Snow Moto Racing 3D (3DS eShop) Review

Oh dear. It is not every day that I get deja-vu in games but this title has it in spades. One of my earlier reviews for this site was Aqua Moto Racer 3D, of which I did not think to highly of, giving it a 2 out of 5. So when the Zordix entertainment splash screen popped up, I was slightly hesitant to make any early judgements on this title based on previous experiences. Unfortunately I’m starting to think I should have been a bit more shallow as a person as they have delivered another racing game to the 3DS platform that is almost identical to their previous effort.

I wish I could just end this review by simply posting my previous review and changing all references from water to snow but I will give you the benefit of the doubt and give you a full run down of what this title includes. Also; I have work ethic or at least I give the appearance of it so I should put a little effort in.

Presented is a stock standard racer delivering the basics and not more. You race across a series of championship events with a hand full of courses present and in each of the events where you face off against five other AI opponents. As you progress, you can buy upgrades to increase your speed and handling so that you may progress through the events more easily. The big problem I have with this system is not the structure of it; many games use this progress method to great success, the big issues is just how characterless and dull the progress really is compared to other titles.

The basic gameplay is simple in concept and unfortunately does not deliver in terms of the overall experience. The controls are somewhat sloppy and don’t give you a great sense of control over the entire experience, it’s not like you’re controlling a bath tub on the slopes but it doesn’t feel like a snow mobile either. It’s not unusable but it definitely isn’t tuned for the most fun overall experience.

All the while you have to collect pickups in the form of money and boost power ups to be used both on and off the track, this does add a little challenge in that you have to plot your course slightly but it is a very shallow way of adding any diversity to each track. This isn’t helped by the somewhat average AI players that are either far too easy or simply so far ahead of you in a SNES Mario Kart-type scenario that it makes the entire race pointless. It is somewhat balanced to get you to upgrade your ride to progress but it is forced at the same time.

Visuals are competent in execution but are lacking in terms of the overall visual appeal simply due to the snow genre being mostly comprised of dull grays and whites to make up the vast majority of the environments. A little more flair would have been appreciated very much so but as a whole they haven’t even tried to add any extravagance to the experience in a similar vein as the SSX series. Running on the same engine as the previous Moto Racer games means it has the same flaws, it can occasionally look stunning in 3D but this is marred by the same frame rate issues and the excessive snow transparency effects can make it unplayable at times. 2DS owners, you aren’t missing out on anything by losing a dimension of the visuals here.

Audio is the other disappointing thing. Sound effects are minimal in use, nothing bad but nothing outstanding. That doesn’t matter since it will be drowned out by some awful so called “rock” music that belongs in a 90’s arcade racer. It generic in every way and serves more to distract than to add to the end experience.

The previous game felt like an average 90’s arcade game and this one is no different. Fifteen years ago it would have been considered something great but today it is just bland and uninteresting.

I will cut things short a little here in that while this game has been built from the ground up to be its own unique game on the 3DS and is only related to the iOS game in name, I do get the feeling that they did work far too closely on the previous project before moving onto this one. The main menu system is a perfect analogy for the entire game, essentially they are near identical to the last game Zordix released on 3DS. There is nothing wrong with reusing assets but the entire game almost feels like a reused asset even when it isn’t. It just has too little to differentiate it from the previous game in the Moto Racer 3D series. It looks different initially but soon you figure out that it is just a replication of the previously unimpressive effort. The push to get another title out the door has meant that enhancements are light that produces a somewhat soulless product.

I hate being so negative on a game like this as it does look like a lot of work has gone into it but at the same time that work load just hasn’t paid off in any meaningful way. It is not entirely bad in that there is a reasonably long campaign that will keep you entertained enough for a few hours and while there is little to no replay value in this title, it is entirely functional. It’s not broken in any way but in a way I almost wish it was because it would give it a little more character.

A title like this is better on smartphone app stores than on 3DS because at least there, the weaknesses of the title can be masked by short play periods that 3DS doesn’t always deliver. If you really want a racer for your pocket then this is an option but other than that you should avoid it if possible.