Back when I was in college me and my friend were convinced we were going to make video games when we were older. Neither of us knew how to make games or was studying anything to do with making video games. However, we decided it was happening and our first game was going to be about street racing. We’d even come up with a trailer in our heads with the song Cochise by Audioslave to accompany it. Then along came games like Tokyo Xtreme Racer and NFS Underground which was pretty much the idea we had. Although I think in our heads it was going to be more gritty or something, I don’t know…
Obviously, that never happened. However, the recently released ‘demo’ for Night-Runners Prologue (which is also on Kickstarter) got me thinking about it again. To me, this is what our imaginary game was going to look like – which I suppose is also quite like Tokyo Xtreme Racer. Anyway, I spent some time trying it out and its really freaking cool.
Take it to the streets
Descend into the world of street racing in Japan during the 90’s and noughties. Navigate your way through the shady power struggle of local street racing crews building your rep and paying debts along the way. Hit up the auction house to get your hands on your first motor. You can then customise your car by buying new parts, and new wheels, making repairs, and more. Furthemore, you can customise the interiors of your car. Or you could strip the parts and keep them in storage for another vehicle later on.
Your main aim is to pay off debts and build a name for yourself. Challenge other street racers in 1vs1 races, and place bets with as much money as you’re willing to risk. But be careful as you could lose it and end up in even more debt. Even in these early stages, there seems to be a decent amount to play around with. For all those nerds who love to get the maximum horse power or quickest 0-60 speeds, you’ll be in your element.
It’s a vibe
Night Runners is dripping in style – which is what initially drew me to it. The PS2-style visuals look fantastic. There is a mixture of lower res/retro graphics to much of the environments whereas the cars have higher quality textures and a lot more detail to them. There are also NPC characters milling around in open areas where you can challenge other drivers, they all have blurred faces and that lower-res PS2 look to them. It sounds a bit weird really, and you might think the cars stand out like a sore thumb. But it works really well. There’s also this VHS filter on a lot of the game which helps to create a more immersive feel to the game.
Additionally, the audio hits just right with the deep house tunes getting louder the faster you drive. The cars sound great as the engines scream whilst you race around the highways dodging traffic. The races I’ve done were pretty easy, so I hope it does get a lot more challenging later on. That being said, what I have played seems awesome. I’m totally digging what is on offer.
You can download the Prolgoue for free over on Steam to get a taste of the game. It’s also running a Kickstarter right now – which I didn’t realise, if you want to back it. If you loved Tokyo Xtreme Racer then you probably want to check this one out.
-Will
