Formula Firestorm Racing

Do you enjoy racing? Do you enjoy top-down racing? Do you like all the thrills and spills a fun game can offer? If you answer yes to any of these then Formula Firestorm Racing is going to make you smile very broadly indeed.

Formula Firestorm Racing is a top-down view racing game which allows you to zip around a rather testing course and beat the three other opponents cars. You may say ‘Pfft! Only three opponents?’ well, shame on you to judge so quickly! This game will keep you hanging on to the seat from the green light to the chequered flag.

Racing is simple due to the fact that acceleration is automatic – this leaves you to concentrate on turning left or right! Ok, this may seem a bit of a cheat, but this is just as well due to how frantically you will be pressing left or right just to squeeze your way through the smallest of openings the opponents may give you.

One thing that I wasn’t expecting is an anti-cheating setting in the game. You will be unaware of these checkpoints until you go a bit off track, at which point you will instantly be put back to the last checkpoint reached successfully and have to drive from there! This is a simple but fun addition to the game as it prevents you from cutting any corners and really tests your driving skills and also provides some security knowing that you can indeed be put back on track should you spin off! Although, having said that, you can easily go from first place to last in the blink of an eye and if your car is facing the wrong way you could easily lose several seconds which will cost you the game – especially as you only have 5 laps to prove your driving skills.

You have two options to play this game, practice mode and race mode. Practice mode will give you free reign of the course and shows you the checkpoints which will be highlighted as you successfully pass through them. There’s no limit to the number of laps you take in this practice, but does allow you to get to grips with the track and hopefully give you the inside edge in the races.

To be honest to succeed in the real race you will need a mixture of luck, skill and a lot of determination. Although the course is quite simple, the automatic acceleration means that you will have no speed for the first few seconds but a better top speed than the opposition cars. The one advantage these opponents have over you is that if they touch your car, you slow down to a virtual crawl and when they all are close together, you can rapidly end up back of the queue. Combining this with the checkpoint reset function, you can end up losing valuable time.

In the end of your race you will be rewarded with a score which you can then post online to compare with other daredevil racers.

In all honesty, this game would have been much more compelling should it have had more than one circuit to race on. The sound during the game is non-existent which is a bit of an oversight. However, all being said, this is an enjoyable game which you can play straight from download and just enjoy. It’s very retro and offers a decent challenge.

Rating 70%

Positives

Very simple to play straight away

Enjoyable

Addictive

Negatives

Repetitive

No additional courses to the one supplied

Sound doesn’t work whilst driving