Game Reviews

Krazy Kart Racing

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| Krazy Kart Racing
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Krazy Kart Racing
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| Krazy Kart Racing

They say in F1 Racing that a race is often won and lost on the first corner. A good start is crucial to a good result, with miraculous recoveries from way down the field, if not impossible, then pretty rare.

Krazy Kart Racing sets itself just such an epic task with a fairly unconvincing start. While Polarbit’s earlier effort, Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart eased off the line without a hitch, this collaboration with Konami finds itself playing catch-up.

Fortunately, it gets its act together later in the race.

At the start, the controls feel too twitchy and the pace ever so slightly too manic for the early courses you race around. These are largely tight, twisting affairs littered with snagging obstructions and precariously placed holes.

Early attempts at the opening Krazy GP will see you overcompensating as you take the unfamiliar corners too wide and fall off unanticipated edges.

Surprisingly, for such a light-hearted karting title, this is a game where knowing the tracks and taking a proper racing line really is essential to success. It's far more hardcore than it looks. Once you learn the tracks and master the twitchy tilt-based controls, though, Krazy Kart Racing improves immeasurably.

There are still some annoyingly punishing tracks, but Krazy Kart is definitely a step up in both scope and challenge from its rivals.

The first GP ends with the introduction of the first Trial section. This is a series of three challenges - culminating in a one-on-one race-off against an unlockable character - that must be completed before the next GP can be attempted.

It’s a slightly annoying way to limit your access to the rest of the game, but it hits a bigger problem in the second challenge. Here you enter an arena with three opponents, with whom you must play ‘Tag’ using a giant bomb. The person who is ‘it’ when time runs out is eliminated, until only one person is left standing.

It’s a decent concept, but the execution is all wrong. The person with the bomb moves so much quicker than the rest that it’s virtually impossible for you to dodge them once they’re on your tail. As such, progress becomes a case of hoping you can ‘tag’ the last remaining opponent just before time runs out.

Ultimately I found myself stuck at this early stage for far too long, unable to progress to the second GP.

Once you get there, though, things rapidly start to improve. The course design gets better and, as you get accustomed to the controls and play as the newly unlocked Power Pro-Kun (who’s both quick and agile), your progress becomes far more enjoyable.

Taken as a package, Krazy Kart Racing really does have more going for it than any other kart racer on iPhone. It has four challenging GPs, time trials, interesting variations on the racing format and - perhaps most importantly - online multiplayer.

We were unable to test this due to receiving our game build before the game went live, but there’s no doubt that every karting game known to man becomes vastly more enjoyable when other real people get involved. As such, its inclusion is a definite plus.

It’s a shame that the inconsistent course design and frustrating difficulty spikes detract from what the game does right. Based on what we’ve seen, Krazy Kart Racing has the potential to be the champion iPhone kart racer, and hopefully future updates will make it just that. For now, though, it doesn't have quite enough distance on its competitors.

Krazy Kart Racing

Krazy Kart Racing has all the makings of a champ, but suffers from patchy course design, twitchy controls and some frustrating difficulty spikes. With plenty of content and online play, though, it’s well worth keeping an eye out for the inevitable updates
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Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.