Although it doesn’t look like there’s going to be a Mario Kart 9 any time soon, the Switch is starting to grow its own roster of licensed karting games in a way not seen since the GameCube days. Just last month we got Team Sonic Racing, for example, and even though the likes of Nickelodeon Kart Racers and Hello Kitty Kruisers are rubbish they still count (at least for the purposes of this elaborate intro).
Now it’s time for Activision to enter the fray. Having already seen enormous success with its remakes of the original Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, the publisher hopes lighting will strike twice with this all-improved take on 20-year-old PlayStation karting game Crash Team Racing. Thankfully, for the most part it’s succeeded, but that’s not to say the game is entirely without its flaws.
It obviously goes without saying that the most notable selling point of Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is how fantastic it looks. Although its characters and tracks are mainly based on those from the 1999 title, this isn’t a straight HD upgrade where the resolution’s been increased and the textures have been tweaked a little. Instead, everything has been entirely rebuilt from scratch, meaning courses are now packed with little details and character animations are bursting with personality.
Everything runs at a solid 30 frames per second, which may disappoint some given that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe runs at 60. That said, the original CTR also ran at 30 and it was the love for that game that has us looking at this remake two decades later, so anyone claiming they adored the original but that 30fps on Switch – and every other version, incidentally – is a deal-breaker is maybe being a tad disingenuous. The reality is that the frame rate is at least stable, which is far more important, and everything looks phenomenal to the extent that you could easily argue it’s one of the most visually impressive Switch games to date (docked, at least: it’s a little blurry in handheld mode).
It would be underselling Nitro-Fueled to call it a simple graphical update of the original, though. There’s far more in here than was in the PlayStation game, to the extent that you could argue it’s more of a combination of both Crash Team Racing and its sequel Crash Nitro Kart. As well as all 15 characters and 18 tracks from the original game, you also get all the unique racers and courses from Nitro Kart, bringing the total count to 26 characters and 31 tracks.
The extra tracks don’t carry over to the game’s Adventure mode, however, which is essentially a straight port of that of the original game and as such only features its 18 courses. If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s more Diddy Kong Racing than Mario Kart: placed in an open environment with different linked areas, you drive from course to course winning races and taking on various challenges in order to earn enough collectibles to proceed.
These challenges are a bit of a mixed bag. Relic races – which are essentially elaborate time trials where you have to smash time crates as you race to keep the clock frozen – are compelling stuff and will have you racing them multiple times as you try to figure out your best route. On the other hand, the CTR races – which have you trying to finish in first place while also collecting the C, T and R tokens hidden in obscure locations – can be a little frustrating.
This is partly because for many people, at least initially, the simple act of finishing first will be a tricky task in itself without having to worry about picking up collectibles too. Much like the PlayStation game it was based on, Nitro-Fueled is unapologetic about its level of difficulty. While playing on Easy is naturally a laid-back affair that probably won’t provide much of a challenge, the step up to Normal difficulty is large enough that regular first-place finishes are nowhere near guaranteed.
A lot of this comes down to mastering the game’s turbo drifting system, which has far more of a learning curve than most other karting games. Rather than simply holding down a drift button, you also have to tap a second drift button up to three times to activate your boosts: the better you time these taps, the better the boost. Add to this the fact that you enter drifts with an old-school Mario Kart hop – which requires a lot more skill to get the turn angle right – and it’s going to take you a long time before you’re comfortably pulling off boosts without thinking about it.
This isn’t necessarily a problem, of course. It’s accurate to the original, and had it been made easier then there would no doubt be backlash. As it is, the handling may be hard to get used to and the AI may be cheaper than AmazonBasics USB cables but the Easy difficulty is a perfectly fine compromise for both beginners and younger players who may be getting into Crash and his chums for the first time.
