Riptide GP: Renegade Review

"Aquatic Extremes"

Campaign

Riptide GP: Renegade is an aquatic racing game that features a wide variety of modes across some awesome arenas. Taking a futuristic approach to things the levels have some distinct and unique environments with all sorts of great little details going on in the background. The campaign starts off simple providing a number of modes to teach the basic mechanics and then you're set free to go from there. Each section of the lengthy campaign has a three star system with a layered RPG element behind it so no matter how you do, you're always progressing. The stars allow progression though it never felt like you were particularly locked by not always achieving first place and eventually you do get there by upgrading your vehicle. There was a solid amount of variety in terms of maps, modes and boss fights to complete within the campaign. Aside from that there's also a Challenge Mode featuring multiple variations on existing game types where you're trying to get the best score. The game also has a quick race mode where you can just hop onto whatever map or game type you'd like. This is topped off with an online multiplayer mode to race against others in matchmaking or splitscreen that supports 2-6 players which is impressive.

Gameplay

The game is similar to your standard racing title with a linear track focus as you race along the rippling water. There are a number of jumps present as well with some crazy heights or other neat takes on traditional race mechanics as it's futuristic. Tricks are actually a big part of winning as you gain boost by pulling them off and there's a wide range of them available with more to unlock through earned skill points. These points are unlocked by leveling, though not the only way to advance. The second part of getting better is just playing races where you earn cash. The cash allows you to buy more bikes and upgrade the existing model you have to make it compete better. Another great improvement with this iteration of Riptide GP is the amount of customization present. You can choose a custom rider; change the bike color scheme, select a decal and also choose a number to associate with. On PC the game is basically the same, but offers a quick graphics optimizer to get you setup fast. It does however lack a multitude of areas to tweak for graphics, yet still gives some selection when choosing the graphic quality and whether you'd like to focus on resolution versus frame rate.

The Conclusion

Riptide GP: Renegade is an enjoyable aquatic racer that packs a pile of content. There's also a good selection with the content sporting some solid creative maps and unique game types to compete with. For those that like to play with others it features a full online area and a large local splitscreen option which is impressive. The racing was also quite fun offering a fair challenge while still allowing you to feel victory. The bikes offered a solid selection of customization and upgrades to make it have a distinct style as you unlocked more things to tweak it with. The campaign offers a great selection of content to play through while having a fair star system and there are also a number of other areas to play if you'd like.

Riptide GP: Renegade Review on Xbox One & Windows 10
Review Code Provided by Vector Unit

Rating Overall: 8.0