Game Reviews

Redline Rush

Star onStar onStar onStar halfStar off
|
| Redline Rush
Get
Redline Rush
|
| Redline Rush

In real life, driving a powerful car very quickly is an incredibly difficult task.

It requires years of practice, an affinity with the machine you're using, and an understanding that the slightest error will end in a hideous, painful death.

In Redline Rush it requires two buttons. And neither of them is the accelerator.

This is a big, dumb, Hollywood car chase of an 'endless-driver', then. And one that leaves subtlety in the back seat, in favour of crashes; speed; and quick and easy replayability.

Rushing around

You play a driver on the run, dropped into a throaty, fast sports car, and tasked with keeping ahead of the spectacularly inept police force for as long as you can. Dull-witted, dawdling civilian drivers get in your way, as do roadblocks, cop cars, and mine-dropping helicopters.

The only control you have is weaving through oncoming traffic. There's no need to brake or negotiate hairpin bends, leaving you free to concentrate on getting the cash and boosts you need to prolong your drive.

Glittering golden coins rotate enticingly in the road - though no one else appears to be able to see them. Grabbing the cash lets you buy new cars, boosts, and tracks to drive on. Brightly coloured orbs turn your car magnetic, give you a speed boost, or multiply your score.

Hitting anything too solid with the front of your car brings proceedings to a swift, Burnout-style ending, with even the slightest clip sending your car flipping into the heavens, its body work collapsing like its made of card.

Nudge other cars with the side of your vehicle, though, and you'll perform a takedown, smashing innocent bystander and cop alike into oblivion for the sake of a few more points and a flashing justification for your actions.

Smash and grab

There's something pleasantly slapstick about Redline Rush. It likes to let you whack into things, teasing you into taking dangerous lines by littering them with spectacular rewards.

It's not new, it's not revolutionary, but it's a big heap of brainless, petrol-laced fun, and quite often that's all you want from a couple of hours of pocket gaming.

Redline Rush

A big, dumb game full of glorious crashes and glowing power-ups, Redline Rush might not be subtle, but it is a lot of fun
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.