Lowrider

Lowrider is the upcoming game from Jaleco that aims to capture the spirit of the lowriding phenomenon in game form. The game was originally released earlier this year in Japan and quickly caught our attention with its engaging gameplay and quirky humor. Despite the decidedly specialized focus of its subject matter, Jaleco has opted to bring the game to the US. We recently had the chance to get an exclusive look at a preview version of the localized game and are pleased to report that development is going well. The US version of Lowrider appears poised to retain the appeal of its Japanese counterpart, with some modest improvements thrown in.

For those unfamiliar with the lowrider phenomenon, it's a long-standing sport that has evolved into equal parts auto sport and art form. The sport aspect is in modifying a car so that its springs are shortened and the chassis rides close to the ground. The car is also fitted with hydraulic lifts that the driver can control, which allow it to bounce to impressive heights. The artistic aspect comes from the ornate bodywork and detailing on the cars.

Developer PCCW Japan has managed to distill all of the above into a very simple objective-based structure that's both accessible and addictive. You'll find two basic modes in the game: arcade kings and golden days. Arcade kings is a quick one- or two-player event that lets you play one of three matches: hop, dance, and bed dance. Hop challenges you to use your car's hydraulics to jump the highest. Dance consists of a series of timed sequences in which you're asked to perform different moves to earn points. Finally, bed dance uses the same structure as the dance competition but throws in a more complex sequence involving the use of front and rear body customizations. The game's control is simple and very much like that of a rhythm action game. The face and shoulder buttons control different hydraulics on the car, and the different moves are performed by pressing the buttons in certain combinations or in timed succession.

The golden days mode is a more involved career-style mode that challenges you to travel to various sites on the West Coast and build your reputation as a lowrider king. You'll start by choosing a car from a selection of classic but drab vehicles and picking a name that will appear on the car's license. Then you'll find yourself at a menu screen that revolves around your ugly but functional car. The menu provides you with three options: go, shop, and save. Go takes you to a map of the West Coast of the United States, from which you can visit various cities and complete various competitions. Shop lets you buy a variety of cosmetic and performance upgrades for your car with the money you've earned from competitions. You'll even be able to create custom paint jobs using the paint tool option. Finally, save will let you save your game to a memory card.

When you're in a city, you'll find four types of events to play through: street, hop, dance, and event. Street is where you'll go to earn fans. You'll drive down a long straightaway lined with people calling out for you to do specific jumps with the car. If you can perform them as you pass by, the audience members will throw candy at you and become fans. Winning fans is important, as it will let you participate in the other events in a city. Hop is a timed sequence between you and an opponent in which the goal is to have your car jump the highest. Dance is a battle between you and an opponent that consists of a series of timed sequences in which you're asked to perform different moves to earn points. Finally, event is a three-heat competition between you and an opponent that is similar to dance but asks you to perform more-intricate moves. Once you've cleared the various events in a city, you'll unlock a CG sequence starring assorted dancers from the region you just competed in. The sequences are a funny payoff and are worth a look. The graphics in the game have been tightened up a bit over the Japanese game and sport a number of subtle visual refinements. The US version of the game has a bit more graphical polish and does away with a portion of the jaggies seen in the Japanese game, resulting in a smoother overall look. The rest of the game's art style is simple but stylized--for instance, the crowds are 2D bitmaps that animate. As for the various paint jobs and murals for the cars, the art in the game ranges from outstanding to slightly cheesy, which pretty much nails the range of styles you'll find in the actual sport of lowriding.

The audio in the game has remained largely untouched. You'll hear crowd reaction during your competitions and authentic sound effects for your car's hydraulics. The music has a nice bass-heavy sound that sets the tone well. Sadly there's no trace of the classic "Lowrider" tune by WAR, but the modern tunes in the game are fine.

From what we've seen so far, Lowrider is coming along fine. While the game isn't going to break new ground in graphics or gameplay, its solid mechanics and style definitely give it a winning charm. Anyone looking for a cool game that offers a different but accessible experience should look for this game. Lowrider is slated to ship next month for the PlayStation 2.