Beach Buggy Racing 2 Island Adventure Review (PlayStation 4)
BBR2: Island Adventure is a mayhem-filled kart-racer with an emphasis on split-screen fun and game rule customization. Customize and save your own zany race rules for epic contests with up to 8 local players.
Pros:
- Cartoon graphics.
- 487.2MB download size.
- Platinum trophy.
- Own in-game achievements and they pop up.
- Works on Playstation 5.
- Kart racing gameplay.
- Auto acceleration on/off.
- 13 characters to unlock.
- 44 power-ups to earn/find and collect to use in the game from speed bursts to oil spills, shields, and more.
- 40 vehicles to unlock with each having its own base stats.
- 4 difficulties-relaxed, normal, hard, and very hard.
- 1-3 stars to earn in each event that unlocks new events and areas.
- Better performance over the last game.
- Four game modes-adventure, championships, time trial, and tournaments.
- Adventure-earn stores and unlock events, world map level select and you can find hidden power-ups and get upgrades for your stats.
- 1-4 player multiplayer.
- Player handicap options.
- Familiar tight controls.
- Turbo start if you press accelerate on the go prompt!
- Power slide and Drift corners.
- Can fire some projectiles backward.
- Can hold two power-ups at one time.
- The racing bar at the top of the screen showing the positions of all racers.
- Each character has a unique special ability that has two uses and needs to charge up.
- Find new paint schemes and decals in the races.
- Easy to use Drift system.
- You can view the unlock criteria for vehicles.
Cons:
- Generic repetitive soundtrack.
- Only one control layout.
- One driving view only.
- No voice work.
- Can be hard to block attacks due to no real warning.
- Hitting anything results in a harsh stop dead state.
- Uses a lot of tracks from the first game.
- Paint jobs and decals are specific cars.
- Slow respawn and when you go off the track you have to wait for it to push you back.
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Graphics - 8/108/10
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Sound - 7/107/10
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Accessibility - 8/108/10
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Length - 8/108/10
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Fun Factor - 8/108/10
Summary
Beach Buggy Racing 2 Island Adventure is a sequel to the original Beach Buggy game that plays like a Mario Kart game in essence. What we have here is a game that has learned a lot from the first game and improved it, added to it, and made it a much better offering. Now we have an adventure mode that has all the events spread out, you can find and earn upgrades for your car by picking 1 of 3 choices, the maps are big enough to contain hidden power-up unlocks and this is all before you set foot o a race track. The race tracks do look and feel the same as before however and I do think some are actually the same track but the controls are tight and every character you unlock and play as is so unique that it makes for an enjoyable little experience. For extra measure they have hidden spray cans on the tracks that once collected will give you a new spray color and car decals. In fact, the game has balanced the unlocks out so you get a constant drip-feed of new toys whether it be characters, vehicles, or power-ups. The combat is as fast and frantic as always and performs a lot better with next to no slowdown or jankiness when shit hits the fan. I enjoyed playing through adventure mode and whilst it still feels a bit behind others in the genre it is a fantastic sequel and I hope we get another one!