Far more of an issue are the loading times, which are frankly infuriating. Practically every race takes 40-45 seconds to load, which can be especially annoying if you’re playing through a four-race Grand Prix and therefore have a combined total of around three minutes to wait. There’s no doubting the visual quality of this game, but if the payoff is that you even have to wait for more than half a minute just to see the trophy celebration screen, you may start to wonder if you’d have taken a slightly less graphically impressive game in favour of shorter loading times. On the bright side, at least restarting a race only takes a second or two.
Our other main concern is the Wumpa Coins, which are the game’s currency. Wumpa Coins are used to unlock a bunch of skins, kart customisation options and – most importantly – 10 of the game’s 26 characters. You earn Wumpa Coins by taking part in both online and single-player matches, but here’s the annoying thing: not only can they be an enormous grind, you can only get them when you’re connected to the servers.
This isn’t necessarily a problem in the other console versions of the game, but given that the Switch is designed to also be played on the move, this means there’s a good chance that – if you can’t find a decent Wi-Fi connection when you’re out and about – you’ll be making zero progress towards unlocking those new characters or customisation options. We recently took a four-hour train ride, during which we nearly completed the Adventure Mode, and had amassed the princely sum of zero coins by the time we reached our destination.
This alone is frustrating but it has the potential to soon be concerning too. Activision has planned a bunch of timed ‘Grand Prix’ events, where a number of new DLC characters and customisation pieces are going to be added and available for a period of time (similar to something like the season system in Fortnite). Players will be able to get some of these new DLC items by taking on set challenges, whereas others will be available by spending Wumpa Coins. We can easily see a situation where those who play mainly in handheld will be missing out on a lot of this ‘free’ content (though, of course, the cynics in us wonder if it’ll become paid content in the future for those who couldn’t unlock everything in time).
All of the above may read more negatively than positive but that’s mainly because we feel its drawbacks are worth pointing out. If you consider all of these – the higher than normal difficulty, the long loading times, the inability to unlock things offline – take them onboard and decide that they’re all things that you can live with, everything else is an absolute delight. There’s so much to play through in this game and whether you’re a fan of the original or discovering it for the first time, it’s likely you’re going to be hooked: it’s just a shame there are the odd sigh-inducing moments in there.
Conclusion
Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled is a visually phenomenal upgrade on a PlayStation karting classic, and one that faithfully recreates both its positives (its unique drift boosting system) and its potential irritants (30fps, tricky AI). It does bring a whole new set of issues – mainly lengthy loading times and the fact that playing offline stops you making any progress towards unlocking anything – but while these prevent the game from becoming an absolute must-have, they don’t sour the experience enough to stop us wholeheartedly recommending it regardless.
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Comments 112
Man, this game takes me back. So glad people are enjoying it again. The 30 fps is sad though. I've become an fps snob over the years.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I don't need another kart racer. I want a decent arcade racer.
It's hard to call the AI tricky when power-sliding and turbo boosting are the key to winning. When you get the hang of the technique, most of the Story Mode is a breeze (on Easy/Medium difficulty.)
Looks great, but I only need one Kart racer per console.
@geox30 I don't know of any decent arcade racers on Switch, but Horizon Chase Turbo is a fantastic one.
I'll fire the original up on my Vita tonight and see how it handles. This looks like a decent one to pick up down the line some time.
I love kart racings!!! I absolutely loved CTR back in the day and I will love this one too!
This doesnt read as a 8, more as a 7.
Why dont you mention that the AI doesnt reduce speed when you hit them?
Items that dont work probaly, curves that are almost impossible to make.
In the sonic review they bashed it for not being 60fps and here its not a problem?
Hmm odd review.
I enjoy the game but its not even close to Mk, Sonic is better also its hard yes but its fair here not so much, and I dont want to hear again the original whas harder blablabla bull i like hard games so long they are fair
You have to be always online to make any progression? Now that is a major no go from me.
