Make Waves
When it comes to realistic racing games, devotees of NASCAR or illicit street racing have plenty of options for getting their gas-guzzling, rubber-burning fix. Good boat racing titles, on the other hand, are few and far between, and there are slim pickings on the water sports gaming front in general. Developers Hammerware has apparently taken notice and set out to make things right with a racing game aimed squarely at players who have a greater affinity for H 2 O than terra firma.
Powerboat GT lets you hit the waves at high speeds in intensely competitive races rounded out by open-ended challenges and off jobs. You’ll travel to hot racing spots around the world as you work your way up the ranks among the boating elite. Thematically, the game’s not much different from its earthbound counterparts. As a new member of the Powerboat GT league, your aim is to gain money, earn a reputation at the races, pick up sponsors, upgrade your gear, and work your way to the top of the racing food chain to bask in the glory reserved for the best of the best in the powerboat league. The gameplay isn’t convoluted with an over-blown story; it’s primarily about speed and cut-throat racing. Even without a plot, the presentation is suitably engaging and goes slightly beyond what you might expect from a lesser-known racing title.
You’ll start out racing in the quiet quasi-rural waterways of Russia where some shoreline areas are scattered with rustic cottages set amongst the trees and others house large, smog-spewing industrial factories. In addition to multiple locations in Russia (including a flooded village that allows you utilize protruding rooftops to catch some air), you’ll travel to different areas of Greece and the Caribbean, which offer unique, scenic racing environments. Each location features a free-roam map much like the Grand Theft Auto series (sans hookers and the mindless capping of innocents). You can ride your boat around to enjoy the pleasant views and visit various hotspots that allow you to take on jobs, purchase new boats and upgrades, earn extra dough, and try your luck in races, among other activities.
A few minor distractions aside, the racing component of Powerboat GT is the focus and highlight of the game. Initial races are short and only run simple laps around an island or two against a handful of opponents. More advanced races in each location will weave through winding turns and obstacles on longer courses featuring a greater number of tougher opponents. Coming in first place in enough races will unlock new levels for you to explore. Placing in the top three in any race will earn you extra money and popularity points – the amount of both will go up significantly as the races get harder. Your popularity score will determine your overall game rank and whether or not various companies will be interested in sponsoring you. Catching the attention of sponsors is crucial, since sponsorships bring multipliers, which allow you to quickly rack up serious cash and notoriety.
Simple racing along the waterfront course is fun enough, but the addition of weaponry to take out competing vessels and ramp up the chaos makes the prospect far more enticing. Other than basic speed boost pickups, which are plentiful and helpful for gaining a slight temporary advantage (or more like attempt to fall less behind), the game throws an unusual arsenal into the mix. Depth charges, hot hair balloons that drop grenades from the sky, mines disguised as crates, dragnets that slow you down, E.M.P. blasts that disable all vessels temporarily, standard rockets and torpedoes, and even explosive jumping frogs are all available for massive water-borne destruction. Being able to slow down and occasionally overturn your opponents is handy. Of course, when you’re only one of eight racers on the course and everyone behind you happens to conveniently pick up weapons at the same time, you can bet your ass is toast. A direct hit at a crucial high-speed moment from any of the aforementioned gadgets is likely to send your boat flying in the air end-over-end, at which point it’s simply easier to restart rather than attempt to make up lost ground.
Getting your boat moving is easy enough (keyboard directional keys control thrust and turning while the space bar and shift keys handle weapons and speed boosts respectively), but keeping it on course when dodging weapon fire or being rammed at high speed from another vessel is next to impossible. It helps that the controls are so simple that your family pet could operate them, but their responsiveness is largely determined by the make of your boat and how fast it’s moving. Controls also get pretty touchy when you’re maxing out your speed and have to make even slight changes to your course.
Though racing is what you’ll be doing the most of in Powerboat GT, there are a few other activities that switch things up a bit and provide opportunities to increase your bankroll. You can taxi rich tourists around, save drowning victims, and pilot sluggish fishing boats and other assorted vessels to hunt for treasure coins on the open seas, to name a few. The most interesting diversion involves piloting a rickety plane to dive-bomb crates at specific locations. Much of your time will be spent seeking out money to spend on new boat upgrades or stylish paint jobs for your sweet powerboat collection. If you get really bored, you can always mess around with your in-game PDA. Fiddling with the device allows you to check the map, change the tunes, read e-mails from sponsors, and track your earnings. Online multiplayer would have been fun, but you’re stuck with local LAN matches if you want to go up against buddies. However, you can take pictures of your boat and upload images and data about what ships you own to a website via the in-game menu, but I’m not sure why you’d want to do that.
Powerboat GT is a great looking game, and its beauty balances out its mediocre points. The distant scenery is pretty, and the close-up environments are equally attractive. The water visuals and physics are also highly realistic, particularly on higher graphical settings. Given the nominal system requirements, the game looks far more impressive than you might expect. It all looks good on medium-level graphical settings, but hiking it up to “perfect” makes the game world simply pop. At times, just glancing off into the distance is enough to provide a few moments of calm – if you hit the mute button first.
For a budget priced PC title, Powerboat GT is a solid game. With summer still months away, it just might be the perfect distraction to get you through the last remnants of cold weather. At $19.99, it’s certainly cheaper than a boating vacation to the Caribbean.
RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.8 Graphics
Everything about this beautifully rendered game looks amazing except for the front-end menu. 3.0 Control
Simple keyboard controls are a little rough around the edges in terms of responsiveness. They’ll grow on you in time. 3.7 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Lots of music from virtually unknown bands. Great variety in styles, but not so much in terms of the songs themselves. 3.6 Play Value
A good deal of fun in short bursts, but it holds up well for an hour or two at a time. 3.7 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.
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