Riptide GP: Renegade review

High powered water sports aren’t the most covered topic when it comes to the gaming market. That being said though when the subject is addressed, it is done extremely well. I give you Riptide GP: Renegade.

Vector Unit (which is an awesome name by itself) have polished up what was in my opinion already a success. Back in January 2015 our very own Phil Kowalski reviewed Riptide GP2 and gave it a glowing report. Well 2 years on and Riptide GP is still good and it also looks a lot better. Testament to it’s own success Riptide GP: Renegade has also had a go at the mobile gaming genre and won!

The arcade racer has seen a bit of a decline in recent years with more realistic games taking the front line and leaving little quirky titles in their wake. It is good to see though that the arcade racer hasn’t died off just yet and developers like Vector Unit are still confident they can pull it off. Riptide GP: Renegade see’s you racing on hydrojet racers across 8 different maps. After being sentenced to a 2 year ban for illegal racing your character has to start from the bottom and work your way up back to the top of the podium.

The campaign mode does exactly what it should and as you progress through the ranks gaining XP and levelling up your hydro racer your competition also gets better. This makes achieving the top spot more difficult. The story isn’t really engaging but it adds some seasoning to the game and gives you a bit of purpose as you progress. True to most mobile games each race is ranked with a 3 star system depending on how you do. There does seem to be a bit of a difficulty spike in your competitors,however. This makes keeping your 1st place that bit harder to maintain. However if you’re a grind addict then you’ll enjoy this because to get the appropriate upgrades you may need to do a bit of grinding to get the parts you need.

When you take part in a race, depending on where you finish, you get a certain amount of prize money that can be spent on upgrades. As you progress the cost of upgrades increases so you have to think carefully where you want your money to go, whether it be acceleration, boost, handling or increase in top speed. Despite your upgrades though if you so much as make one error then you can quickly go from the front to the back in a matter of seconds, leading to some frustrating catch up moments.

The stunt system plays an important part because the more stunts you perform in a single race the more it increases the amount of boost you have at your disposal. The stunts are fairly easy to pull of with just a little tweak of the thumb sticks. Initially though the stunts are basic but you can unlock more as you progress through the game. Scattered throughout each stage are ramps and table tops that help you get enough air to perform your tricks, however to add a little spice you can also perform tricks off high waves and the wakes of other riders that they leave behind. Don’t concentrate too much on the stunts though, because again if you bodge one you’re not going to keep your position for long.

There is a some online and local multiplayer gameplay that offers something a little different but options on race type are limited. Visually Riptide GP: Renegade is good, obviously the console version looks better than the mobile version but with full 1080p and 60fps the gameplay is smooth and crisp. That being said though the backgrounds are a little basic and have a touch of Trials Fusion about them but to be fair, like the original you’re not looking at the backgrounds for long because there is always someone trying to nick your spot on the leaderboard. The soundtrack has been polished a bit compared to it’s predecessor and is just about acceptable and appropriate to the fast paced gameplay.

On the whole Riptide GP: Renegade still remains a must buy for racing fans and noobs alike. It will sit proud next to any racing game you have and will draw you back to retain your top spot and upgrade your Hydrojet. Good job, Vector Unit, not only for this one but for keeping the arcade racer alive.

Thanks to Vector Unit and Xbox for supporting TiX