Review: As fast as a Lego can go.
The Game Boy Advance has it's limitations. Being a 16-bit portable system in a world of 128 bit consoles, the portable has a lot of unfair bias placed against it. Some people complain that the processing power isn't up to par and that you just can't achieve the same kind of experience on the road as you can in your living room. In the racing genre, one of the biggest complaints has been that the GBA just can't recreate the sense of speed. Drome Racers, a Lego branded racing title from THQ, shows that even the fastest of experiences is possible, even without the power of an actual console.
As you are probably starting to gather, one of Drome Racers' biggest assets is an astounding sense of speed. Now, it never feels like you are reaching the 300+ miles-per-hour that your speedometer indicates, but the game takes you several steps further than the GBA has seen before. Unfortunately, this pace does come at a price as Drome Racers' graphics take a little bit of a hit in order to maintain the speed. Track and background textures are nothing better than adequate, but at least the vehicle sprites are clear and stylish.
In order to give players a varied game playing experience, Drome Racers presents several different gameplay modes. Beyond the traditional Championship, Time Trial, and Arcade modes, Drome Racers offers players a taste of drag racing. While many of the races seem like souped up versions of Mario Kart (complete with power-ups), the drags are simply a matter of driving fast on a short course. Used as a qualifier for the main events, the drag races rely upon your timing ability as all you have to do is hit the gas and shift your transmission. The biggest draw of this mode is the unique change of pace that it provides in contrast to the traditional racing fare.
Drome Racers comes to a head in the Championship mode as you alternate between drag and traditional races and the traditional races alternate between on and off-road excursions. After selecting your racing team, you take to the tracks in three different cars; A drag, an off-road, and an on-road racing vessel. After each race, you earn credits that you can use to upgrade the speed, acceleration, handling, or grip on one of your vehicles. While lending itself to some minor customization, the real point of the upgrades is to push your vehicle as fast as you can.
Unfortunately, the entire gameplay experience of Drome Racers is way too short. While there is a multiplayer mode to prolong your racing pleasure, the game's difficulty makes it so that you can play through all four championship circuits in one sitting. True, you can do it again with another racing team, but it is still just playing the same game over. For the next trip around the block, I hope that THQ and Mobius find a way to make the Lego racing experience last a lot longer.
