One could argue that the content of Neon Drive doesn’t end on its final arcade machine/level, as there is still a hard mode, and the seemingly everlasting endless-mode. Even a newcomer, who has never touched Rock Band, or DJ Hero, will manage to reach the final credits within an hour. But even after one takes its size into the consideration, Neon Drive still falls short, as even the most cynical gamer would expect the core content to last at least a couple of hours, but instead, a skilled player can finish the game in mere minutes. But the length of the title, and the amount of core content can be predicted from the fact that the title, despite of its 3D visuals, only weighs around 300mb. Neon Drive while visually and technically impressive, is simply way too short. But while all of those are truly impressive, there is simply not enough of them, as within the title, one will find exactly 8 levels, all of which can be completed in under an hour, collectively. As throughout the game, player will move from neon-punk Miami beach, to futuristic cyber-punk metropolis, and last but not least, a cold and heartless manufacturing plant. And such is the integral part of each and every level, as it makes one feel like he/she is truly making progress.
The sheer variety which comes in form of all the levels is simply astounding, as each and every one of them features its own spin on the gameplay mechanic, unique vehicle, on-of-a-kind sound track, and most importantly a level-specific visual façade. Some levels turn the rather flat track into a cylinder, where player can move the vehicles all the way around the track, whereas as others, turn Neon Drive completely on its head and change it into a platformer – as one of the latter levels requires one to complete a 2.5D platforming section, instead of a road-based track.
Some Neon Drive levels – which in-game are presented as arcade machines – as stated before, features its own unique spin on the core formula. But thankfully, each and every in-game level features its own unique spin on the basic rhythm-based mechanic, meaning that there is simply no room for boredom to creep in.
Initially, the core gameplay mechanics may seem archaic as well as monotone, as avoiding simple obstacles on hours at a time, may bore one to death. However, the difficulty in the end doesn’t come from the overall speed, but the fact that ‘Hard’ tracks disallow one from respawning, meaning that upon failure, one has to restart the entire level. And depending on the difficulty, both the obstacles as well as the soundtrack become more intense, as they come at the player controlled vehicles and a much higher, average pace. The core gameplay mechanic, is centred around avoiding obstacles by moving left and right to the beat of a song, which is playing in the background of each track. However, Neon Drive has managed to pull that off. As nobody in the right state of mind could have even guessed that a racing game, could become a work of art, when combined with basic rhythm-based mechanics. In fact, from its early previews, one got an impression that it might just be the very first ‘unique’ title in years, as it was looking to combine two genres, which one would never expect to go well together. Right from the beginning, Neon Drive seemed to be destined to become the next big thing.
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