Miss those unrealistic arcade racers from the 90s? Then this might just be the game you’ve been itching for! Nitronic Rush was developed by a team of eleven students at DigiPen Institute of Technology. It’s hard for me not to gush with excitement forthis game, it’s just so damn fun to play! I’m obviously not the only one whom agrees with this either as the game has won several awards since release, including most recently the Gamer’s Choice Award Winner from the Indie Game Challenge.

Gameplay:

According to the official website, “Nitronic Rush is an experimental survival driving game. Using the car’s many abilities (including boost, wings, and jump), avoid obstacles that the city throws at you. In many ways the game is a tribute to racing games of the 1990s but with fresh graphics, audio, and gameplay.” If you are a 90’s gamer and enjoyed racing games of that era, then you will have a blast playing through Nitronic Rush. The best way I can sort of explain this game would be to take elements of Tron and mix them with San Francisco Rush 2049.

The driving mechanics are very arcade like and tight. There is no drifting in this game, but it’s not needed as the vehicles handle almost like they are on rails. There is a heavy emphasis on stunts as you rack up your score by jumping, doing flips, barrel rolls, and flying through obstacles. You also have your boost gauge, which if used too much will overheat your vehicle and explode.

The music in this game is nothing short of amazing. If you are a fan of the Tron: Legacy soundtrack, then I think you’ll enjoy this very much. Highly recommended to play this game with the volume turned up!

This game supports keyboard and mouse, as well as xbox 360 controller. I highly recommend playing with the 360 pad.

Story Mode:

The story mode is just a straight up rip off of Tron in every imaginable way. You are in this cybernetic city called Nitronic City, which resembles landscapes from the Tron universe. There is a Guardian of the city, which decides to run things his own way. There are only seven levels to the story and albeit very short, I can honestly say the 43 mintues it took me to beat the story mode was very enjoyable. I see a lot of replayability in this mode with it’s online leader boards and achievements.

Arcade Mode:

Even though I haven’t completely immersed myself into the arcade mode yet, I think this is where the majority of players will be going to really get a challenge. There are six modes within arcade, including: story levels, hardcore levels, challenge levels, stunt mode, old levels, and community.

Story Levels: this mode allows you to play through the story mode levels by picking which level you want to play.

Hardcore Levels: this mode includes seven levels that are more difficult variants of the story mode levels.

Challenge Levels: the sub title here is, “Lots of saws and lots of death. Sound familiar?” Hell yes it does! This mode includes twelve levels that will put your boosting, flying, jumping, and quick maneuvering skills to the test!

Stunt Mode: stunt mode includes five levels where you need to pull off every imaginable line for the highest score possible before the clock runs out.

Old Levels: unpolished levels from the development phase of the game. Very cool in my opinion that the developers including these. Gives me a real sense of connection to where the developers started and ended with project.

Community: this mode is where community made tracks exist.

I’m spending a majority of my time in the challenge and stunt mode areas. I want to be able to nail all the gameplay mechanics and then progress to the hardcore levels.

The Score:

I’m not big into giving games a numerical value. What I will do is give you my general opinion on the title and let you know if I believe it’s worth your time playing. From that point on you can decide how to spend your time and or money.

Nitronic Rush is one of those games that you find yourself literally wasting away hours on without even realizing it. The story mode might be short, but it makes up for it in the arcade mode and the replayability factor. The music in and of itself is worth the download (i’m listening to it as I write this review). I have to give huge props to Team Nitronic for developing this game from pure scratch using C++. With consistent updates, great music, and fun gameplay I have to say that Nitronic Rush is most definitely worth your time. Nitronic Rush was honestly one of the most enjoyable experiences that I’ve had with a game 1in a long time.

Did I mention that Nitronic Rush is completely free? One of the rules for DigiPen students is that they cannot sell copies of their games.

Team Nitronic and Nitronic Rush can be found here:

Official Website

Twitter

Facebook