YouTube - Phandroid - Raging Thunder 2 Gameplay
Introduction:
Raging Thunder 2 by Polarbit is an arcade-style racing game for the Android Platform. The graphics are vibrant and the environments are full of character. The tracks provide Mario-Kart-style upgrades such as speed boosts and armor upgrades. This is a fun and addictive title that brings the old-school arcade racing experience to the mobile phone.
The Good:
The Bad:
Gameplay Mechanics:
Main Menu:
When the game starts up, you are presented with the game's main menu. From here, you can select from a variety of gameplay modes. These include time attack, survival, instant race, arcade, multiplayer and career mode. We'll talk more about the various gameplay modes later in the review. There's also an options menu which allows you to adjust accelerometer sensitivity, turn on/off the auto boost feature and adjust brake power.
Controls and Handling:
The controls are simple: automatic gas is a default setting, so you don't have to worry about anything other than steering (using the accelerometer) and braking when necessary. Controlling your car is pretty easy to get used to with the accelerometer. You simply tilt your phone to the left or right to steer your car. If you find the controls too sensitive, you can adjust the accelerometer sensitivity in the options menu. If you have the latest version of the game, there's an option for virtual controls on the screen. These seem to work very well if you don't like steering with the accelerometer. Also, you can upgrade to better cars with much better handling later in the game.
Cash and Upgrades:
You can earn money by picking up cash scattered throughout the track. You can use that money to upgrade your car or buy a new one. It's important to pick up as much cash as possible because your competition is constantly stepping it up (in career mode). There are many car upgrades and cars in this game, which adds greatly to the replay value.
Customization Options:
This is one of the areas where this game really shines. You can spend money to upgrade parts, but you can also customize the look of the car.
Items and Power-Ups:
The tracks provide boost, cash and armor for your car. Each time you pick up some boost, it fills up your boost-meter. Press the boost button (on the right side of the screen) to give your car a limited speed boost. In the options menu, you can tell the game to automatically use boost as you pick it up. Some items scattered through the track can do bad instead of good (damage your car) so watch out!
Gameplay Modes:
Time Attack:
It's just you and the clock. Try to make the fastest lap with the car and track you have selected.
Survival:
Race against AI opponents. After each lap is completed, the player in the last position is eliminated from the race. This continues until there is only one car remaining.
Career Mode:
Race, earn money, buy cars and upgrades. Complete all the races/cups which increase in difficulty as the game progresses.
Instant Race:
The computer automatically selects a random car and track. This is a great feature if you are short on time and want to do a quick race.
Arcade Mode:
Play through all stages before the timer hits "zero."
Multiplayer Mode:
Take on friends from around the world. More about this later in the review.
Graphics:
The graphics are colorful, vibrant and cartoon-like (not in a bad way). The framerate may drop a little in some situations depending on the capabilities of your Android device. If you have a Snapdragon-based phone, a Droid or a Samsung Galaxy S, you'll be fine. You won't pay much attention to the graphics anyway. The game is just so addicting. From a technical standpoint, the graphics aren't that impressive, but from an artistic standpoint, it's great. The game is full of color. The courses range from lush jungles to icy caves. Every course has it's own unique flare. This variety provides the player with a colorful, fun gameplay experience. The animations going on off-track are nice little details that bring the environments to life. You can tell right away that this game is very polished. The developers (Polarbit) have good attention to detail.
Performance:
This game runs very smooth. I've seen this game run great on various Android devices. It runs great on Snapdragon-based phones as well has phones with powerful dedicated GPUs such as the Motorola Droid and the Samsung Galaxy S. I have not experienced any performance issues with this game.
Replay Value:
The multiple gameplay modes, multiplayer and the sheer amount of content in this game give it great replay value. Even though the multiplayer may be a little shallow when compared to console racers, it still is very impressive from what I've seen on mobile phones. The multiplayer in the latest version of the game easily rivals similar games found on the PSP. The five different gameplay modes help keep this game interesting even after completing the career mode. This great line up of features will keep you coming back for more.
Multiplayer:
This mode allows you to connect with friends from around the world. In addition to competing directly against other players in online races, users can compete with racers globally through the use of global, online high score lists. You can also upload their best times and achievements (highest speed, longest jump) for each track to online leaderboards and view them by week, month, or all-time best. You can also race against ghost cars saved in the leaderboards. Before the latest update, this mode didn't have leaderboards or a ranking system of any kind. Kudos to Polarbit for adding in those features.
The Bottom Line:
While Raging Thunder 2 has its flaws, it's still one of the best arcade racers available in the Android Market. Polarbit did a great job with this game and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for another great racing game.
