now, completely escaped my notice.
Well, this gap in my knowledge has now been filled in by the launch of Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition, courtesy of Cradle Games and GameMill Entertainment. So, is there room for yet another arcade style racing game on the Xbox, or is the genre full to bursting already? Can a dose of Fast & Furious bring something new, or are we better off sticking to the established franchises? Let’s start our engines and find out…
Story-Less Speed
Of course, rarely do racing games come with a story, and in that regard Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition is exactly the same as the rest of the games. What we are presented with is a series of standalone races. each with an objective, but nothing in the way of an overarching narrative. It’s all simple to understand stuff.
Obviously, the next thing on my list is the presentation of the game, and here the news is okay. A racing game in this genre has to look good, move fast and be visually spectacular, and luckily Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition does deliver on this front. The game’s locations are a widely spread bunch, from Havana to Abu Dhabi, and while every location looks equally shiny and clean (none of your gritty realism here, thank you very much), there are numerous paths through each track, with shortcuts opening up that can shave vital seconds off your time.
The action on display is, fittingly enough, fast and furious, with a plethora of effects and chaos being unleashed during each race. At times it does all get a bit overwhelming, and it is sometimes tough to see where the track goes, but it is certainly never boring. The different tracks and locations all have a unique look and feel, and while there isn’t a massive amount of them to go at, they do vary from race to race.
Droning Engines and ‘Max Power’ Music
Sound is less pleasing, to be absolutely honest. First off, the music: it’s awful, with a real “Max Power” vibe to it, and the volume, as a default, is set just short of earbleeding. Further, the engine sounds of the cars are all identical, a dull, boring drone, which given the supposed range of vehicles is a bit odd. You know how in Forza Horizon 5, you can tell how many cylinders an engine has by its sound? Yeah, not so much here. All in all, this Arcade Edition is not bad in terms of presentation, but it could certainly be better.
Gameplay Quirks
So what about the gameplay? Well, the news here is not too bad, again. Nothing earth breakingly new is on offer, surprisingly, but there is a bit of a twist to the races, as each one has a goal at the end. This could be the derailing of a train, or the prevention of a plane taking off – we have to race to the finish, then leap off a ramp to complete the objective.
However, the way the races play out is a bit odd, as they are all circuit races of two laps. The reason I say it is odd is that in the laps themselves, there are a series of destructible environments to blast through (you know, slightly Split/Second style), such as a timber built mansion, but by the time we get around to the same point in the next lap, the damage has all been repaired! I need a company of builders like that in my day to day job…
The Illusion of Choice
The cars available all seem to have different strengths and weaknesses, but the sad fact is that it doesn’t matter which one you choose: they all perform exactly the same. Even picking the fastest car (a Ford GT, in case you are wondering) we are still left in the dust by, of all things, a massive SUV. In fact, during your early moments with Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition, you may struggle to actually win a race, as there is always one car that is so far in the lead that they are impossible to catch. Even performing all the stunts available, building up boosts, rarely helps drag out a win.
And the controls for the stunts are a bit weird, actioned by pulling on the right trigger, traditionally used to accelerate. A single tap of the RT puts the car into a drift, as an example, and this will help get round the corners. A double tap of the trigger gives a wheelie, and so on and so forth.
Take in laps and you’ll discover hazards and pick-ups to keep an eye out for. The power-ups come in two flavours, either a nitrous boost that rapidly increases our speed, or one that makes the car electrified briefly: crashing into another car while this is active will spin them out quite efficiently. You can crash into the other cars in order to try to get ahead, but this is a risky manoeuvre.
A Race That’s Too Dull to Finish
The big problem is that racing, while seemingly breathtaking and urgent, is actually a little dull in Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition. You never have to brake, colliding with the walls or the other scenery doesn’t slow you down much, and usually by the halfway stage of the race you are so far behind the leader that you have no chance of winning. Although winning does come with its rewards, as there are new versions of each car tied to winning. These Furious versions of the vehicles promise even more performance, but getting to them is a grind, and not a good one I’m afraid.
All in all, there are much better arcade racers out there, and Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition barely makes a ripple in the pond.
Important Links
Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition Detailed and Dated for Xbox, PlayStation, Switch – https://www.thexboxhub.com/fast-furious-arcade-edition-detailed-and-dated-for-xbox-playstation-switch-pc/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/fast-furious-arcade-edition/9PJPZD074M5T
