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187 Ride or Die
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Graphics & Sound:
Ubisoft’s 187 Ride or Die is a mix between Twisted Metal and Grand Theft Auto, offering up some furious gangsta action. While on the surface it may appear to be a mismatch of genres and game styles, this title actually has some pretty interesting and worthwhile features.
Graphically, you won’t be blown away. Gran Turismo is still the champ of highly realistic visuals, but 187’s graphics still show some bright spots. The vehicles are well modeled and brightly colored, complete with a robust damage model as they get torn up on the tracks. The bumpers can come crashing off, pedestrians become road bumps, barrels may explode, and your doors will open and close as you careen around turns. Still, Burnout remains the king of vehicular destruction, although this title comes in a close second. You will instantly recognize the smoothness and near total lack of pixilation as you romp around the courses. Animations are also nicely done, if a bit cluttered at times, due to the onscreen mayhem. The ever important feeling of speed isn’t especially apparent here, but it doesn’t annoy either. Lastly, the numerous cut-scenes are also decent, done in a movie-esque fashion.
Track design is well implemented too, if a bit similar in some areas. The concrete jungles of Los Angeles and other urban sprawls are transformed into a wide array of courses, complete with palm trees, drainage ditches, tunnels and bridges. Just remember to watch out for those explosive barrels, something apparently every game has to have.
Audio is another surprising strength for 187 Ride or Die. Much as with the resounding success of GTA: San Andreas’ massive soundtrack, Ubisoft also opted for a stellar, original collection of beats to groove to. It mainly consists of rap and hip-hop themed music, with rising star Guerrilla Black lending his talent to craft most of the songs. The voice acting is also solid to boot, featuring Larenz Tate (“Crash”) and Noel G (“Training Day”) to name a few. The MATURE rating hits home right away, as you are smothered with cuss-riddled slang at every opportunity. At times, however, the voice work is a bit flat (mainly due to shoddy dialogue), and can grow annoying after hours of play. It reminded me of the early days of Madden where you would just get sick and tired of the same ‘ol stupid catch phrases. With added variety to the ebonic lexicon, 187 Ride or Die would have fared better. Lastly, the sound effects are fairly decent sounding and get the job done in a glorious, loud and abrasive fashion. |
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Gameplay:
Basically, 187 Ride or Die is a track racing game, with lots of guns, cussing, and general hip-hoppery... good times. You are Buck, and are one serious gangsta. An O.G. named Dupree notices you making some noise and recruits you into the world of L.A. street-racing mayhem. You get all kinds of missions, giving rides to fine honeys, dropping off some “stuff,” or taking out a rival thug. But Dupree has a big-time rival in Cortez, and he eventually pits you against his East Side “Mexican Mafia.”
The single player experience is broken into 45 stages, strung along with video clips. Each race is pretty varied, from arena-style death matches, last man standing brawls, and so on. See... Buck isn’t the one driving. That’s handled by a femme fatale picked out by Dupree. Buck focuses instead on poppin’ caps in many, many, MANY peeps from his seat. You have a wide array of choices too, from pistols, shotguns, Uzis, mines – in all 20 deadly tools. You can even steal an opponent’s arsenal, perhaps a nod to the classic Road Rash titles. Along the way you can scoop up power-ups like ammo and health. There are also a plethora of vehicles to choose from, each with their own respective speed, armor and handling ratings. Believe me, you sure feel the difference. These include SUVs, trucks, muscle cars, and sports cars – nearly 30 in all. And wisely so, none bear any insignia like Ford or Honda, lest they risk some political backlash over the, ahem, “theme” of the title.
Handling your vehicle of destruction is pretty easy, thankfully. It’s arcade intensive, as you have to be aware of your enemies, power-ups/weapons, all the while staying on the road. To make things a bit easier, I grabbed a buddy and played co-op style – I drove, he shot! Truly adds new meaning to “calling shotgun...” hehe. Your A.I. opponents won’t stress you out that much though. You can easily predict when they will attack, turn into you, or break for the inside. Thankfully, there is a decent multiplayer option that allows eight players online where you can have the added pleasure of live trash talk. |
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Difficulty:
187 Ride or Die is really a breeze to learn. It’s so focused on arcade presentation, a baboon could learn to drive and shoot... not unlike that Clint Eastwood movie... or was that an orangutan? Anyways, the repetitive tracks/action and the loose A.I. help to further reinforce the shallow learning curve. Veteran racing gamers should feel right at home, and novice drivers will have no trouble as well.
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Game Mechanics:
The interface is pretty clean and efficient first off. Secondly, the controls are about as simple as can be, and once you understand how to fire and drive, it’s a cinch. You can choose from alternate controls as well, but basically you use one stick to steer and the other stick/D-pad to aim. At times, the controls feel a bit loose and floaty, but overall they get you on the right track – no pun intended. Frame-rates were solid as well, but don’t expect to be blown away from the speed. This ain’t Wipeout after all.
187 Ride or Die seems to be just the latest in a barrage of “urban” themed games coming up, following the smash hit of GTA: San Andreas. In fact, in the next few years this will become the new “WW2 shooter” (read: hot fad) genre, according to most writers out there, this one included. And hey, that may not be such a bad thing after all. With sharp graphics, a sick soundtrack, and solid arcade action, 187 Ride or Die gives hope to this emerging genre. |
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-Tybo, GameVortex Communications AKA Tyler Whitney |
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