Specializing in sports games, the English developers New Star Games will soon move up a gear. With small resources, the studio has mainly produced productions for the mobile market, with a few exceptions. New Star GP will in any case be the first title from the developers to be released on Xbox, and given what we have seen, it is with great joy that we will have the pleasure of welcoming it to our consoles.
Like the beginnings of Rare, the developers of New Star Games took place in a cottage in the English countryside. A picturesque place to imagine new sports games. After football, baseball, American football and cricket, it is motor sports that have been favored by this small studio. Announced at the beginning of last summer, New Star GP will soon arrive on Xbox. To keep us waiting, the developers and publisher Five Aces Publishing prepared a trial version of their game for us as part of the latest ID@Xbox Demo Event Winter. A very convincing first approach which suggests that the game will be an excellent surprise in 2024.
At first glance, New Star GP takes up the principle of the neo-retro racing game, as did titles like Horizon Chase Turbo or Formula Retro Racing before it. Deliberately old-school graphics, just to please those nostalgic for the 16-bit and 32-bit era, with an aesthetic that quickly recalls Virtua Racing released on Arcade in 1992, then ported to Sega machines of the time, namely the Megadrive, 32X and Saturn. But, if it is generally quite simple to imitate this type of title from a purely graphic point of view, it is always more difficult to include enough interesting features to make it a modern work. And it is especially on this level that New Star GP surprised us.
Very quickly, a tutorial comes to explain everything that makes the difference. To begin with, the track has the famous “racing line” introduced by the very first Forza Motorsport. As in the Turn10 game (and many others later), this one recommends the “ideal” trajectory and invites you to slow down and even brake by switching to orange then red if you enter a turn with too much speed. Another option inseparable from current games, the rewind function is also part of the trip. Usable three times per race, it allows you to make up for an error that caused a big loss of time, or worse, an exit from the track. Two elements which above all allow a maximum number of players to be taken on board, from the most gifted to novices.
In terms of what we absolutely did not expect to see, New Star GP also offers pit stops. As in a real Formula 1 grand prix, it is possible to adapt the racing strategy with one or more stops, which therefore involves the use of soft or hard tires, and a certain quantity of gasoline on board. Stopping requires a little dexterity with the left stick allocated to the choice of tires and the right trigger which allows you to fill the car’s tank. To note the presence of rain tires, to be worn when water falls on the track. Enough to bring a little depth to the whole, for an experience that ultimately differs from one race to another.
In terms of content, we noted the presence of a Career mode playable solo, while the title should take on another dimension in Championship mode against real players. La Carrière for its part offers us to embody The Kid, a pilot who can be personalized down to the mustaches, for an assumed old-fashioned style in our case. Note that this game mode is divided into ten Grand Prix, some of which are inspired by real circuits like that of Monaco. Before starting the big race, you can nevertheless do a few scouting laps to assimilate the subtleties of each track, while qualifying requires you to pass by Time Trial, Australian-style elimination or checkpoint races. The player’s results have a double importance since they allow them to collect money, BUX, a currency to spend on improving the car.
Last point, by winning a championship, you unlock a new decade, an element that is still unclear since the demo did not allow access to this part of the adventure. However, we imagine that this makes it possible to unlock new car models, with five decades in total, ranging from the 80s to the 2020s. Not much to say about the technical side of the game, which already seems to be perfect a few months from now. the release of the game. The music is a bit aggressive but ultimately resonates like an echo of the productions from which it draws inspiration. We appreciate the impressive number of camera angles available, with even several aerial views available. You would have understood it, New Star GP is an excellent surprise and could well establish itself as a must-have in terms of racing games in the coming months.
2023-12-27 15:09:32
#play #Star #big #indie #surprise #Test #News
