Ignite
A newer version of this review can be read at www.trulyinterestingmedia.com
The thing I liked to do most on an early Sunday morning was driving around town at 200mph. Unfortunately the cops took away my drivers license and Ferrari after I crashed into them, so now I have to play video games to satisfy my urges. Because development studio Nemesys Games felt sorry for me, they have sent me their game Ignite. Will it light my fire? Or will it crash and burn?
After you start up the game you will be greeted by a nice menu. Not many menus look this good and it really gives you an impression of what the game will be like, lots of fast cars and beautiful environments. It is a shame though that the black borders are really jaggy, even at 1920x1080 and when Anti Aliasing is enabled. Also when you select modes with the keyboard an awkward sound comes out of the speakers that do not suit the game at all. This does not happen when you use the mouse.
There are several modes that you can play; campaign, free play and multiplayer. Campaign lets you unlock different cars and paint jobs, but it isn't the most fun to play. Races are fairly easy and it doesn't give you much adjustment options. Free play on the other hand is really fantastic. You can choose between three different race types; race, knock-out and run-out. You can also choose in which environment you would like to race, against how many opponents, their A.I. and even the weather is adjustable. I haven't tested multiplayer yet, and since you are reading this review I think you haven't either. So please read the conclusion too, you might get a chance to win the game!
Graphically Ignite can easily compare itself to games like Burnout Paradise or Project Gotham Racing 3. The cars look good, especially for such low system requirements. They even get damaged when you crash into a wall or another car! And most of the time when the cars look good, environments are totally forgotten. Well, not in this game. Tracks are fun to race, there is a nice diversity between them and they look really good. From the buildings to the road and to the grass. Everything has such amazing detail! The track listing in this game is good, but not great. Just what you would expect from a game that costs just € 7,99. Ignite also features achievements (30 in total) varying from winning a race, to several stunts. While this doesn't really encourage me, I know it does for some people.
While in a race you can use nitro boost to -duh- use nitro. You car will go amazingly fast and motion blur with be activated. This gives a nice little touch and you really get the feeling that you are racing fast. You can also drift in corners which will give you extra points. These points will be added up to your score later on, so even when you finish second you can still win the race! Not that many players will be on second place for long though, because the game is incredibly easy.
Conclusion
While this may not be a very challenging game, it is guaranteed to bring lots of fun! Boosting, drifting and destroying your opponents was never this satisfying. For those of you who are curious to try this game out you can find it on Steam.
Sound 20/30
Graphics 25/30
Gameplay 30/30
Replay Value 8/10
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Total score 83/100
Ignite is played on a PC with Windows 7.