Screamride out March 3rd -
Build Mode video -
http://www.gamespot.com/videos/screamri ... 0-6423008/Screamride
When I walked into Microsoft's event, Screamride was the game I was the least interested in playing. Since I walked out, it's the game I've spent the most time thinking about.
Screamride is being developed by Frontier Games, who most recently brought Xbox owners the single most distinctive Xbox One launch title in the form of Zoo Tycoon, and many of whom previously worked on the Rollercoaster Tycoon series that Screamride evokes in so many ways. Fans of that series — of which there are more than 10 million based on the last proper installment's sales - will see a lot of familiar ideas in Screamride's coaster construction, which Frontier has worked to make function intuitively on a controller.
In practice, coaster creation looks like a sophisticated take on the creation modes in the Halo's forge and other shooter series, but not in a bad way. Parks are incredibly customizable, from landscape to coaster design, with robust layout options and even hugely useful copy and paste functionality.
But apparently what rollercoaster game fans care about is destroying all of that hard work, which Frontier has not only included, they've made an entire game mode out of it. There are actually three "campaigns" in Screamride, including one devoted to riding the coasters, an almost-racing game that didn't seem terribly deep but had some fun arcade game hooks to it.
But really, the next-gen technology behind Screamride is pushed the most in its destruction mode. Rather than simple demolition, you're tasked with destroying increasingly complicated parks through means that the producers reductively — but accurately! — compared to Angry Birds. There's an impressive and immensely satisfying level of Rube-Goldberg physics-based chaos at work in Screamride.
At least, there is on Xbox One. While Screamride is releasing on Xbox 360 along with Microsoft's newer system, the destruction has been scaled back considerably due to CPU constraints on the older platform. But both feature the same concepts of approachability that make me interested in Screamride despite my apathy towards the subject matter.
Ok, actually I'm terrified of rollercoasters, but still. My brief time with Screamride was a hell of a lot of fun, and while I doubt it will be mine, it feels like it could be someone's favorite game, the thing they get lost in when it releases on March 3 for Xbox One and 360 (for 39.99 and 29.99 respectively).
http://www.polygon.com/2015/1/20/785601 ... ce-previewSCREAMRIDE IS 2 PARTS ROLLERCOASTER TYCOON, 1 PART BURNOUT CRASH MODE
In very rare moments, failure can be fun. Screamride managed to make one of the most penalizing moments in a game not a burden, but a chance for awesome destruction. So instead of trying to complete the difficult time bonus challenges in Screamrider mode, I looked for opportune moments where I could derail my exploding car and crash into buildings.
Screamride takes place in futuristic roller coaster testing facility, so there are tons of cool tools for players to construct, test, and destroy coasters in the sandbox mode and in campaign. The campaign features three jobs — Screamrider, Demolition Expert, and Engineer — so there’s a nice mix of simulation, puzzles, and action.
Screamrider is all about making it from the beginning to the end of the roller coaster as fast and as skillfully as possible. You’ll dodge obstacles, hit a command on special rails to gain speed boosts, and tilt your car at insane angles for bonus points. When I wasn't purposefully launching my car into the environment, I was trying my best to master the pattern of tracks.
When I did inevitably knock my car off the rails, loading up the most recent checkpoint or restarting the level was thankfully quick. Even in the short time I had to play, I found myself obsessed with perfecting my runs, bringing down my time, and completing bonus challenges.
The Demolition Expert job is entirely about destruction. While there is a roller coaster car in this mode, I threw a majority of my testers in amusement ride cabins. My favorite of the bunch was the fragmentation cabin, which can split into three parts for even more tactical destruction. Demolition Expert seemed rather simple at first, but as I played later levels, the buildings had stronger foundations and the bonus challenges became increasingly more difficult. I couldn't just throw my cabins and expect destruction. I had to play with strategy and develop a little bit of skill. It’s like two parts Crash mode from Burnout and one part Angry Birds.
When multiple buildings started to crumble or sometimes when I restarted the level in both Demolition Expert and Screamrider, unfortunately, the frame rate would drop. The lagged destruction sometimes ruined the moment. Another strange thing I noticed was the absurd amount of twins among the ride testers. It was a little awkward when two of the testers had the same model doing the same animation, but that doesn't matter much once I was flinging them into a tower. Fortunately, these are issues that could potentially be rectified by the time the game’s March 3 release rolls around (also, FYI: it’ll be $40 on Xbox One and $30 on Xbox 360, where it’ll be missing the user-generated content sharing features).
Jumping into the Engineer job was a nice change of pace. The focus of Engineer, as you could probably guess, is building roller coaster tracks. Building is limited by objectives, but, like the other modes, the bonus challenges really pushed me to do my best. There are a lot of tools and track pieces, but it wasn't too difficult to figure out the controls. Unlike the sandbox mode, there are some strict restrictions when constructing tracks in Engineer mode. Instead of feeling like a limitation, the restrictions instead helped me better learn the building systems of Screamride. For instance, the first few levels I played only had me building a small section of the track, so I was limited on the distance of rails and the available rails.
Once I let the testers take it for a spin, I received a great amount of feedback. Tracks are rated in screams, nausea, and intensity. Points are also awarded based on the types of track pieces used, drops, and more. Additionally, Screamride points out issues with your track, such as showing exactly where riders fell out of the coaster car. I was able to use this information to alter my track so I could score more points and clear bonus challenges.
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2015/01/20/s ... crash-mode