Glad me ole mucker scullion was on review duties here. Had the game since Friday and agree with everything here. The loading times didn’t seem that bad to me but perhaps I play games with similar issues?? I was on physical cart version maybe it’s quicker? Not sure. Maybe I’m just not paying attention.
The Wumpa coins is ridiculous and the live events will be a grind.
But it’s a great game. It isn’t a MK beater no matter what anyone says and plenty are Saying it.... but it is a Corking solo player with plenty to do and see....
Easily a 8 in my book
@Tethutendo that’s slightly misleading you still unlock characters, skins, carts and stickers even offline you don’t earn bonus Wumpa coins that can be used In the shop for extra items. Which is annoying especially as the reward system is already tight. But you will still unlock all the campaign rewards even off line
@geox30 agree. The switch badly needs other types of racers. EA missed a trick not putting burnout paradise on the switch as there is a dearth of good racers on here.
@Krambo42
It sure is! Played it to death, why there are not more? The demand is there, the platform is perfect for the genre, but everyone seems to want to develop metroidvanias..
@geox30 OK good! Glad you didn't miss that one. Yeah, I'd be totally down for more. Hopefully someday...
So are some of the issues fixed (or not present) if I get the Xbox or PC version?
@Kalmaro how does one become a fps snob from Nintendo gaming?
Perfect review, I feel the exact same (did I just call myself perfect?) A solid title, but these load times are ridiculous for something released in 2019 (where was QA?)
It is a great game. But you kinda have to get used to it. Unlike with Mario Kart or Diddy Kong Racing, it takes a while until you understand the controls of the game.
The only big issues I really have with this game (on PS4) are the overpriced items and characters in the Pit Stop and the weird difficulty levels. Easy is super easy an no challenge, medium is very hard and hard is near impossible to beat.
But those could easily be patched by Activision.
Other than that it is a very solid fun racer and a great alternative to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
This is a fantastic game and I’m confused why so many are turning it down for 30fps and online only rewards. Wifi is not a difficult thing to find these days and despite the 30fps lock this game looks, feels, and plays great on the switch. Limiting yourself from this great karting experience for those reasons seems very silly to me. The power slide mechanic is complex and takes a lot of patience and practice to get right but once you do I would say its even slightly more rewarding than perfecting mario kart 8’s techniques.
All this being said, the wumpa coin rewards for online are very inconsistent and discouraging for newcomers. From what I can understand you get awarded coins depending on how many people finish with you in the 30 second time cut-off starting when the first place winner crosses the finish line. This means if I have a really sizeable lead in first I can be awarded a huge amount of coins but my competitors won’t even get to finish the race. This also means that if I’m in a really close race and many players finish right after me I can get awarded little to no coins even if I do get first place. This needs to be reworked and patched for sure, but with the frequency we’ve been receiving updates since launch I have no doubt they will find us a solution soon..
fingers crossed
I only bought it for the adventure mode (I'd rather just play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe if I'm going to play online as it's better in almost every way). It's been a bit of fun but it's definitely showing it's age and there are a few issues keeping me from enjoying it to its fullest. It's about a 5/10 for me (not good or bad, just okay) but it'd be a bit higher if they at least took the time to add a control scheme optimised for the Switch (ZL/ZR as the main shoulder buttons please).
That’s a very good review. Well written and informative.
The two main issues-loading times and not being able to progress unless Online-are deal breakers for me at the minute. I’ll wait until it’s patched or is available cheaply.
@BenAV
You can actually switch the control scheme in the settings.
@Sahnec I've been using the alternate control scheme. It's better than the default but still far from ideal.
@Kalmaro
60fps certainly helps in racing games. Especially if you’re used to Mario Kart (or Nintendo games in general). Wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me though. Forza Horizon 2 and 3 are still great games at 30 even if 4 feels a big improvement at 60.
I don't get the 60fps thing, my main issue with framerate is smooth, so no jarring drops and I'm happy. Maybe its the anime fan in me, as it often presents at sub 15fps, but, how it looks and if it plays smoothly that's the important part.
