Cruis'n Blast - back by popular demand

[Oh Danny Boy]

Loving this. It’s one of those insane arcade cabs you find now and again that usually never get seen on console. 

[the_debaser]

Cruuuuuuuuusin’, come on go Cruuuuuusin’, let’s go Cruuuuuuusin’ let’s go Cruuuuuuusin, come on let’s go Cruuuuuuuuuusin. 
 

I’m fucking loving this game. 

[Giles]

The million dollar/ forty dollar question: Is it worth its mid price point?

I dunno. It's certainly cheaper than buying a  Hydrothunder cabinet for the house.

I like it. I wish there was more to say, but it's  really too wild and mad for me to wrap my mind around.

In the little time I have for gaming, this is perfect.

[milko]

Set my 7-year old up playing this just now, not had chance to myself yet. So I dunno about the nuances of handling still, but blimey the eye-candy and hilarity look very promising so far.

Flipping from Assetto Corsa Competizione's extremely dry and accurate simulation racing (which I love) to this makes for quite a contrast.

[Robo_1]

This is a barrel of fun, but the "racing" is pretty tenuous. The rubber banding is absolutely absurd and it doesn't have any laps, which is a shame as I was hoping for something more akin to Excite Truck race wise. Don't get me wrong, it's outrageously good fun just soaking in the spectacle of it all and there is some skill in knowing how to use boosts, which aside from not crashing, seems to be the only real determining factor in winning a race.

 

If you go into this with your eyes wide open, knowing you're basically paying 30 notes for a roller coaster masquerading as a racer, then fill yer boots, I've no regrets, but if you're after a proper arcade racer, you have better options:

 

 

[Keyboard Koala]

If you're a fan of arcade racers you're shit out of luck these days. The best thing would still be a PS3/Xbox 360 with OutRun 2, Sega Rally 3 and maybe GRiD.

[dumpster]

PSP Ridge Racers 2 on an Xbox Series using emulation blew my mind recently and it's all I've been playing for 2 weeks. Follow the thread in retro, you won't regret it 

[Robo_1]

2 minutes ago, Keyboard Koala said:

If you're a fan of arcade racers you're shit out of luck these days. The best thing would still be a PS3/Xbox 360 with OutRun 2, Sega Rally 3 or maybe GRiD.

 

I wonder what the chances of an Outrun 3 or another outing of Outrun 2 are. I guess it's on Sega to secure the Ferrari license again. Shame only a lucky few got the PS3/360 version of Outrun 2 before it was pulled. I return to it regularly for a quick spin around the track.

[Keyboard Koala]

Don't think we'll ever get another OutRun. Sega's once famous arcade division has been practically dismantled. Their last worldwide arcade release was Sega Rally 3 , 12 years ago.

 

[LaveDisco]

It boggles my mind that Ferrari are happy to be one of many of Forza et al, but not the centre of the universe in Outrun 2. They are bonkers.

[scoobysi]

1 hour ago, Keyboard Koala said:

If you're a fan of arcade racers you're shit out of luck these days. The best thing would still be a PS3/Xbox 360 with OutRun 2, Sega Rally 3 or maybe GRiD.

I dunno, I think there’s been quite a few since then. DriveClub is by far the best imo, there’s also Burnout Paradise Remastered, NFS HP Remastered, Hot Shot Racing, Horizon Chase Turbo, Virtua Racing, Wipeout Omega and Wreckfest.

[Keyboard Koala]

Yeah, tried most of these but only Virtua Racing (obviously) and wipEout omega (which I was really impressed by btw) really satisfied my arcade racer needs. It's now a genre from an era past it seems.

[Giles]

I recall seeing similar dreary forecasts in the Schmup thread, and yet, maybe thanks to their passionate talk, that genre now seems to be enjoying a comeback. Is it time for an Arcade Racers thread? 

 

Until then, allow me to continue off-road topic: is the new Hot Wheels Unleased legit?

[the_debaser]

No

[dumpster]

I bought this yesterday, £30 at my local indie.  It's £10 overpriced in my opinion, but then what's a tenner these days? And it's great fun.  Might not play it for hours but it's definitely one I'll be popping back in every six months for the rest of my life.

 

[matt!]

Let us know if you feel the same next week. 

[dumpster]

2 hours ago, matt! said:

Let us know if you feel the same next week. 

Like I say, I won't play it for hours, probably rinse it in a couple of nights.  But I'll keep it and it will get brought out every 6 months for a blast because that's all it is. Quick, arcade blast.  Should be £15, but I just thought, sod it, I haven't bought a game in months.

[dumpster]

Loving this game.  30 mins is all you need but a week later it begs to be played again.  New vehicles and unlocks seem to make no difference at all, it is what it is, and what it is is a good fun arcade romp that cheers you right up.