YouTube - Raging Thunder 2 Review/Walkthrough
Introduction:
Raging Thunder 2 by Polarbit is an arcade-style racing game for the Android Platform. The graphics are vibrant and the environments are full of character. The tracks provide Mario-Kart-style upgrades such as speed boosts and armor upgrades. This is a fun and addictive title that brings the old-school arcade racing experience to the mobile phone.
The Good:
- Great graphics, intense gameplay
- Intelligent AI
- High replay value
- 5 single player modes
- Tight controls
- Car customization
The Bad:
- Some may find this game challenging
- Accelerometer controls can feel a little awkward at times
Gameplay Mechanics:
Main Menu:
When the game starts up, you are presented with the game's main menu. From here, you can select from a variety of gameplay modes. These include time attack, survival, instant race, arcade, multiplayer and career mode. We'll talk more about the various gameplay modes later in the review. There's also an options menu which allows you to adjust accelerometer sensitivity, turn on/off the auto boost feature and adjust brake power.
Controls and Handling:
The controls are simple: automatic gas is a default setting, so you don't have to worry about anything other than steering (using the accelerometer) and braking when necessary. Controlling your car is pretty easy to get used to with the accelerometer. You simply tilt your phone to the left or right to steer your car. If you find the controls too sensitive, you can adjust the accelerometer sensitivity in the options menu. If you have the latest version of the game, there's an option for virtual controls on the screen. These seem to work very well if you don't like steering with the accelerometer. Also, you can upgrade to better cars with much better handling later in the game.
Cash and Upgrades:
You can earn money by picking up cash scattered throughout the track. You can use that money to upgrade your car or buy a new one. It's important to pick up as much cash as possible because your competition is constantly stepping it up (in career mode). There are many car upgrades and cars in this game, which adds greatly to the replay value.
Customization Options:
This is one of the areas where this game really shines. You can spend money to upgrade parts, but you can also customize the look of the car.
Items and Power-Ups:
The tracks provide boost, cash and armor for your car. Each time you pick up some boost, it fills up your boost-meter. Press the boost button (on the right side of the screen) to give your car a limited speed boost. In the options menu, you can tell the game to automatically use boost as you pick it up. Some items scattered through the track can do bad instead of good (damage your car) so watch out!
Gameplay Modes:
Time Attack:
It's just you and the clock. Try to make the fastest lap with the car and track you have selected.
Survival:
Race against AI opponents. After each lap is completed, the player in the last position is eliminated from the race. This continues until there is only one car remaining.
Career Mode:
Race, earn money, buy cars and upgrades. Complete all the races/cups which increase in difficulty as the game progresses.
Instant Race:
The computer automatically selects a random car and track. This is a great feature if you are short on time and want to do a quick race.
Arcade Mode:
Play through all stages before the timer hits "zero."
Multiplayer Mode:
Take on friends from around the world. More about this later in the review.
Graphics:
The graphics are colorful, vibrant and cartoon-like (not in a bad way). The framerate may drop a little in some situations depending on the capabilities of your Android device. If you have a Snapdragon-based phone, a Droid or a Samsung Galaxy S, you'll be fine. You won't pay much attention to the graphics anyway. The game is just so addicting. From a technical standpoint, the graphics aren't that impressive, but from an artistic standpoint, it's great. The game is full of color. The courses range from lush jungles to icy caves. Every course has it's own unique flare. This variety provides the player with a colorful, fun gameplay experience. The animations going on off-track are nice little details that bring the environments to life. You can tell right away that this game is very polished. The developers (Polarbit) have good attention to detail.
Performance:
This game runs very smooth. I've seen this game run great on various Android devices. It runs great on Snapdragon-based phones as well has phones with powerful dedicated GPUs such as the Motorola Droid and the Samsung Galaxy S. I have not experienced any performance issues with this game.
Replay Value:
The multiple gameplay modes, multiplayer and the sheer amount of content in this game give it great replay value. Even though the multiplayer may be a little shallow when compared to console racers, it still is very impressive from what I've seen on mobile phones. The multiplayer in the latest version of the game easily rivals similar games found on the PSP. The five different gameplay modes help keep this game interesting even after completing the career mode. This great line up of features will keep you coming back for more.
Multiplayer:
This mode allows you to connect with friends from around the world. In addition to competing directly against other players in online races, users can compete with racers globally through the use of global, online high score lists. You can also upload their best times and achievements (highest speed, longest jump) for each track to online leaderboards and view them by week, month, or all-time best. You can also race against ghost cars saved in the leaderboards. Before the latest update, this mode didn't have leaderboards or a ranking system of any kind. Kudos to Polarbit for adding in those features.
The Bottom Line:
While Raging Thunder 2 has its flaws, it's still one of the best arcade racers available in the Android Market. Polarbit did a great job with this game and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for another great racing game.
YouTube - Raging Thunder 2 Review/Walkthrough
