Review: TNT Racers (Multi)

The first thing I noticed as I played TNT Racers was the lack of any TNT. There are many weapons of mass (and minor) destruction, but I was irrationally disappointed by the lack of trinitrotoluene. Now that I got the misleading title out of the way -- the 'TNT' actually stands for 'Tracks N Tricks' -- let me just say that TNT Racers is surprisingly good, while being expectedly unimpressive at the same time. That last sentence may be hard to judge, so let me elaborate in the form of a new paragraph.

TNT Racers is a racing game -- obviously -- and varies from pure races to battle races to solo, time-based races. This game came out of nowhere and I honestly didn't expect much, but I was, for the most part, pleasantly surprised. The vehicles control rather well, but they also control exactly the same. There is absolutely no variety in vehicle choice, other than cosmetic differences.  It isn't a huge deal, but the lack of variety takes away what could have been an added layer of depth and strategy. There are plenty of weapons/items to grab while racing, but even these never feel like enough.

The real surprise is that all the gameplay in multiplayer races takes place in the confines of the actual screen. Falling behind and inevitably off the screen ends in death; however, upon death in shadow races, you come back with the opacity turned down and become focused on destroying all remaining cars. It is an interesting way to play a racing game, but it is occasionally more of an issue than any weapon headed your way. An example I experienced is the unfair driving off a cliff because I was in front and, therefore, could not see the track ahead of me.  Being penalized for being in first is never a enjoyable experience.

The single-player has 45 challenges split into three categories: Normal, Fast, and Turbo, as well the ability to race in time trials and create custom races. But, the multiplayer is where I wanted to spend most of my time; however, online multiplayer is practically nonexistent. And, the only match I found was hosted by a lovely gentlemen who saw it important to kick me every time I attempted to join a quick match. Judging from the leaderboards, just over 2000 people have gone all the way with TNT Racers, and I suspect only a few are still playing today.

What ultimately kills TNT Racers is its lack of a community, which is likely due to its lack of publicity. The game is not bad, but there isn't much reason to stay if you're incapable of playing multiplayer. While I enjoyed the single-player, I got bored as time elapsed and I just wanted to play with anyone in possession of the essence of life; however, I was subjected into dealing with AI-only competition. 800MS points ($10) is a fair price if you have some local friends with a taste for competitive racing, but everyone else may feel disappointed after a few hours.

P.S. While the 'TNT' actually stands for 'Tracks & Tricks,' there aren't any tricks either, except the possible trick of making you believe there is TNT in a game called TNT Racers.