[Oh Danny Boy]

Had some friends over the other night and this game is an absolute blast with four players offline. Works very well on the Switch’s split joycons too. Definitely now an essential party game next to Mario Kart. 

[Gotters]

Down to £20 in a sale I believe - just feel awash with racers at the moment though, shame it didn't launch at that price.

[moosegrinder]

This game is fucking ridiculous. I have no idea what I'm doing and I have no idea if I'm enjoying it. It reminds me of Asphalt 9 but without the idiotic grind.

[Gotters]

I succumbed to buying this at the sale price - kind of wish I hadn't.

 

When you play a new game you inevitably get a quick impression from the first 10-15m, and mine was 'this is crap'.

 

Handling felt almost non existent, I was just boosting and bouncing around weird gaudy looking courses and the whole thing seemed utterly charmless. Maybe there is more to it than that but I'm not feeling any rush to go back and try again.

[moosegrinder]

That was my feeling. The boost doesn't actually do anything because all the other cars just keep up, or keep up at 90% of the speed you're doing. The lack of tutorial makes me wonder if there's some stunt techniques I'm missing. I also don't get how the drift works really. I'm going to YouTube and see if I can find something that tells me what I'm missing.

[Paulando]

Yeah, kinda echoes my thoughts on this. It looks cool and fun and all of that, but it’s not very exciting to play. The corners don’t seem big enough to drift around either, and yeah, the boost doesn’t do much.

 

Hydrothunder, now that was a fantastic arcade racer.

[Protocol Penguin]

On 20/11/2021 at 12:05, Gotters said:

I succumbed to buying this at the sale price - kind of wish I hadn't.

 

When you play a new game you inevitably get a quick impression from the first 10-15m, and mine was 'this is crap'.

 

Handling felt almost non existent, I was just boosting and bouncing around weird gaudy looking courses and the whole thing seemed utterly charmless. Maybe there is more to it than that but I'm not feeling any rush to go back and try again.

I’m pleased that others have also come to the conclusion this is a steaming pile. It’s as shallow as a puddle, and the presentation is like a tacky low-budget smartphone game. Really doesn’t deserve being spoken about in the same breath as Outrun 2.

[Gotters]

37 minutes ago, Protocol Penguin said:

I’m pleased that others have also come to the conclusion this is a steaming pile. It’s as shallow as a puddle, and the presentation is like a tacky low-budget smartphone game. Really doesn’t deserve being spoken about in the same breath as Outrun 2.

 

I tried it again today and if anything it was even worse, shorn of that new purchase optimism where you are looking for the good in a game it was just shite.

 

It's not a return to the great old days of old style arcade racers either, I quite like those, this is just a badly put together budget title that used to be sold for 400 MS points on their indie arcade store, and would be called something like Fart Racers on there to get some attention. 

[Keyboard Koala]

This thread:

 

 

[dumpster]

There are so many contributing factors to your enjoyment of a game.  Price comes into this equation. But price is relative - if Forza 5 is £50, what's Cruisin' Blast really worth?  A tenner? Probably...

 

But then cast aside the thoughts of price and value for money and focus on the game.  Imagine it's a freebie from the eShop. Suddenly this is an absolute belter, because it is an absolute belter.  It's really, really good fun, sticks a massive smile on your face, does exactly what I wanted.

 

So I honestly can't say this is a bad game.  I love it.  It's great.  It takes me back to the days of Crazy Taxi and Hydro Thunder.  Those games were £40 as well.  

 

But the world has changed since Dreamcast and comparisons to the rest of the marketplace today show Cruisin' is a short, light, silly, arcade racer.  By today's standards it's ludicrously overpriced. 

 

But I also have Gamepass and Forza 5 is on there for free and while it's a brilliant game, Cruisin' scratches that itch way more.  So fuck it.  I have a job, I can afford to pay £20 too much for a game if it's good fun and Crusin is really, really good fun.  

[scoobysi]

What’s the progression in the game? Are there different ratings per track C,B,A,S etc.? What’s held me back from picking it up is that it doesn’t sound as though it requires a lot of skill, which I think the best arcade racers ultimately do.

[dataDave]

RAW THRILLS

 

Those same people that put out really shoddy sub-30fps arcade games, which for some reason, people flock towards in droves for €2 a credit...

I can't get my head around how they've been able to get the licenses for some of their output. I've tried their Halo, Jurassic Park, Cruis'n, and some others and they've all been absolute fucking garbage. It feels like the arcade owners have gone to AliExpress for their inventory.

 

But then the arcades here have been absolutely steaming, with queues of people each topping up €30 on their cards. It gets me right upset when I think about how arcades died back in the late nineties despite that being the absolute pinnacle of arcade gaming, and gaming in general. For me, at least.