This time Nacon entrusted the license to the studio Neopica (Neopiqui?), who has above all developed an innumerable number of games called Third party. The only game that comes a little closer toOverpassbeing Truck Racing. From then on, the confidence barometer was not in good shape… on paper, the title of Nacon offers an interesting program. Offroad obstacle courses, with three types of vehicles: UTV, quad and rock bouncer. If the first two categories were already present previously, the rock bouncer is more unknown. It would be summed up as a mix between a UTV and a monster trucka kind of mechanical spider.
A tactical and subtle Offroad game, which requires a dose of interesting thinking
We will mainly detail the mode Career, the others being more classic (fast racing and multiplayer). Here we find the management of a team, as the excellent F1 series of Codemasters And Electronic Arts. A fairly complex menu allows you to move from one office to another, in order to give instructions to the different departments. Research and development, sponsors, staff, garage, a whole bunch of functions in order to progress from one season to the next. You start in division two, with the aim of moving up to D1 and winning the championship. To do this, you must be placed in the top 4 of the general classification. It’s up to you to improve your team and achieve the best results.
If you feel a little lost at first, a slightly annoying tutorial explains the ins and outs of the whole thing. However, it is necessary to validate choices which are not always in agreement with our strategy… Once this ordeal is over, we need to raise money to finance our business. Obviously, it is through racing that we will earn most of our income. It is also possible to sign sponsors, who offer winnings if certain objectives are achieved. Then again, some of them are quite inconsistent. In the lead: crossing the finish line in reverse… right in the middle of a competition, it’s a bit absurd.
Once the bank account is well stocked, we can spend without counting (or almost…). Hiring personnel is essential, in order to repair vehicles, discover new technologies, but also obtain valuable information on upcoming events. A meteorologist and geomorphologist (not sure the name is translated correctly in the game…) are there to indicate the conditions and difficulties of the races. If these professionals are not competent enough, you will not be able to optimize your machines for racing. This is where experience comes into play, with a usual skill tree of RPG. Increase the number of mechanics, researchers (and many others), or even recruit more qualified people. We might as well tell you that employees do not have the right to training, they are fired to be replaced without scruple!
Overpass 2 is not a simple offroad racing game.
Fortunately there is no staff union or labor inspection service… but let’s get back to the basics. Researchers will unlock many mechanical parts for our machines. tires, suspensions, or new vehicles. Menus that are not always ergonomic, which do not allow easy comparison of two different components. The events unfold via a calendar, each Sunday offers a secondary event with original objectives. Driving a damaged machine, testing a new vehicle, breaking a lap record, something to vary the pleasures. However, racing with a broken engine and warped wheels quickly becomes frustrating. Fortunately, you can skip this side content as you wish (but you won’t gain any money or experience).
Every end of the month, it’s the series of races linked to the championship. Here you participate in 3 events, one in each vehicle category. Manage randomly, you may come across obstacles, circuits or long stages through nature. Here again, you can decide not to play! A rather original choice, because in this case it is a simulation which decides the result for you. A skill branch allows you to increase the chances of getting on the podium in this way. Still, if you are sure of winning the championship and want to quickly move on to the next one, this option is ideal.
On the ground, the gameplay offers great sensations. Tactics require choosing trajectories wisely, in order to waste as little time as possible and overtake the opponent. It is also essential to change the transmission of your machine, depending on the situation. A simple button allows you to switch from one to the other, the tutorial explains how to use them best. All these elements demonstrate thatOverpass 2 is not a simple offroad racing game, it is much more subtle than that. We spent more than 10 hours on it, with little boredom. The accumulation of small defects accumulates and lowers the overall rating, at the top competitor AI. It causes some real laughs, as she manages to put herself in the setting in an incredible way (which makes us win too easily…)! As you will have understood, the title still remains a decent experience, but let’s hope that a third part sees the light of day and erases the small imperfections of this opus.
You can buy Overpass 2 at:
Most
- An immersive career mode
- The gameplay holds up
- Successful sound design and music
The lessers
- Menus lack ergonomics
- Graphically below standard
- Sometimes frustrating side events
- An often strawberry AI (generally to our advantage)
| Nicolas Balaguer | ||
| An avid traveler of virtual worlds for over three decades, I have visited thousands of different universes and gameplays. All these journeys have allowed me to shape my existence on this earth and live superb stories in this life. |
