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| My Tier 1 Ford Focus. |
CSR Racing is an iOS game that was released at the end of
June. Since its inception, it has been a relatively big hit, and has also
proven to be a huge cash cow for NaturalMotion Games.
I aim for this lengthly post to count as both a review and
as a bit of a guide for new players of the game. I am by far an expert for the
game, but by this point I have cleared the First Tier content, and am
approximately half way through the second tier. All the waffle below is my opinon,
but I will link in other sources where possible… Grab a cup of tea, sit back
and relax… this is not going to be short…
So far, the game has proved to be very immersing, with
excellent quality graphics and audio. It reminds me strongly of Need for Speed
and Burnout, and is essentially a game where you customise and upgrade your car
and take to the streets to compete in drag races which return coin which you
reinvest in further upgrades or new vehicles to do better at the drag races. I find that you can take a
great sense of pride and ownership of your vehicle… The game makes you want to pick a vehicle you
like (in this case I picked a ford focus which is in the title image, as I drive the same car.) which you
then customise the looks of (which also provides bonus $’s at the end of each
race) and upgrade to make it the best drag racer it can be. Every vehicle also behaves
differently, with different levels of traction, speed bands and gear ratios which
mean you have to adapt to the car.
In each race you have the ‘start’ where you need to balance
the rev limiter to get the perfect start without too much wheel spin or power
loss, and then you control the timings of the Gear changes or NOs injections.
It is a battle of timing and efficiency, and whilst it can be a bit samey, does
not detract from the game play in the slightest.
At Tier 1 you can participate in the Regulation Races (Easy
races which provide easy income, but only in small chunks), the Ladder system
(progressively more difficult races with good rewards), Challenges (periodic
challenges which can be tough, but give good rewards), Daily Races (drags where
you are ‘loaned’ a vehicle and are given good rewards, that get progressively
higher if you play daily. These are fairly easy races and a good way out of a cash
bottleneck.) and the all important Crew Battles, where you take your car and
compete against the local race circuit/gangs. Said gangs provide a lot of smack
talk and generally succeed in making you want to crush their racers into the
road, and it feels oh-so-good when you upgrade your vehicle enough and ace the
race. When you defeat the gang leader, you can progress to the next tier.
Each
tier requires an equivalently Tiered car in order to race. This is where things
can get tricky for the free player. You can try to win the Gang leaders car at
the risk of the Gold Coins you win by defeating them, or you can go on the hunt
for a new vehicle. I was sad at this point as I really liked the Ford Focus and
had grown to love it, and was not going to be able to use it in Tier 2! Unfortunately I never re raced the gang leader for
his car as I don’t like the new Mini, and did not want to risk the coin... so I continued to do the Ladder and
Regulation races in Tier 1 until the assistant gal in the game turned up with a
special deal for a half-price car, in this case a Chevrolet Camaro.
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| My Tier 2 Camaro. (I know, not a great paint job but still!) |
I thought that it looked
decent, and had good stats but I was $2000 shy for it (I always seem to be a little short to take
up one of these offers) so I forked out 15 of the 16 Gold Coins I had earned
through races and leveling, and spent the $30,000 on upgrades, then took to tier
2.
Tier 2 is somewhat similar but the cars you race against are better
equipped, and Restriction Races are introduced. I have not really toyed about
with these as my car is too light, and too fast to meet the restricted criteria…
Generally the player will play through races, earn cash,
spend it on upgrade (and eventually vehicles) and win their way through each
tier. I am not sure what happens when you reach the end of Tier 5 – but I get
the feeling this is going to be a fairly long game, but so far after a week of
play I am enjoying it! As there is a reasonable conversion rate of real money
to gold coins players that are willing to spend real money on in-game purchases
should not feel as ripped off as many other games. With a player base of around
2.5 Million at present, announcements of the
huge
revenue pulled from it can attest to how many players enjoy the game enough
to valiate spending money. Plus, every spend is optional. For myself, the items
I would be most willing to spend money on would be for a really nice car and
some custom decals to make it look good. I am happy to wait for the delivery of
more advanced parts and cars, but these can be sped up with gold coins too.
An aside on the Freemium system:
The Freemium system is a method of game delivery that allows
players to get and play the game for free, and which usually includes
purchasable in game content or advertising. Many people look upon the freemium
system with distain, as many developers approach the freemium market with the
mindset of milking players for as much money as possible. Whilst in many cases
*cough Zynga cough* this is true, the costs of many in game items is prohibitive
to all but the most avid and fat-pursed gamer. Many of these games have ‘choke
points’ where the player is forced to spend their in-game credit to bypass,
which in turn means spending money. Players can usually horde just enough of
the in-game credit to get through these places, or are able to ‘beg it’ from
their friends if they are determined not to pay anything, but it can be very
slow. Some games are highly profitable without giving players the feeling that
they are being ‘Nickel and dimed’ – a good example of a game that gets the balance right, or at least in favor of the customer being Tiny Tower (
Android
&
iOS).
In this game the user is given a range of sources of the in game currency ‘Bux’
and if they play regularly, are constantly being bombarded with it via tips
from the occasional elevator passenger, or for helping locate ‘Bitizens’ within
the tower. This may have dented the revenue stream for the company, but for a
two man development team, a couple of million $ a year cannot be frowned upon,
and best of all the game is perfectly playable for those that don’t want to
spend the coin. In my opinion – freemium gaming is actually very good. If you
would not have bought the game normally, you get to play it at no cost. In my
case, if I would be willing to buy the game in a shop, then I would attribute a
cash value to the game and use it as my limit for in game spends. The other
upside is that with the software market the way it is today with piracy and the
likes, it can prove a stable source of income for the developer meaning that
they can continue to make good games. Without the freemium system I would not
have played: DC Universe Online, Blacklight Retribution, CSR Racing, Lord Of
The Rings online and more… all games I really enjoy(ed) playing.
In Conclusion:
The game is free. Try it! you wont be disappointed if you are in any way a fan of racing games, or car customisation games. It provides a quality experience, and is indeed a game that could have gone to market with a reasonable price tag. Try it, dont be afraid to spend a few bob for your own special ride, and enjoy!
GFX: 9/10
Audio: 8/10
Addiction: 8.5/10
Value: 8/10
Fun: 9/10
Overall: 8.5/10
