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Drive! Drive! Drive! (PS4) Status: Stopped playing - Got Bored I started playing this game on Wednesday 29 August, 2018 // I stopped playing this game on: Wednesday 5 September, 2018
Current opinion of this game
No comment, yet.
September 5, 2018 11:49:51 AM
Played a bit more. At this point I've clear the first 3 or 4 "worlds" each of which has a bunch of tracks with different modes of races. While some are more interesting/fun than others, overall the game doesn't get significantly better or more interesting. I've also unlocked a bunch of vehicles but to be honest, they kind of feel the same. I think this is because the tracks are so narrow and limited that you never really get a chance to see how different cars handle AND your opponents are also the same vehicle as you, so there is no way to differentiate there (e.g. ooh, my acceleration is really good now but my top speed is worse). The narrow tracks are probably the biggest reason for a driving experience that feels quite flat? The tracks definitely look nice and clear and it seems so obvious to me that they're aping Wipeout. Like trying really hard...which makes the key mechanic distinction (switching between cars) so important...though it still feels underdeveloped. With experience I've gotten better at reading and understanding the interface (e.g. knowing when another track/race is going poorly so I can switch over) and not all the alternate tracks are the same (some are longer!) but it still feels a lot like you're just jumping into another race to try to do the best without all that much thought or strategy. As a final note, there is a track builder and some community tracks you can play. This is a neat addition and I played a few (I wonder how many are designed as a way for players to farm achievements? Like drifting for a really long distance...) but with the core gameplay not being engaging enough for me, I'm not sure I'll bother with finished the campaign.
August 29, 2018 06:28:09 PM
I played this for about 30 minutes last night and while I'm intrigued I'm still mostly confused. This is a driving game with very simple track design and lots of floaty collisions (with other cards) and a simple drift/boost mechanic. You get to drive one lap and you have to do really well in that lap. The "hook" is that there are multiple tracks you're racing on at the same time (and you can switch between them at any time). An AI takes over your car when you're not directly in control and thus your goal is to place as well as possible in all the tracks at the same time. I played the first track a few times (after the tutorial) and I eventually placed first in both tracks but... I don't really understand how that happened other than I played one car until it finished then switched over to the other and was able to (luckily?) move up 8 places to win... it felt kind of random? I'm not sure why/when to choose to switch tracks. I tried "I'll race until I'm first and then switch" but when I switched back the car was last...which felt like a waste (was the AI really poor, did I do something else wrong?) Also, the physics are pretty floaty on collisions and I've had moments when the car is flipped backwards in ways that "feel" unfair...so, I'm kind of miffed by that. I'll definitely play more, mostly because I assume that some of my confusion will clear up when the races get harder and/or the tracks are more complicated.

Drive! Drive! Drive! (PS4)