Magforce Racing

You may remember this as Killer Loop when it come out for the PlayStation several months ago. Since then it's been improved in several ways, including more tracks and a multiplayer option. Yet even in this prettier incarnation MagForce Racing is still a giant WipeOut rip-off. The tracks, the futuristic themes, the techno soundtrack...it's all very similar. But the one element they should have copied they didn't--the vehicles. The game's tripod ships are not only ugly, they're hard to control. If you've ever pushed a three-wheel cart you know what I'm talking about: The front wheel tends to drift to one side causing the back end to follow suit. I believe the term is "dog-walking," and it's the same thing in the game. There's a way to powerslide but it doesn't make the oddball handling any easier to stomach. The tracks, on the other hand are pretty good. The magnetized cars can stick to every portion. Copious amounts of loops, tubes and corkscrews create an effect similar to riding a roller coaster-1 really like that. Unfortunately the tracks alone don't sell the game. When you factor in the awkward handling and the insane framerate things get out of control fast. Keeping your perspective while careening all over the track is a monumental challenge. Add the occasional cheap shot by the Al vehicles and you have a mixed bag of tricks. Multiplayer is decent however. Fans of the genre should rent MagForce.

This is one of the worst Wipeout clones I've ever seen, and over the last few years I've seen a ton. MagForce is one of the most boring and uninspired racing games to hit a console, not to mention one of the ugliest. Apparently, in the future, everyone races in really ugly tripods that slip, slide and sputter around the race tracks and draw energy from green pebbles spilled on the road. Now doesn't that sound fun? The power-ups and weapons should have been a strength of this game, but instead they are laughable. Believe it or not, I've seen better special effects in early PlayStation games. Need I go on? Just stay far away from this stinky embarrassment.

A souped-up-for-DC version of PS classic WipeOut, MFR puts you in futuristic vehicles racing through tubular courses, collecting power-ups along the way. While the game is an eye-catcher if you happen to have friends over watching, appearances don't necessarily translate into fun here. While a solid-looking and feeling game, MFR did a better job of wreaking havoc on my equilibrium for several hours than it did in entertaining me. It doesn't help that the vehicles always seem to be sliding slightly to the left and right rather than going straight down the track. There's better racing games out there, but if sliding through tubes is your thang than check this one out.