I think I'd find 60fps regularly shifting down to 50fps much worse then something that was always unchanged at 30fps. It's fluctuations I find hard.
Though, is this as good as Mario kart is the only thing I want to know? And, as a Mario Kart fan, and owner, are the gameplay differences enough to warrant a purchase?
@sixrings Quite a few games on Nintendo consoles run at 60fps. I think they even pulled it off on the 3ds with Smash.
@electrolite77 Forza games are glorious but I can't steer to save my life! Too used to mario kart I guess.
@Kalmaro well nintendo fans have a healthy habit of praising nintendo games when they are 60fps and making it out like they are the only company that tries to hit that mark. Then at the same time making excuses and saying games like botw, links awakening are "good enough" the way they are and those that complain are graphic snobs which are haters or trolls. Glad to meet a nintendo fan which is consistent.
@Wavey84 barren? You're kidding, right?
This game will have more luck on other consoles. On Switch we already have the best Kart racer. The others are just imitations and can't match the balance and gameplay of MK8.
PS4/PC/Xbox gamers buy Sonic racing and this CTR because they don't have MK8, why should we?
I bought it yesterday: Mario kart is 748 times better than this clone game
Let's be honest. This game is not an 8 on the Switch, it's much lower. On other platforms, yes, but certainly not on Switch with all those glaring issues. I refuse to play on Switch until a patch comes out that fixes the awful loading amongst other issues. Don't know what NL was smoking to hand out an 8.
@sixrings fps is always more important to me. graphics I can kinda ignore. It's all about smothnesw, in my opinion.
I had the PS1 before the N64. Played a lot of CTR. Glad it is back, however, I will be waiting for a lower price. Just too many other games I would rather purchase.
8/10 - I think that's the perfect score. It has some flaws, but a wealth of content/tracks. All made to a very high standard. I can easily see that I will get 20+ hours out if this. When you combine the fact it's released at a budget price it's well worth getting, and a worthy alternative to Mario Kart.
I'm thoroughly enjoying it, thank you Activision!!!
@Tethutendo I feel the same way. Progress in a game such as this should never be tied to the online.
@Kalmaro well my preference is 1080p 60fps. If that means lowering the graphic details somehow to make that work. I'm ok with it. This 900p 30fps gaming is nonsense. At bestbuy canada they sell 31 1080p tvs and 301 4k tvs. Yet constantly I'm working with less than 1080p on Nintendo platforms.
Really want to get this, but I'm drowning in games at the moment.
@geox30 The remastered Virtua Racing's out this week, I'm going for that.
@sixrings
Are you arguing with the voices in your head?
@Kalmaro
Try a few different cars. When I went from Horizon 2 to 3 I was completely lost but it turned out I just didn’t get on with the first few cars. Very confusing at first though, I’d put hundreds of hours into 2 and then it was just like I’d forgotten what to do 😀
@Milton_Burle
Me as well, although something modern would be nice.
@Wavey84 I think this game is every bit as visually striking as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, perhaps even more so in many ways. It really feels like a current-gen racing game, whereas MK8 DX (which is still very pretty, don't get me wrong) is starting to show its age a little as a higher-resolution port of a game on the technologically inferior Wii U. CTR is far from bland or barren, and it may be the best-looking Switch title I've seen yet, in my opinion. I was worried about the 30 fps thing, but I honestly don't even notice it. I think this is much more jarring in MK8 DX when playing with four players, since 30fps is not what the game otherwise runs at. Since CTR always runs at 30, I never experienced that moment of "this just doesn't feel right" that I experienced with 8 Deluxe when it gets cut in half.
Wow, you can't even get wumpa coins when you're offline? Good going, Activision. -_-
@electrolite77 Maybe that's it, I always felt like I was going way too fast to turn properly, so I'd have to break constantly to get anywhere
@Kalmaro
Noting snobbish about wanting smooth performance and minimal image doubling caused by low frame rates.
