Speed Kings

Don?t call Speed Kings ?Burnout on bikes.? Burnout doesn?t deserve that kind of insult.

Combat, stunts, and cycles combine for Acclaim?s new motorbike racer, Speed Kings. Unfortunately, this is not a Road Rash for the next generation. It plays more like a really good student project.

Speed Kings features super-fast graphics that are clean to the point of being sterile and contain some cool stunts like sliding the bike under a tractor-trailer. However, that move is called Powerdown, which is way too close to Powerband, the frankly idiotic name given to a turbo boost; since both names flash on the screen throughout the race, you?ll inevitably confuse them and crash. Players gain boost by punching/kicking other racers, driving recklessly, and performing stunts?stunts that include tricks like endos and stoppies, which is inexplicable in a racing game. Why hit the brakes when the only way to progress is to finish first? What?s more, you gain boost by tapping the sides of cars as you pass, but more often than not, you?ll wipe out?it?s not an enjoyable challenge.

The too-twitchy controls (which aren?t laid out logically or comfortably) and easy crash deaths belie an inappropriate commitment to realism in a patently arcadey setting, while other elements simply need more polish (spotty collision detection; some tricks that aren?t ?seen?). The electronica music drones almost as annoyingly as the woefully banal engine sounds. While the crunchy crashes will elicit comparisons to Acclaim?s other racer, Burnout, the two games are not in the same league. Speed Kings is unfortunately just a pretender to the throne.

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