187 Ride or Die Multiplayer Hands-On

187 Ride or Die is the upcoming racer from Ubisoft that mixes an urban theme and car combat with a time-honored racing mechanic. We've already seen a bit of the single-player game, and recently we popped over to the French publisher's San Francisco office to try out the multiplayer components, which promise satisfying mayhem. The butt-kicking session revolved around trying out the different game types in cooperative and competitive play sessions, and it gave us a feel for what to expect from the roughneck game.

If you're unfamiliar with 187's premise, here's a quick rundown. The game is a racer that mixes in an urban feel for its story and a liberal dose of gunfire. The premise revolves around a clash between assorted gangs that has spilled out to the streets. The core story doesn't play much of a part in the dedicated multiplayer mode in the game, although the characters and vehicles you'll be able to access are taken from it.

The control is as much of a hybrid as the premise, blending standard racing controls with weapons. The game will feature two control schemes, classic and direct. The classic controls are basic and user-friendly, making them ideal for a pick-up-and-play game, whereas the direct control scheme requires a little more time to master. The key difference between the two schemes is how the shooting is handled. Direct control lets you use the right analog stick to shoot 360 degrees. Although it takes some getting used to, we have to say it's really the only way to go for maximum killing.

Two main multiplayer options--co-op and multiplayer--will be available to you in the single-player and dedicated multiplayer modes. In the single-player game you'll be able to have a friend hop in and help you out in your gangland clashes. When you select the option for co-op, players will divvy up control duties. One player will serve as the gunner, while another will be the driver. While it sounds fairly straightforward there's actually a cool twist to the setup; besides splitting the core controls, the game also splits up control of the boost and camera. As a result, drivers will have to rely on their gunners to trigger the speed boost, and gunners will have to rely on their drivers to adjust the camera angle, ensuring they get good shots at their foes.

In the proper multiplayer mode you'll find five race types: whip, deathmatch, death race, minefield, and po-po chase. Whip race is a basic race type that simply requires you to outrace five opponents and finish first. Though the mode offers a selection of weapons and power-ups, death isn't too much of a problem, since you'll respawn if you're ganked. Your bigger worry from fatal encounters is getting behind the pack. Deathmatch is a unique twist on the traditional kill-a-thon that comes to mind from the name. Yes, your main goal is to earn the most frags before times runs out, and yes, this means you'll be blowing the bejesus out of anything that moves around you. However, you'll have to look out for your homey, who is traveling in the back of your car and shooting. You'll notice two life bars on either side of your car icon in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. The left meter is your car's health, and it clues you in on when you're about to explode. The right meter is your homey's life meter. When your homey's meter is out, he can't stand and shoot, effectively disarming you in a fight, which can be a terrible thing when you're surrounded. You can use the meter system to your advantage during a match by causing your enemies' meters to run out. The key is to choose your plan of attack wisely. All players in the match will be able to switch between two weapons, an automatic weapon that damages a car's shooter and a Gatling gun that damages the car.

Death race is an elimination variant on your standard five-lap race. The player in last place at the end of every lap will be eliminated. While you can win by simply outracing your foes, you can also speed things along by blowing up the competition before the fifth lap. Minefield is a fun race that challenges you to weave through mines dropped on the track by your foes. The only power-ups during this style of race are mines and health. Finally, po-po chase requires you to outrun a bevy of police cars intent on bringing you in. The challenge here is that there are no weapon power-ups available, which forces you to figure out how to escape with only boost and life power-ups.

The visuals in the game are shaping up well and reflect a solid mix of style and realism, with the cars and environments standing out. The game's sense of speed is nicely done, and the assorted particle effects for weapon fire and the like are suitably shiny.

The audio you'll hear as you race and blast your way to victory is what you'd expect. You'll hear the roar of engines, the squeal of tires, the staccato of gunfire, and a fair amount of voice peppered throughout the action. The soundtrack that accompanies the racing and shooting leans heavily on hip-hop and R&B, which sets the right tone.

Based on what we played, 187 Ride or Die's multiplayer component is coming together very well. The game modes offer a fair amount of diversity that's helped out by the online and system-link support. However, the co-op support in the game ramps up its appeal considerably. 187 is currently slated to ship this August for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Look for more in the coming months.