I’m not buying this because it’s 30fps. It hurts my eyes!
@mist @sixrings Yeah, for me fps > resolution every time.
I don't need photo realistic graphics at 40 billion k. I just want something smooth and responsive.
@geox30 Yeah with Mario Kart 8 D being as great as it is I really don't need more kart racers than that on my Switch. I don't understand the need to have a bunch of these games, none of them are better than Mario Kart and the genre can get old pretty quickly.
My friend brought it over; it’s okay but the track design has a lot of problems: unfair, unseen dead ends or hazards among them. I also hate about 90% of the character designs (I always did: the visual design of Crash and friends is not good for the most part, Coco and Dr. are outliers). The track visuals themselves are wonderfully whimsical, except when marred by statues of said ugly-ass characters. Also the loading is inexcusable in this day and age, but it is impressive how fast you can reload a track.
Don’t forget Sega Ages Virtua Racing also comes out this week. I’ve been looking forward to that one for awhile.
@Antraxx777
Virtual Racing is really good fun. M2 have done a great job.
I completely agree about the cheap AI since this is a 2019 game and better balancing could have been done to streamline the experience. The 30fps performance, however, isn’t an issue - at least on the “big” platforms like XBox One. It’s a solid thirty frames per second experience and not a cheap optimization that keeps dropping 5 to 10 frames below that mark.
In the end, I think this is a worthy remake, even though I’d probably stick with the original if I had to pick one. It’s good to see the kart racing subgenre coming back to the scene.
I wish Sega ages had wireless play. I'd take that over 8 player single screen.
@Galenmereth the others may not even be aware as those consoles are usually always connected, it's a stupid decision to require an online connection for single player progress like that and certainly one that hurts the Switch far more.
Not a game that I'm sold on, the original was decent but 30fps for a racing games these days and a cartoon kart game at that is just a no go for me. If games like GT Sport and Forza Horizon (on X) can achieve a locked 60fps then there is no excuse for this and the 5 year old Mario Kart 8 makes it more of an embarrassment
This game is leagues more fun than MK. I've never understood why people wrote this off as a clone. I love MK8 but the control, feel, and aesthetics have always been much better in this game
People saying how racing games are unplayable for them at 30fps and here I am, playing Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed on my laptop at 20fps and enjoying the heck out of it. I know that not everyone is the same in this regard so I respect that.
This game was (and still is) a blast on the PS1/PSP. I love Mario Kart more than any other racer, don't get me wrong, but I like expanding my games horizons and trying different games of the same genre, so this one is a must for me. The long loading times aren't a problem for me, I usually use that time on other games to do other things, like the 20-20-20 rule or get some water to drink.
Thanks for the review, I'll be buying this one someday for sure.
So far only Fast RMX and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe remains at 60fps and those were Wii U ports for Switch. I can understand Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled being 30fps on Switch but it's also 30fps even on PS4 Pro and Xbox One X? Why? So those extra power wasn't utilize? I think laziness is the best description for this game.
Nice. I recently played through the N Sane trilogy and had a blast. I'm definitely getting this one.
I never played the original game. But pressing the
drift button up to three times to activate a boost and get the times right is very annoying and the two choices of button layout is poor. This makes the medium mode very frustrating to play, unless you have the time and patience to keep practicing,
The easy mode is like the easy mode in Mario Kart, but with a lot more to do.
If the issues can be patched, this game is an easy 8 or even 9, but as it is 8 is pushing it. That said if you really want a challenge it might be here.
@zool Yeah I have this game on the PS4 and I 100% agree with you about your complaints. The controls respond well enough but they only give you two button configuration to use and they both feel very awkward to use. The drift boost mechanics are interesting but at the same time it isn't nearly as good as the drift boost mechanics in Mario Kart 8, in Mario Kart it feels like a natural part of cornering while in Team Crash it feels like an awkward timing based mechanic that you need to master in order to succeed at anything above easy.
