Let’s be honest. When it comes to arcade racers these days, the pickin’s are slim. In recent years we’ve had most notably Split Second, Blur (which technically should be classified a kart racer), and of course Need for Speed. Almost any other racer I can think of really isn’t worth mentioning. With titles such as Split Second, Blur, and even Project Gotham Racing unlikely to make a comeback, there is definitely room for a good arcade racer or two. Nemesys Games is looking to help fill that void with Ignite.
At first glance, Ignite is everything you would expect from an arcade racer. There are three car classes to choose from: muscle cars, street cars, and race cars. Muscle cars have an overall advantage in max speed, while street cars dominate in terms of handling. Race cars are the best of both worlds, which is why you unlock them last. Each class has multiple vehicles to choose from, totaling 15 in all with each car also has different configurations available.
Right now you are probably assuming that configuration changes certain aspect of the vehicle such as handling or max speed, and this assumption would be wrong. Configurations in Ignite change two aspects: color of the vehicle and point modifier. The color of the vehicle is of course a thing of no consequence while the point modifier, on the other hand, can really help you depending on your racing style. Before we get into the modifiers, though, let’s talk about points in general.
As soon as your wheels start to turn, you are earning points. To add to that score you can drift, draft, or destroy objects to earn additional points. What point modifiers do is give you a percentage performance increase when you do these actions, but you need to choose which action you want the extra points for. Like I said, it depends on your racing style. Unlike most games with points, you are not saving these to get unlocks or special medals. The points you get effect you directly throughout the race and immediately after, if you have any left that is.
During a race in Ignite, your points are used to fuel your nitro. Once you get over 1000 points (which doesn’t take long), you can use nitro. Nitro burns your points away however, and if you dip below 1000 points you’ll be cruising at normal speeds. By choosing the right point modifier, you can get way more nitro points and have an edge on your competition. Immediately after the race, if you have points left over they are applied to your time; lowering it one second per 1000 points. This will help you get trophies which are more of an achievement thing and as far as I can tell don’t give you any additional bonuses.
There are three race types: Race, Run Out, and Knockout. Race is your standard while Run Out starts you with 10,000 points. You need to complete the race before you run out of points or you are out. Knockout is your standard last man standing; don’t be in last place at the end of a lap or you’re out.
There are several areas to race in so you do get a change of scenery. Win races to unlock other tracks and cars; pretty simple formula. Speaking of the scenery, Ignite looks pretty good. The tracks are pretty colorful and unique from area to area, usually having a beautiful sunset as a backdrop. Cones, flags, and barriers are in place to give you a true street track feel. The cars could look a bit sleeker, but they still look good. I do wish that the car damage was worked on a bit more, however. If you slam into a wall, that side of the car just looks like an angry ex-girlfriend keyed it up. Ignite runs at a smooth 60fps even with V-Sync enabled, which helps the overall visual experience.
The controls of Ignite are pretty much spot on. Very fast and responsive. I do wish the drifting was improved, however. You see, turning the car is no problem. However, if that turn develops into a drift it doesn’t really feel that natural. The problem is that when drifting, I really don’t sense the handling or weight of the vehicle. Every car felt like it drifted the same exact way, which was fine after I adjusted to that fact but when I first started racing it surprised me a bit. Being that a major part of any racing game is car variety, it would be a definite improvement if you could feel the difference in the vehicles when doing a frequent action such as drifting.
Another item that I think needs some improvement would be the AI. In some cases it felt like I was racing alone. In other cases when I was way ahead of the pack I would see an opponent dart in front of me like a bat out of hell to whom I would then suddenly have a tough time keeping up with. This could be contributed to the fact that AI takes time to gather points, then burns though it to get ahead of you on the second lap from time to time. This, however, plays like catch-up AI and can be quite annoying. I think the AI should be smart enough to keep up with you and give you an even challenge throughout the race. But if you do manage to pull away, your reward for being skill should be staying ahead of the pack.
Ignite comes complete with multiplayer for you and five friends to go head-to-head. You will have whatever tracks, cars, and configurations you have unlocked. The only difference between the single player and multiplayer is lack of AI, which should improve your experience a bit.
Overall, I think Ignite is a solid arcade racer. It doesn’t bring much new to the table and could use some improvements, but for the most part the tracks are fun, the cars look nice, and for $20 you get your money’s worth. I did have fun playing it, but racing the 35 tracks against friends would have made the experience even better. The series definitely has potential. I hope that Nemesys continues to improve and develop this title. Trust me, we need it.
