Traffic Rider – Let’s ride with the breeze!

Hello dear readers of Helpix.ru. Today I’ll start my review with a rhetorical question directed to you: Have you ever played Traffic Racer? I think that although the majority have not played, they have heard out of their ears about the game, the number of installations for which exceeds 100 million. By the way, Helix has a comprehensive overview of this race, but today we are not talking about it. Taking advantage of the experience gained from the hype from the mentioned stotinki, Sonner Kara released another race, where, unlike Traffic Racer, a different mode of transport and angle are used, which will be discussed later.

The second fruit of inspiration came out no worse than the first – the number of downloads is about the same, and there are even a million more reviews.

1. Game avatar

The main image is symbolized with speed, movement and drive, and due to the beautiful sunset, pink hues prevail on it. Surprisingly, the sharpness and saturation of a motorcycle and a motorcyclist is very different from the clarity of the picture in general, and sometimes there is a feeling that the bike is standing, and everything around it is moving, but this is already unnecessary nit-picking.

2. Gameplay

Already at the beginning of the gameplay the player is greeted by a “cracked” screen with a bright ruby-colored metal inscription. At the bottom of the screen there is a warning about observance of traffic rules in real life, which, in an amicable way, should be in every game with this genre, but alas …

The main menu looks like this: a cozy room in which there is a plant, a coffee table with seats, and in the center is a used bike, around which the camera twists 360 degrees. At the bottom, the developers have placed a panel with settings, a garage, a button to start the game and unobtrusive advertising of their other brainchildren. Even before the gameplay, you can see the elaboration of the motorcycle’s details: mirrors with reflection, a pattern on the tires, a control panel and even a flashlight glinting from behind, which is good news.

The storyline, as in most games of this genre, is not worth waiting for – neither the dark past of the motorcyclist, nor the disclosure of his inner world, but is it necessary? After all, immediately after pressing the “Start Game” button, you will see one of the main features of the application – a variety of game modes:

1. “Route” – “team hodgepodge” with a variety of missions, of which there are over forty in the game. For example: “go around 40 cars in 40 seconds”, “get to the finish line in 25 seconds”.

2. “Before the accident” – the game lasts until the first fall from the motorcycle.

3. “On time” – for the allotted period of time (in fact, 90 seconds) you need to score the most points.

4. “Free ride” – ride as much as you want for your own pleasure, but the cost of such a pleasure will be considerable pumping of the player.

Spoiler

The choice in the last three modes is one-way and all-round traffic: all transport moves in one direction – in the same direction as a motorcycle, or in different directions, depending on which lane it is in. Hint: additional points are given for driving in the oncoming lane. The only difference is in the player’s level: if you choose the one-way, as the developers call it, in the “Before the accident” mode, then the second level will be enough, but in the one-way in the “Free ride” and the thirteenth one will not be enough.

After choosing the mode, you go to the training level. The unusual first-person view of the camera is immediately striking. You cannot change it, and for some players this is a minus, but for me this angle is a great advantage. Firstly, this is the difference between the game and many similar races. Secondly, it looks very atmospheric: sometimes for a split second it seems that you are driving the bike with your own hands in real life. But here already “there are no comrades for the taste and color”, so if you don’t like the first-person view, then you may not even try to play this software. Immediately I will add to the merits that in all levels you are given about 5 seconds to accelerate – in these seconds you will not find any extraneous transport or a timer. The controls are quite simple – everything is clear from the screenshots above.  Yes, we could have made them more visible, but such transparency, apparently, is provided for a night track.

You can also change the controls in the settings, which is very convenient if you are used to the standard “left-right” buttons, the steering wheel, or you are playing from an android emulator.

The number of buttons may gradually increase, but they will already act as additional equipment for the motorcycle. After level 4, a dial tone will be available to you. Personally, it does not really benefit me: if you use it not close to the cars, then the drivers will not hear it, and if it is close, then the car will turn for a very long time. Just imagine how you are driving your bike from 150 km / h, and the transport in front turns to another lane at a speed of 30 km / h … You can brake, wait for the car, but it will be inappropriate to waste precious time.

But still, I prefer other ways to accumulate extra seconds and points: drive at high speed in the oncoming lane, be dangerously close to a neighboring car or road border, overtake vehicles. But, of course, these tricks should be used in moderation, as the risk of an accident increases, and they shoot a lot of time for a fall. Note: A motorcyclist may fall if his speed exceeds ≈50 km / h.

After completing the mission, you will see a window with small statistics, for what and how much money was credited to you. Even without completing the mission, you get a little exp (you get the idea … xp, experience points) and money. The number depends on the performed stunts, the wheelie, the distance covered, the maximum speed, and the largest amount is credited for completing the mission. It is worth noting that expa up to game level 10 is filled quite quickly (1 completed mission usually takes you 1 level higher).

I’ll touch on the game currency a little. You have two varieties of it available: cash (as the developer himself calls it) and gold. Cash is used to buy tracks, upgrade and purchase new motorcycles, and, accordingly, you have more of it. Gold is already a more refined currency – with it you can completely skip the mission (in the screenshot above the sentence “After completing the mission …” this is clearly visible, but this is offered only after the fourth or fifth attempt to win), continue passing the level if you did not have enough time to win in the “Route” mode, and it is usually more profitable to simply skip the mission.