When I first played the game I started it on medium but I realized how the game was very off-putting at that difficulty as someone who has never played the game before. It's like if you play medium they expect you to already have mastered the mechanics, playing through the adventure mode on easy your first time is a great way to get used to the game IMO. After I beat it I will probably go back and play it on medium with a different character, but I should be able to enjoy it more by then.
Grew up playing CTR, easily one of my fav games of all time
Loving the remake, I'd say it goes above and beyond the original.. Absolutely loving it atm!
@sixrings
get a PC and live life to the fullest i guess...
N gave up the spec wars a long time ago and will never be current; well as current as any console ever is a month after release.
The second this goes on sale, I'll get it. But this week is Mario Maker week. And still iffy on what I'm hearing about controls.
@Stocksy The review says you have to be online to unlock 10 out of 26 characters...
Never understood the hype behind Mario Kart 8. This and Sonic Racing Transformed are my number one kart racers.
@SakurabaNeku you like long load times and 20fps. You should try to get some sort of standards. Do you think a D at school stands for diploma too. You're not cooler for liking mediocre things.
@sword_9mm I don't emulate.
I played like 5 minutes of the original so this is basically a new experience for me. Fun game, reminds me a bit of Diddy Kong
Racing but man the AI rubberbanding on normal difficulty and above is absolutely brutal. It's approaching Mario Kart 64 level.
@sixrings nah, I like my things right and perfect. But when you live in a country where everything is upside down and you can barely live, you learn to appreciate and enjoy the little things that life throws to you.
I guess Sonic had a tough Crash to recover from!
@John_Deacon it didn’t when it was first hence me replying to those responding about no progress or unlockables unless online which isn’t the full picture.
I have game I am aware of the facts
@Luffymcduck The hype is that it's a Mario theme kart racing game where everyone can have fun. What else do you expect?
Remember when gaming was about having fun and not over analyzing things and concerned with 80 different buzzwords?
Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Im loving it. Nostalgia overload and it plays fantastic. 30fps, who cares. Still looks great. Load times is my only gripe.
@Wavey84 I'm sure just like crash it was kept at 30 for principle sake that 30 was what the original ran at. It's dumb but it isn't because ps4 pro or xbox x aren't powerful enough.
In case anyone didn’t know there is a hidden 26th character Penta penguin.
Only way to unlock is with an old school cheat code
Nintendo Switch: Hold L+R, press Down, Right, X, Down, Left, X, Up
Enjoy
Loving the game, but can someone enlighten me...I play the Single player Wumpa Cup and come first and get the Trophy but unlike Mario Kart, there is no trophy screen and no way to know my progress??
@Fidget exactly, I made this point a few days back. It's crazy that you can't see what cups you have won and they need to fix this ASAP as I can't be arsed to play the cups without this. Can't believe the reviewer didn't mention it.
@SakurabaNeku come to canada. Your life will be so perfect you'll be looking for poor frame rates just to get angry about something.
@electrolite77 I have the PS4 version and it has the same problem, it uses L1 and R1 as the slide buttons. Utterly baffling controller choices.
@nmanifold
Ahhhhhjh. No. Not for me.
@Wavey84
I’m sure they could do 1080p60. They’ve just chosen not to. This is where the obssession with resolution is self-defeating. XB1X can run Forza Horizon 4 at 4K30 but gives you the choice of 1080p60 which is infinitely preferable. I’m sure they could have given users of this a similar choice on PS4 Pro/XB1X* but they’ve just chosen not to.
*Not on Switch. That’s portable. And probably not on base PS4 or XB1 either.
I hoped a little bit that CTR would dethrone Mario Kart once again, but loading times and ridiculous item shop really dampen my enthusiasm. The Crash N.Sane Trilogy was also a let down mainly due to technical, not strictly gameplay-related, issues and all signs point towards the same being the case with Spyro - what a shame.
