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Review – Anarchy: Rush Hour | PSNStores

Review – Anarchy: Rush Hour

Posted by on May 3rd, 2010 | 1 Comment | Tags: , ,

Developer: Gaijin Entertainment
Publisher: Gaijin Entertainment
Release Date: March 25, 2010
Availability:
Price: $7.99
Demo: No
Players: 1-8 (online) 1-2 (split screen)
Rating: Teen

What I Liked:

  • Insane Value for Money (Platinum Trophy)
  • Supports Custom Soundtracks
  • Solid, Dependable Fun

What I Disliked:

  • Hilarious AI at times
  • Day and night cycle creates problems for some races.

By all reasonable logic, Anarchy: Rush Hour should be utterly terrible. The first impression it makes is of a terribly low budget arcade racer, with an opening cutscene that is completely and utterly hilarious, for what I would call all the wrong reasons. Then the game chooses to dump the player into what seems to be a massive, wide open city, with barely any means of navigation.

It is only when you find your way into your first event that the game seems to open up gloriously, with a plethora of races and customization options reminiscent of the Need For Speed: Underground series. This game represents incredible of value for money, with races, stunt events, drag races and demolition derbys to complete in order for you to reach the goal of saving your girlfriend, and possibly becoming the number one racer along the way.

Some of said events are better than others, with the demolition derby style sequences being particularly painful, as the “power ups” at your disposal feel week and ineffectual, seemingly creating all of the impact of a damp sponge. These events quickly grew tiresome, but I still felt compelled to do them, as the cash rewards were far in advance of anything the races could give me, allowing me to buy bigger and better cars, along with ludicrous upgrades (ever seen a car jump over a tower?).

The game also has other problems, with the AI at times creating situations of disbelief, such as spinning wildly out of control at every corner it came to, which certainly helped when it came to helping me, but when the event is somewhat of an escort mission, having the very person you’re escorting spin out in front of you can get rather tiresome.

In addition to this, the day and night cycle in the game can create some problems, as the fact that your car’s headlamps break upon any sort of scuff with any object, combined with just how bereft of light some parts of the city are means that at some times you’ll be looking at your compass in order to make sure that you’re still on the road.

Apart from these problems, Anarchy: Rush Hour presents insane value for money, with 8 player online multiplayer and 2 player split screen rounding out an altogether impressive package. It may not be perfect, but at its asking price, you really couldn’t ask for anything more.