With a colourful splash screen and jolly, Pixar-esque music, it is immediately obvious what TNT Racers on Xbox Live Arcade aims to provide: pure fun. Coming in at 800MSP for 45 challenges, time trials and multiplayer modes, despite all outward appearances TNT isn’t a soulless cash-in, designed to gain the attention and money of little children that wouldn’t know any better. It instead manages to be a genuinely enjoyable racer, sticking to the simplistic premise of games such as the PS2-era Mashed, whilst putting its own spin on proceedings.
Picking from a small selection of vehicles- the majority of which feel exactly the same as each other- the player will likely first head to the meat of the game: Challenge mode. Spread evenly across three sections (Normal, Fast and Turbo), the 45 challenges provide a strong variation on the main gameplay styles. In order to progress through the sections the player must complete the first eight challenges in each section in order, with another seven being optional in each section. Every challenge is different from the last, but as mentioned they are all in some way linked to the main gameplay types: Knock-Out mode, Time Trials and Shadow Racing.
Knock-Out mode is one of the most heavily featured, often partnered with Shadow Racing. In Knock-Out challenges, the player must use the various pick-ups along the track to destroy the three other competing vehicles. This can be done through either the use of offensive weapons- such as a Candy Cannon or Space Rocket- or by causing the other vehicles to fall behind far enough. See, in TNT Racers, all players are displayed on one screen from an isometric perspective, and all vehicles must remain in the confines of the screen to escape death. If the player can make use of pick-ups- such as Oil Guns or Smokers (which spill oil on the track and cause the area behind the Smoker to be obscured by smoke, respectively) – they can cause other players to fall behind and die. In Knock-Out mode, points are scored by being the in the top three left alive at the end of each round, the last survivor earning three points, the second last two, etc. The first person to reach a predetermined score limit over the rounds is the winner.
Time Trials are reasonably self-explanatory: the player races alone through a particular track, aiming to complete a certain number of laps in a set time. If the player fails, they must start again. This formula is altered occasionally with the introduction of items that must be avoided, such as traffic cones or mines.
Shadow Racing is one of the most interesting parts of the game. Across many of the challenges the goal is to kill off opposing vehicles until one remains, at which point the game moves on to a new round from where the final survivor left off, with all players having respawned. However, in these challenges, death isn’t the end of the player’s fun for that round. They come back as ‘shadow racers’, who have the ability to score points in point-based challenges through collecting coins but, more importantly, can mess with other racers. Pick-ups such as tornadoes and ray guns allow players to continue having fun once they are unable to win the round, and shadow racing is a great way to prevent players who have ‘lost’ that round becoming bored, particularly in multiplayer.
Multiplayer presents a bit of an issue with the game, however. At time of writing, the online is one of two things: broken, or dead. Multiple attempts at joining a match of any kind were met with no success, and this reviewer cannot claim to have at any point experienced the online multiplayer. It is a shame, as TNT seems like the kind of game that could be great fun to play online. Unless the player has three friends to play with, it seems unlikely that they’ll ever have a match without the other competitors sharing their sofa. There is local multiplayer, allowing the players to create a custom match from the available modes and tracks, but the lack of an active online community is an issue for the game.
The presentation of the game is appropriate for the audience and each track is obviously visually different from the last, all being colourful and well designed and laid out for the target audience. The music should logically become repetitive, with just a few relatively short loops covering the entire game, but the audio never becomes annoying throughout play.
Overall, with a variety of challenges, time trials to add replay value and a reasonable local multiplayer mode, TNT Racers is worth picking up for those looking for a light racing title or something for younger players. The shadow racing prevents any player left without something to do, and the overall racing experience is a fun one. No one will be hailing this as the new Mario Kart, but it doesn’t need to be. TNT Racers is surprisingly fun in its own right and while it isn’t the deepest racer available, it will provide entertainment for many, its personality and large amount of challenges and time trials sure to keep players interested.
NXT Score: 8/10
Pros
- Fun, varied challenges that progress in difficulty
- Colourful graphics and cheery music
- A variety of tracks, weapons and aesthetically different vehicles
Cons
- Online multiplayer is dead
Developer: 
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