Gaming
By Jessica Buchanan
Players can test their skill with vehicles in motorcycle, street, Spielberg, off-road, and formula races against multiple opponents in Red Bull Racers. There are different vehicles and difficulty levels to unlock in the game which adds to the challenge and replay value. Red Bull Racers is compatible with iOS devices running iOS 7.0 or later. Red Bull Racers features a variety of race types: cup races, rivals races, endurance races, and elimination races. The cup races are traditional matches against ghost data from other players. These vary in difficulty but give a nice challenge for players, especially beginner players trying to increase their skill level. Rivals races pit players against one competitor's ghost data which boils down to a time players have to complete the race within. Players must use different tactics and adjust to how each track is laid out in order to win. Endurance mode tests a player's ability to avoid crashing while overtaking the competition in multiple laps. With this mode, players must gain a good advantage position in order to not get overtaken which can be difficult when learning the track. Elimination mode is one of the more fun modes for players as they are competing against not only opponents but time as well. Players fight for first place so they are not eliminated as time counts down. Power ups - like a speed guide, double XP, quick recovery, and the ability to knock opponents off the track - benefit players. These make the match a little easier, allowing on-track indicators of when to slow down into a curve or being able to get back on the track instantly if they spin off. These power ups cost either cash or diamonds that players can obtain in game. There is also an option to watch a short ad to pick one of the power ups without using any cash or diamonds. This can be really helpful when players are trying to save up cash to spend on upgrades for their vehicles. Players can upgrade their vehicles in Red Bull Racers to increase top speed, acceleration, brakes, and boost. These upgrades add to the performance of the vehicle and helps players tackle difficult tracks or opponents. Increasing any one of these options by itself does not seem to make too much of a difference early on, but a combination of them shows some improvement in the vehicle's performance. In Red Bull Racers, XP is gained after each race, which helps players level up enough to unlock vehicles. Starting out, players are rewarded with a vehicle that is used to unlock a category of races, such as the Hill Climber vehicle for off-road races. This can be a little annoying for players that want to jump straight into the action of different race types. However, it isn't very hard to get enough XP early on to unlock the category players want. There is also the option of using an in-app purchase to buy the diamonds needed to unlock the vehicle required for the race type. Red Bull Racers emphasizes a competitive nature in not only the races against ghost data, but also with the addition of in-game leaderboards and Game Center support. This allows players to compete against their friends. There is also the option for players to complete objectives, like winning a certain number of events without crashing which rewards them with diamonds. Red Bull Racers does a really nice job at keeping the fun element of each race players participate in. One annoying part of Red Bull Racers is that in rivals race, the opponent's vehicle launches off from the starting line very fast and it is hard to catch up during the first warm up lap. This seems weird as it causes the player to think that the match is going to be more difficult than it usually is. However, the warm up lap is not counted against the player, as it is meant to give the player a chance to build enough momentum for the real laps. Red Bull Racers is free on the App Store and recommended for players who enjoy competitive games as each race feels just as exciting as the last.
By Jessica Buchanan
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