The passion for horses must be a serious thing. We say this hypothetically, because, to be honest we don’t have much to do with this area but looking at the amount of movies and video games that deal with the topic to think that a source of inspiration, so profitable to draw strength only from the feelings really intense, that deserve great respect. We are going to the topic with a perspective from a total layman, but it is with the thought turned to a subject that can stir emotions and dreams that we face Rival Stars Horse Racing in this review. To tell the truth, the game does a great job of making the chance to explore any user, even the most far away from the world of the horse, within his complex structure of the mixed racing, simulation and management, managing somehow to also be addictive, beyond what you can think of on the racing of the horses. There is also a story behind it: the protagonist is the descendant of a family of jockeys traditionally linked to race horses, called to resume the reins of the family company fell into disgrace and to give new glory to the house, victory after victory.

We can identify so easily the two main lines on which it focuses the action of the game: the race itself, with the direct guidance of the horse on the track and on the other hand, all the numerous aspects to take care of to carry on the ranch and thebreeding of horses. Within this structure, the hybrid is grafted a large amount of possible actions and items to keep under control to be able to get the best results in the race, continuing the story through the achievement of many objectives from the NPC, employees and colleagues of the farm. Rival Stars Horse Racing you he was a game pretty deep, but well manageable with an extended tutorial that guides us in every single aspect, in addition to the “missions” of the story which, in fact, serve to give an address to our actions and work well as a gradual introduction to the various facets of the race that the expansion and maintenance of the stables.

Horses and micro-transactionsRival Stars Horse Racing is very well, thanks to a graphic system of discrete invoice that does not look even on platforms more and a good clarity in terms of menus and interface, all of which facilitate the immersion into a game that has a very contemplative and a few items really active, given that the phases travel basically require the strategic management of the forces of the horse, more than a few skills in the “guide”. For the rest, it is above all the investment of resources for theexpansion of the facilities of the ranch, train horses, participate in rides and expand, and manage the farm through the purchase of new specimens, and the coupling, of course, targeted to be subjects with remarkable features and the pedigree is high-profile. By good management, in short, the game suggests us to click on the icons and think control various aspects of economic, even if the phases of the rides can well to break up the monotony (although they are themselves somewhat repetitive). All this to say that a minimum of attraction to the management classics is necessary in order to fully appreciate the game in question, which still manages to introduce us quite well in its innards, even without being a big fan of horses.

So far so good, therefore, but the cumbersome problem of micro-transactions emerges after the enjoyable first few hours of the game. Being a free-to-play, the whole structure is based on the expectations and on the expenditure of foreign currency to prevent this, a mechanism becomes more and more oppressive, we can go in the more advanced stages. If at the beginning the collection of in-game currency and resources required for the improvements to the structure is particularly simple, with the purchases are sporadic and, however, well sustainable with the rewards you get simply by playing the game, the balance becomes progressively more unequal, with the races that are more and more selective and difficult, the workouts that require pause of several minutes, and the resources for the construction, management, and breeding more and more rare unless you resort to spending real money. The constant presence of the warnings on the various “VIP pass” (called differently, but with the classic package, special payment) refer to the concept of pay to win, even if the marginal presence of online multiplayer makes it less critical that usual.