"Day watch"Aki Bars burst onto cinema screens – one of the best winter blockbusters with a well-developed universe. At the peak of the popularity of the works of Sergei Lukyanenko, we can buy a number of games dedicated to this topic. Product placement for the new film has not yet crept into the gaming industry, but the brand “Night’s Watch» actively exploited by many. Suddenly, an unusual for such a large world implementation of the confrontation between the “sentinels” appeared – car competitions. There’s nothing special – an ordinary arcade game – races, good graphics, fun music and averagely lousy physics. Everything is like people.
The most interesting thing is that it has long been believed that our domestic developers would never make a good car simulator, even an arcade one. This opinion came to us from the well-fed and complacent West. Brisk "Adrenaline show" proved the opposite. And now a game has appeared that returns everything to normal.
I don’t argue that a true driving simulator doesn’t need a plot. Good execution, high-quality graphics and physics, unusual missions, a system of bonuses/prizes – and the standard player will be delighted. And if you give the opportunity for tuning… Monstrous NFS: Most Wanted with its rendered cutscenes, excellent gameplay ideas and even a bad PLOT, it had a wonderful atmosphere. A "Night Watch Racing", having enormous opportunities to justify scenario moves and design finds – the world obliges – did not please me with anything special. Familiar characters, simple briefings and a sticky plot emptiness..
The situation could be saved by a high-quality gaming component. Routes strictly limited by barriers (here they were called magical), linear passage and lack of adrenaline. Forget about collisions Flatout – every side, pillar or bump is a serious obstacle and danger. Here, collision with the side is only a temporary speed limit. Many people like the “meat” of 10-16 cars, some like to compete with a single AI-controlled car, but here we were firmly shown our place. Interactive cinema in the worst sense of the word – zero freedom, maximum restrictions. 6 racers participate in the tournament – three representatives each from the Day and Night Watch. Don’t expect a huge number of special abilities – each hero has his own transport and his own unique skill.
For example, Gorsvetov’s “emergency” ZIL has https://river-belle-casino.uk/ the ability to accelerate, UAZ has super headlights, in the light of which enemy cars suddenly lose speed, and so on. True, most of the skills are useless. A small tornado is effective, the protective field is not for everyone. After playing this game for half an hour, everyone will be able to create their own “table of ranks”. Instead of bonuses picked up along the way or earned by special tricks, all of these special abilities are available initially; the ability to use them is not limited in any way – after all, magical power is replenished permanently during the race. The developers tried to bring the flavor of Lukyanenko’s tetralogy into the game – you can summon Zabulon or Geser, who will bestow the most powerful spells on your competitors. They also added darkness to the idea of a special driving mode – the damage doubles, street traffic disappears. Only opponents and all sorts of bonuses remain on the track. Although the traffic itself only brings a smile – the only thing missing is the humpbacked “Zaporozhets” and “Pobeda”. And the very busyness of the highway on the roads of our Motherland in reality is completely different. It seems that the notorious “drunk monkeys with a grenade in their hands” are driving neutral cars – breakneck speed, wobbling from left to right, attempts to misbehave and harm the “watchmen”.
Cars, of course, play a vital role in any racing game, even an arcade one. Foreign cars tuned to look like Khokhloma and deliberately dullly painted domestic models are a clear sign of no license. Psycho Craft Studio in general, you need to give a reprimand and put it on the labor force – if they haven’t created normal cars, then they could have made at least a passable physical model. But even with the Newtonian Tokamak engine, the cars behave implausibly. There is no damage system at all – so it’s impossible to smash a standard UAZ to smithereens. The highly praised weather effects do not work either. They are, of course, present, but this is the best definition for them.
There are only six short races in the championship and the tracks become boring very quickly. Familiar images emerge in my memory – Moscow State University, Red Square, the Cosmos Hotel – which are quickly replaced by some kind of gateways. Now we were in the center of the capital, now we were driving through neighborhoods typical of any “Soviet” regional center.
But gradually you begin to understand what a pig the developers have played on you – “Night Watch Racing» – team game. And everything would be fine if the total points were added up or it would be possible like Juiced plan competitions. But no – such gameplay models are inappropriate here. It is not just one person who wins, but a team of Light or Dark Others, depending on whose representative reached the finish line first. This is where we should concentrate on eliminating our rivals, giving our colleagues a “green light”. All sorts of variety in the game. But no – ignorant partners (or teammates, depending on who you choose) are not at all concerned about the overall victory – they get into fleeting skirmishes with their opponents, forget about us and push us back in every possible way. It’s good that at least we don’t suffer damage from their special abilities – their magic doesn’t affect us. But they won’t be the first to reach the finish line either. Therefore, if you didn’t come first, then with a 99 percent probability we can say that your opponents won.
There is nothing to expect here for powerful artificial intelligence, so praised by the publisher – rivals brazenly use trump cards prohibited in polite society, such as too much acceleration or instant drawing behind the rear bumper after a sharp turn. The game turns into pushing opponents, “neutrals” and colleagues away with all possible means – magic, rough blows, and only occasionally you can use really beautiful tactical moves.
Writers, poets, and artists of the “Silver Age” lived in the world of surrealism, dreams and daydreams. Almost a century later, our Russian game developers are beginning to exist in this world – a qualitative leap in graphics has passed by the technologies used in “Night Watch Racing». A rich palette, for example, is completely useless here – when was the last time you saw bright acid-colored cars??! Excellent shader effects have been added to the engine. The guys from Psycho Craft Studio showed that they can still work with shaders in the vastness of Russia. But those who like to delve into video options will have to moderate their ardor. There is no full-screen anti-aliasing, although there is an “overexposed photo” effect. There is a boring “blurring” and other already standard effects. But you can’t expect anything supernatural. There are only textures of terrifying quality and the same resolution (ultra-modern monitors and super-video cards the size of a keyboard are resting).
That’s it, the music made me happy. There are two versions"Watch Racing": "night" and "day". True, the difference is only in the details and in the soundtracks. "Night Watch Racing"produces a wild mixture of the finest Russian rock and funk; obscene expressions and the latest and most fashionable hip-hop of domestic performers – these are the characteristics of the sound range of “Day Watch…” The voice acting is also kept at the same level – for unlicensed cars they sound somehow too believable. The grinding of metal, the squeal of tires and the roar of foreign car engines will accompany you throughout the game (if you decide to purchase it).
Final comments
The heroine of my review cannot boast of anything other than belonging to the “Watches” universe – sluggish gameplay, ridiculous attempts by the writers and directors of the videos, boring and gray graphics. The kingdom of craft-based games is growing, and this time it has found another worthy member – an inexpressive one with a big name and disgusting workmanship. It’s a hack, it’s a hack in Africa too.
Gameplay: Monotonous races on tracks studied up and down, fussing with partners and meager magic tricks (most of which are simply worthless, and the rest are hardly superior in quality to the standard nitro for arcade cars).
Graphics: The gray landscapes of Moscow could be turned into candy due to photorealism. The models are angular and the tracks are striking in their lack of bold design solutions.
Sound: Voice acting of 70% of games fits the definition of “neither shaky nor weak”. This is our case.