FAST: Racing League

Many may have given up on WiiWare, with big-name releases such as Swords & Soldiers being moved across to smartphones and Puzzle Agent from Telltale Games simply announced and, after a year of silence despite a sequel on PC being lined up, eventually confirmed as cancelled upon Cubed3’s questioning. However, this has left the market open for developers that know how to properly reach out to their target demographic in order to achieve strong sales, such as German outfit Shin’en Multimedia. First of all it brought a family-favourite to the fold with Fun! Fun! Minigolf, then followed it up with a brilliantly addictive block-based puzzler Art of Balance, and finally hit home last year with Jett Rocket, which tapped into the fan-base that had been enjoying Super Mario Galaxy 2 so much and wanted a little extra for dessert.

Even taking an early glance at FAST: Racing League when someone else is playing, or just watching a movie clip of it in action, goes to show that Shin’en has technically out-done itself once more in every possible way. Wii owners have been thirsty for something similar to WipEout and F-Zero, yet have had neither, nor even a return for the Extreme-G series. Therefore, up steps Shin’en again to fill the void with what gamers want; a high octane thrill ride full of gorgeous visuals, hypnotic techno beats and cheek-flapping speed.

 

Each stage starts with a sweeping overview of the level, showing off FAST’s extremely strong graphics engine, with beautifully detailed landscapes that very soon become a complete blur as your racing craft zips around each lap at break-neck speed. Dotted around the race track are lots of shiny globes with a green hue; these are energy items and up to ten can be held at any one time, with the running total show by a glistening metallic bar broken into ten segments in the bottom-left of the screen, underneath the speed indicator. Energy items are of paramount importance throughout each and every race as they are the life-blood of a vehicle’s boosting capabilities and their phase-switching functionality.

Phase changing is the heart and soul of FAST: Racing League, with Shin’en working through various ideas that could be implemented before finally settling on this particular one during development. The idea is simple; just tap the appropriate button when using any of the three control settings (Classic Controller, Wii Remote held on its side for motion movements, or Wii Remote and Nunchuk combined) and the vehicle will alter its appearance for the cost of one energy chunk. The reason behind this is, first of all, to be able to gain a massive boost when hovering over an on-track strip of the same shade (and, conversely, slowing movement down considerably on an opposite colour), but, more importantly, also lets players use black or white coloured pads to launch the craft up and over gaps that would otherwise be driven into, resulting in oblivion’s figurative mouth hungrily opening wide, ready to devour the vehicle. There are sections where driving along the ceiling of a tunnel is imperative, for the same crash aversion explanation, and these also come in polar-opposite colour forms.

 

A lot of tactics come into play during FAST: Racing League’s main modes, between the one-chunk-per-phase-switch aspect and how the general boost mechanic installed on the vehicles takes up five pieces of the energy bar. Gamers must carefully plan out whether or not to boost twice in a row and hope they get the chance to grab more energy items before opponents snatch them and in time for the next coloured boost strip, ceiling-riding section or launch pad, or play it safe to ensure there is enough energy for quick-fire phase changes in order to stay ahead of the competition.

FAST: Racing League starts off with a ‘Qualification’ stage, which takes players through the gameplay features step-by-step to help them grow accustomed to what is about to be unleashed, and upon completing the mandatory mode, other options open up. There is a multiplayer split-screen race mode for up to four players, fifteen different elements to unlock as more of the game is played, as well as a Jukebox. The meat of FAST definitely lies in the single-player mode where you can choose to race to the top of the leagues on offer, selecting one of the initial vehicles on offer and using your preferred control method. Some of the courses are devilishly tough, with tight corners covered in ice and numerous obstacles littering the main route, yet with plenty of practice gamers will be zooming around each stage like professionals, switching phase at the perfect time to take full advantage of the speed strips, as well as using general boost and collecting energy orbs galore. Thankfully there are ‘FAST Records’ that open up after the first part of the rookie league has been completed, where previously played tracks are available for replay time and time again until racing perfection is achieved.

 

However, rather than resting on its laurels, Shin’en has deemed it fit to include a whole slew of challenges on top of the standard racing fare. Reaching the goal within ten seconds, collecting items within an arena in the time given, beating three laps in the quickest time possible, and many more - the range of objectives that must be completed is fantastic. Anyone wanting a break from pure racing fun will get great enjoyment from this inclusion and it certainly extends the life of FAST considerably and goes to show how much care and attention the small German developer puts into trying to deliver the best possible end product for its fans.

It has already been highlighted how visually impressive FAST: Racing League is, even surpassing Jett Rocket in the visual stakes due to its locked 60 frames per second in single-player (this can become variable in the multiplayer mode, though not dipping lower than 30 frames per second), but special attention must be given to the audio elements. In terms of soundtrack composition, Shin’en is known for its extremely futuristic tones and beats, and whilst the music in FAST is indeed futuristic, it takes on a more jungle, techno, hard-hitting industrial edge at times that sounds absolutely amazing and could easily be re-worked for a full CD release at a later date (as Shin’en did with the Iridion soundtrack earlier this year). Clearly the team knew just how special its soundtrack was, which is why it kindly added the bonus Jukebox option for those that persevere through all the leagues. In fact, FAST: Racing League is special in its own right and could well be one of the last great WiiWare releases.