It really is. I still prefer Mario Kart or ExciteBots overall, but as a 600 point downloadable title, Light Trax delivers the goods, and then some.
The simplistic art style is really cool.
You are the white light track, and you must navigate the course, avoiding obstacles, while slipstreaming next to other light trax to gain boost and overtake the leaders. It's an uphill battle from the get-go, because you're forced to start from 7th position. You can not travel in the same lane as another light trax, but you do want to travel next to one so you can accumulate your boost. Changing lanes reduces your speed, but cutting corners on the inside will give you an edge. You can even screw over light trax behind you by changing into their lane, forcing them into another potentially hazardous direction. There are plenty of perspective changes as you race, which can be confusing at first, but I feel they add style to the game, and force you to be on the ball.
There are a few different game modes, from single race to tour (three-race cup with points), to freeway mode. Freeway mode is different from the racing, essentially you are on a highway and want to accumulate points within the time limit by slipstreaming past other light trax, while going faster and faster.
The game is quite difficult, and I love it. I spent a good few hours trying to get 1st in the 3rd cup, and finally getting it, to unlock the 4th via the freeway mode, was very rewarding.
The music in this game has a techno/electronica vibe to it, and to say the least, it's awesome. Every race has a different tune.
I'll leave you with a video, and impressions from a long-time NW member. In short, buy this game.
So I picked up Light Trax. I have Dotstream, but I never played it much, and I now realize that I didn't understand the mechanics at all. It is sort of a single-player slot-car racing game, but it's SO FUCKING WEIRD, the strategies you have to employ and such. Basically, you build up boost by slipstreaming, and you slipstream by being next to another light track (or, ideally, between two). Very abnormal, but pretty cool. There are also power-ups, and you can cash in a 'life' for a mega-boost. The 3D stuff is nothing more than a neat visual gimmick, as far as I can tell. You automatically shift between planes and keep the lane you were in.
There are two main modes in Light Trax - the original race mode from Dotstream and the new (?) Freeway mode, which is very neat. The rules in Freeway mode are different. You have to slipstream until you can shift to the next gear, which makes you go faster and faster. Very exhilarating. Especially with the cool, minimalist visual design. I really enjoyed what little I played of that mode.
I played the first cup and the first Freeway. I've gotta say, I'm liking it! I don't know why, but I'm enjoying this game a lot more on a home console. The aesthetics really shine (aside from some jaggies), and now I actually know what I'm doing (ProTip: RTFM!). I'm very happy with my purchase.
My god is Light Trax good. It's my favourite Art Style game so far (I own Orbient, Cubello and this). I am honestly surprised that some people (Pandaerus, Craig Harris) aren't too impressed with it, because I think the gameplay is balanced, the style is nice and the music is amazing (need OST now!).
I just unlocked the Light Tours mode, and it's much faster and difficult than the other modes before it. I can see myself playing this for quite a while still. Well worth 600 points.
@canonj I knew you'd like the game! As for Hyperlight tours, I can't do well if I'm just lying on the couch. I need to assume the "gamer position" if you know what I mean. No f'n around with that mode.
I would probably own this an 10+ other Wii Ware games if it weren't for the fucking moronic billing system. Why can't I just see something I like an click buy? Amazon, Gogamer, GoG.com, Steam, XBLA... they all let you do this. I have plenty of valid credit and debit cards. Making me re-enter my address, card number, etc every time I want something has pretty much convinced me to say fuck it to this system. It's so unbelievably moronic it makes me wonder if Nintendo even cares if you spend money online with them.
I mean shit, I have like 200 impulse buys on Steam alone, dozens on XBLA and other services. If I had to spend twenty minutes pointing at letters and numbers with my Wii Remote every time I wanted to buy something, I wouldn't own half of those. It's because Valve and Microsoft realize the importance of the impulse buy. Nintendo makes you jump through hoops.
Eh, principles are overrated. If anything should stop you, it should be Nintendo's horrible licensing structure. At least you can tie your purchases to a Club Nintendo account to prove that you actually bought them.
It really sounds like Nintendo has learned something from their 3DS talk. I bet the shop will be much smoother and slicker. I mean, how could it NOT be?
Eh, principles are overrated. If anything should stop you, it should be Nintendo's horrible licensing structure. At least you can tie your purchases to a Club Nintendo account to prove that you actually bought them.
It really sounds like Nintendo has learned something from their 3DS talk. I bet the shop will be much smoother and slicker. I mean, how could it NOT be?
I agree. I'm sure it's cost them tens of millions of dollars just by having a moronic system that was antiquated years ago. I will throw $5-$10 dollars at any game that looks remotely interesting. What I will not do is stockpile a shitload of points because then I feel obligated to use them as opposed to seeing something for a couple dollars that interests me, nor will I spend the absurd amount of time trying to type with a Wiimote it takes to purchase a game. I loved Bit.Trip.Runner. This game looks cool too, I just am not going to use the system unless there is a game I just can't live without. It pissed me off that much.
I finally unlocked everything in the game. (You open up Cruise mode (it's just Freeway but with no damage and other options) and the ability to select the background music on any stage.). I still want to play more of Freeway mode to improve my high score (currently sitting around 100,000).
@Simbabbad Well, yeah, you did. But until I check out Light Trax I can't say if I agree, maybe both will disappoint me.
Not that Rotozoa is a disappointment per se, it's not a bad game to mess with for $6, it just doesn't stand up to Orbient, at all. But probably not much would, Orbient really resonated with me. I think the two things that kept me from liking Rotozoa more are A. your tentacles seem to have a mind of their own sometimes so it is tough to make precise movements without them flinging around and getting in the way and B. because of this, once a bunch of different colored creatures are on screen you don't have many options besides RUN AWAY and wait until you see a spinning power-up. I guess maybe the point is to not let that many accumulate, but eh...
Well, I finally got Light Trax, and it is definitely much better than Rotozoa. Doubt it will top Orbient for me, but it has that same feel of basic concept with a ton of depth.
This one is my favourite, although I love the entire soundtrack. Some of the songs are quite long and you never get to hear the whole thing in the regular game since the races are fairly short.
Lol, no. I scraped by for a first place overall. Do I have to do this in Hyperlight tours mode or can I just race the tracks individually for a 1st place finish?