Thank you the comprehensive review! I really appreciate all the info about the game. I'm really disappointed to learn it has online server requirements! That sucks! I already knew it was a choppy game. Beach Buggy Racing is the only racing game (well, Space Ribbon is interesting, and runs at 60fps) (oh, and Horizon Chase looks great!) (I'm, Fast RMX is awesome at 60fps) (Riptide GP has super smooth graphics too!) that has improved upon Mario Kart 8. Beach Buggy Racing beats Mario Kart 8 because it extends 60fps gameplay to ALL modes of gameplay, not just 1 or 2 player modes. Even Virtua Racing inexplicably cuts the frame rate in half once you go up to more than 2 players.
I also take exception to the statement that it could be disingenuous that someone like me won't buy CTR on Switch because it runs at a choppy 30fps when I enjoyed it on PS1. I've got it on my PS3 as a digital PS1 game and it doesn't hold up. It drops below 30fps and runs in the twenty-somethings for extended stretches. It actually seems to run at some kind of unlocked mid-20s frame rate. I do like the turbo system though! I'm still curious to try this on Switch, but really disappointed they didn't target a nice and smooth 60fps across all consoles. These are seriously powerful consoles and they can all handle a good looking game that runs at 60fps. I like the angular tires in Virtua Racing! Give me angular low polygon models with low resolution texture maps, whatever it takes to keep a racing game running at a racing frame rate. Oh, and these loadtimes that are longer than 10 seconds have got to go! 45 seconds to load a track?! I wish Nintendo could share their magic with all developers! Mario Odyssey, Mario Tennis, and Captain Toad Treasure Tracker have very brief loadtimes. Actually, Nintendo needs to share the magic with their own teams. Smash Bros, Yoshi's Crafted World, and Super Mario Bros U Deluxe seem like they need improved load times to me. Don't Mario Bros U and Smash Bros have longer loading times than their Wii U counterparts? I haven't tested it, but it seems like it's so. Wow, I went way off CTR topic!
@SlyPlayr09 so your cups in the grand Prix will show in pitstop?
@AlternateButtons "With better technology, I expect better performance."
That only works when it's exactly the same game. This may be a remake but its been completely rebuilt from scratch with modern assets and as such should be treated as a modern game: and, as you well know, many modern games run at 30fps instead of 60.
Just because the PlayStation original ran at 30fps, that doesn't magically mean this one has to run at 60fps: it's an entirely new game, not just an HD upscale of the original 1999 code.
And with respect, if my review was "the worst take [you've] ever seen on a professional news website" you should read more.
@sixrings Hahaha, I always hear good things about Canada, beautiful country in my eyes. It's the first place I think when someone ask me where I'll like to live.
If it's just a matter of being connected to servers, we can always use our phones as WiFi Hotspots.
Beach buggy racing beats Mario kart??? Someone really just claimed that?????
Huh, I didn’t know about the whole Wumpa coins thing... I’ll have to remember that
@Wavey84 I doubt we'll see any type of update for 1080/60fps for the PS4 Pro. This is still an online, and they still have balance the play for both the base PS4 and PS4 Pro.
I really dont understand with people complain about 30 FPS
meanwhile almost 90% of Nintendo switch games have 30 fps
I understand if u not like this game because u dont want more challenge because is too hard
This game isn't just straight race kart like MK8, you need more detail attention in the corner
@Wavey84
I won’t be holding my breath.
@scully1888
If it’s an entirely new game they had every chance to target 60fps. And they really should have done-look at the likes of Wipeout Omega Collection and Shadow of the Colossus.
online to progress? on a portable console! who the heck on their production team thought that was a good idea? £35 saved and back to mario kart thanks.
