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After the Fact: Super Laser Racer got a major update in Dec 8 2010 which includes a bunch of new tracks and music, more weapons and achievements, revamped presentation/menus and tweaks to old tracks. Also, above anything else, now it has an online multiplayer option. All that makes it a much easier to recommend game.
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The Good: Fun race/battle gameplay; cool race presentation.
The Bad: Menus are inefficient and their visuals range from bland to plain ugly; track builder is clumsy; derivative in every possible way; no multiplayer.
I always try to avoid words or expressions that had lost their significance due to overuse--like "overuse" for instance--but I can't help calling Super Laser Racer a mixed bag. Not only for being derivative both presentation wise (Geometry Wars) and gameplay wise (several arcade-ish racers) but also for the poor execution of those old ideas.
Well, SLR is a racer/shooter presented in a modern/retro fashion; but for each cool feature a counterpart drawback will keep you from fully enjoying it. Cool retro style? The menus fonts, buttons and overall layout look like made with Microsoft WordArt--and you can't navigate them with your control pad, despite its in-game support. Is the Super-Sprint-style top view a lot of joy after mastered? Well, even the (unlockable) car with the highest steering rate will force you not only to stop accelerating but to hit the brake all the time from the 3rd race on. Do twelve cars exploding each other in a tight space make an amusing mess? No multiplayer for you. Is the track creator a neat addition? What a shame it's clumsy.
SLR can be a great time-killer in short bursts. But playing any of the games that influenced it as the already-cited Geometry Wars, Super Sprint, Mario Kart or also F-Zero and Rock'N Roll Racing can still be a much better play time.
- Reviewed for The Autonomous Regime Union