Mantis Burn Racing (PlayStation 4) Review

By Josh Di Falco 27.04.2017

Review for Mantis Burn Racing on PlayStation 4

Racing games are a dime a dozen on the consoles, from the most realistic racing simulators to the genre-specific smash hit, Rocket League. VooFoo Studios' petrol-fuelled racer, Mantis Burn Racing is as cool as the name of the title. Bringing about three different race classes, and a multitude of different races that reward with cogs and car upgrades, this is a huge time sinker, whether it be in the offline career mode, or pitting hot-modded cars against other players online.

The core aspect of the racing mechanic in Mantis Burn Racing is centred on drifting around large winding corners, while building up a meter that, when full, allows the car to pull off a boost. It is an easy premise to figure out and is a lot of a fun to master. During the course of a race, a series of influences can increase the boost meter, such as drafting behind the other racers for a significant distance, or by having clean sectors by not crashing into the walls. The boost really ramps up the intensity of the races, although it relies heavily on choosing the right moments to use it, as a reckless boost can launch the car straight into a wall or off a cliff.

The cars control exceptionally well and they do not feel like they are on ice. They turn when prompted, and performing drifts around long corners at the right speed is a wonderful feeling when pulled off properly. There are no input glitches or bugs to deter movement, so any mistakes or crashes that do happen are usually a result of the driver controlling the car. The other times these crashes occur is when the opposition forces the crashes, which they do quite a bit.

The career mode features a series of races linked via a pathway, and completing these races is paramount to unlocking modifications for the cars. Each race differs depending on what type of mode it is. Along with the traditional two or three lap races and time trials, there is also an 'Overtake' mode where the racers compete to overtake the allotted cars first. 'Hot Lap' is a mode where the driver to complete the fastest lap time wins, while 'Knockout' is a continuous race that eliminates the last-placed driver at the end of each lap, until one car remains, and 'Accumulator' awards points quicker to the first-placed cars in their fight to 1000 points.

Screenshot for Mantis Burn Racing on PlayStation 4

Each race has a series of objectives with varying degrees of difficulty that award one, two, or three gears for completing. Collecting these gears is required in order to open up the final race for each series. However, with the emphasis on it, these gears are not that difficult to acquire and can easily be obtained with a little bit of effort. These gear-chasing sequences, though, do not get in the way of a good race, with the main emphasis on winning these races awarding the three-gears.

Prize money is also awarded, and the earnings are needed to buy new cars and upgrades. While the modifications that are gained are used to increase the stats of the cars, there is only a set amount of modification slots. The money is used to purchase more slots, thus allowing more modifications to be installed. There are nine cars in total: three for each weight class, being light, medium, and heavy, although each set is limited to its rank in Rookie, Pro, or Veteran races.

The main flaw preventing Mantis Burn Racing from being great is the countless bugs and game freezes that occur during a playthrough. Many times the screen freezes on the race selection screen, or some races refuse to start, thus leaving the action "stuck" and forcing a reset. Alternatively, there will be moments where upon opening up the game, cars will have modifications added to them that were not there in a previous playthrough, and one time during the review process, there was even a trophy that popped up for racing online, even though that portion of the game had not been accessed yet. With so many bugs that fundamentally affect the enjoyment, this really hurts the overall appeal. Racing online is bothersome due to not having enough players to compete against, but there is no difference to the online section, apart from racing against real life opponents.

Screenshot for Mantis Burn Racing on PlayStation 4

Cubed3 Rating

7/10
Rated 7 out of 10

Very Good - Bronze Award

Rated 7 out of 10

Mantis Burn Racing is a fun racing game that throws out the simulation of modern driving titles, instead opting for the high speed, sand-kicking arcade racer. With nine cars ranging from light, medium, and heavy cars to choose from, players can compete against the AI or online to prove who is king of the racetrack. With a few different events to select from that vary in difficulty, and a host of tracks to race in, this is definitely one of the more enjoyable racers on PlayStation 4. While riddled with glitches and bugs, none is truly game breaking, and can be tolerated by those who are patient, although it is annoying having to constantly restart the game due to freezes and the like.

Developer

VooFoo

Publisher

VooFoo

Genre

Driving

Players

4

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  7/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date None   Australian release date Out now   

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