@graysoncharles
“Would the ps4 pro and xbox one x have 60 instead? Yes. But that would mean having an unfair advantage against those with the base systems that would not have that full 60fps experience.”
They could have got Single player running at 60fps. Plenty of games offer better frame rates on the Pro Consoles and are fine. In fact they could have done it with multiplayer-the PC copes with multiplayer where different players have different configurations, Forza Horizon 4 has different framerate options for S and X Consoles.
Reality is, to paraphrase Insomniac, most Console gamers don’t care and commercially it isn’t worth the effort.
The game on switch is brilliant. 30 fps is better in my opinion as it stays true to the original.
Bought the game for PS4 last week. Being that CTR is one of my all-time favorite games (yes, I like it more than Mario Kart), I'm glad Beenox did it justice. It's still a lot of fun to play, and good on them to include the Nitro Kart tracks as a bonus, plus more unlockable characters than the original.
Is it perfect? No, the flaws have already been listed here, but none of them detract from the overall product IMO.
@Preposterous Whats wrong with the N.Sane Trilogy? I have that for PC and was going to get it for Switch as well, the Switch port broken or something?
@Doktor-Mandrake The hitboxes were tweaked too much and because of that it's much more frustrating than the original trilogy. I've played through 2 and 3 a lot, but in N.Sane Trilogy would often die due to slipping off the platforms and being touched by tip of an enemy's nose. I guess that's not a technical issue per se, but fault of the port.
I wasn't interested in the first place due to my unfamiliarity with the franchises involved, but those are some major issues that by no means deserve an 8!
I don't care about the framerate, as I can't tell the difference between anything with 30+ FPS, however the rest of the problems together are a huge dealbreaker if I did have any interest. Those loading times sound terrible, excessive grinding for in-game currency is a no-no, and that always online requirement for currency is absolutely terrible.
Worst of all, that drifting mechanic sounds absolutely unbearable! It's much worse than the way Nintendo screwed up drifting in "Mario Kart: Double Dash." Why the heck would they keep such an archaic mechanic that almost nobody in their right minds could like in a remake?! Who cares about authenticity if it simply sucks, just like it did back then?! Most players of the original game would be shouting for joy if they fixed that crummy mechanic, not giving out backlash! They sped up the sailing mechanic in the "Wind Waker" remaster for a reason, you know.
Unsure, if I see it cheaper I might go for this, anyone played it?
Also, is this THE @scully1888 that used to write for ONM??
I have it in my possesion for a week now but only tried one track so far (little time). Loading was terrible, acceleration is mapped to b for whatever weird reason (maybe you can change this?). Graphics where nice. I got 30 Wumpa coins, so my inhome internet connection worked. But I know my connection isn't very stable, so I hope it won't give troubles. Its of course utter bull that you need a internet connection to get Wumpa coins. Oh, Activision...
That said, I look forward to extensively play the game (whenever that will be).
@DenDen It does reduce speed when you hit the AI, just not very much.
@garydbz25 Absolutely agree, it's a superb game and unless you play a 60fps racer JUST before playing this, you'll not really notice the 30ps. It runs very nicely.
@Wavey84 Of course they were fun, what on earth are you talking about?
@blockfight Yep, same.
@Krambo42
I love Horizon Chase Turbo.
I finally bought this and man, I'm not so sure I should have. The drifting mechanics are brutal and frustrating. A big turn off. It's a quality kart racer as a whole, but I can't get past the horrid drifting. Also it seems like the online has already died. Maybe it depends on the time of day?shrug It was a ghost town when I hopped on. MK 8 on the other hand is full of players 24/7.
Just got this now after having MK8 for awhile on both Wii U and Switch. I’m actually really excited to play it…
@taito2000 - can you share your thoughts ? I'd like to buy it soon.
@Ramouz I enjoyed MK8 a bit more. CTR was still decent. Definitely gonna put more time into it.
Wayyyyyyyyyyy better than Mario Kart 8.
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