In the end, it’s just not as finely balanced as Mario Kart or some other, similar titles, and this makes for some frustration, especially given the one thing that very clearly comes direct from Mario Kart, the overly aggressive AI. Others are simply cheap, like the teleport that instantly jumps a racer ahead a few spaces. The bad weather item, for example, which makes the track wet, slows down karts and reduces traction, affects all racers, even team mates and the player who uses it, which is a little strange, as it doesn’t really give the deploying player an advantage in most cases. Some other power ups are a little odd, though. Other power ups are simple rip-offs, such as homing red bubbles, speed boosts, and blue trap bubbles that replace banana skins. In some ways, it does, and in others, it’s simply re-skins karting tropes. With the use of the official F1 license, F1 Race Stars has the chance to really set itself apart from the pack. I’d much prefer a traditional drift system, thank you very much. Eventually, you do become accustomed to the handling, but you never really lose the hankering for the power slide. It’s actually quite interesting, and adds some novelty, but it takes some time to get out of the almost inescapable urge to hit the handbrake and drift your way into the straight. By releasing and holding accelerate up to three times whilst in such a zone, you can build up a powerful speed boost, throwing you out of tight corners, and giving you the drop on less skilled opponents. This is further suggested thanks to the blue chevron boost zones adorning many of the tougher corners. Instead, F1 Race Stars encourages you to drive more like an F1 racer, as in braking for tight turns, and accelerating out of them. It’s a sorely missing feature, and one that instantly jars if you’ve even a passing familiarity to kart racers, especially Mario Kart. Yes, real F1 cars can hardly pull off such power slides, but then, neither can they loop de loop, launch homing bubble missiles or self-repair at speed, all of which they handle here. Lacking such a traditional and essential feature for any kart racer is simply unforgivable. Unlike almost every other kart racer out there, F1 Race Stars features no power slide or drift, and it’s a real killer. In fact, it’s the major thing, in my opinion, that drags the title down somewhat. Now, the former of these skills is fine, and learning the courses and how to best use the weapons on offer is no problem, but the latter, mastering the racing controls, isn’t.
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January 2023
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