Game Reviews

Impulse GP - Not quite the sum of its parts

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iOS
| Impulse GP
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Impulse GP - Not quite the sum of its parts
|
iOS
| Impulse GP

Impulse GP is a mix between a motorbike racer and WipeOut. It's all floaty tracks with sweeping loops, and a bouncy techno soundtrack pounding out beats into your skull.

And it does it all reasonably well. There's a lack of polish presentation-wise though that undermines a lot of the good ideas here, and while the racing is fun, it does get pretty repetitive after a while.

There's some interesting choices here, and the control scheme is one of the best we've seen on iOS, it's just a shame the rest of the game can't live up to it.

Hover there

You pilot your hovering motorbike down a track that's equal parts glass, neon-signs, and bright blue skies. But it's not just about getting round the corners - there are three different coloured markers on the speedway that you need to pay attention to, as well.

Blue markers are speed boosts that can be used with a tap. Red markers are force fields, and if you plough into them you'll slow down dramatically. But it's the green markers that make for the most interesting addition.

These are impulse pads. When you fly over them, you need to press the impulse button. This charges up a huge speed boost. Release when you get to the edge of the pad and you'll burst forwards.

But if you mess up the timing, pressing too early or releasing too late, you won't get the boost, and you'll more than likely get overtaken. Lift your finger too early and you'll still speed up, but it won't last as long.

It's a really interesting take on speed boosts, and coupled with a slick control system that sees you sliding a thumb around a quarter circle, it can make for some frantic and engaging racing.

Impulsive

Unfortunately it can't keep up that pace. Qualifying sessions fall flat, and some of the collision detection and crash physics leave a lot to be desired. The tracks don't do enough to set themselves apart either, and end up blurring into one.

There are some great ideas here, and I wouldn't be surprised to see other games adopting a similar control scheme in the coming months, but Impulse GP can never quite live up to the promise of its concepts.

Impulse GP - Not quite the sum of its parts

There are some really great ideas here, but they get lost behind muddy graphics and unimaginative track design
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.