Gear.Club Unlimited 2

Genre: Arcade Racing

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local Split-Screen), 2-8 Competitive (Local Wireless), Online Content Sharing

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Review:

Gear.Club Unlimited 2, released on Nintendo Switch in 2018, is a game that I find somewhat perplexing. After the first Gear.Club frustrated Nintendo Switch owners by not being the Simulation-style Racing game it appeared to be but instead being a game I found to be a perfectly decent budget Arcade-style Racing game, the game’s sequel has me feeling conflicted. Changes to the gameplay make this seem, in my opinion, a bit closer to a Simulation-style game, though the return of generic car upgrades from the first game and a silly story in the campaign mode suggest otherwise. However, beyond the way it blurs the distinction between genres, I’m confused about everything this game gets right, everything it gets wrong, and everything it refused to change from the first game.

The static character images and lines of text as they talk at you are once again back, though I suppose this time the existence of some semblance of a story gives this a reason to exist. However, trust me when I say that absolutely no one will be playing this game for its story, as it’s pretty disposable.

The confusing mobile-style menus are gone, which is a relief. And while this game once again uses a map as a menu to select races, the way this is presented is far easier to parse. Furthermore, this time around there seems to be more variety in courses to drive, addressing an issue the first game had.

I think the core gameplay is improved here as well, and though I see others online complaining of sluggish controls, I didn’t really find any issue with this, personally. I did have to fiddle with the “driver assist” settings because even more than the first game these default settings felt like the game kept refusing to listen to my commands… and then I had to change the camera because the default camera refuses to follow the angle of your vehicle when you drift, making it far more difficult than it needs to be. Once I accounted for these issues, I felt that the gameplay here was quite good.

On the other hand, this game still keeps the first game’s lackluster substitute for online play, where players can only race against ghosts of online opponents, this time organized into a “club” system to better suit this franchise’s title. What’s more, the local split-screen has been dropped from four players to two, and while this is now supplemented with 8-player local wireless play, it’s still difficult not to see this as a downgrade.

If I can point to one spot that has received a clear upgrade it’s the sound, with some great vehicle noises and a catchy mix of tunes ranging from pop-style music to electronica, all sounding pretty good.

However, the worst part of this package has to be the graphics. Being only 30FPS is itself something that’s sure to disappoint Racing game fans who tend to insist on 60FPS, but even then Gear.Club 2 sometimes drops below that. Even worse, this game is ugly, with some nasty detail pop-in and shadow pop-in. The original Gear.Club wasn’t exactly a looker, so it’s particularly disappointing to see that Gear.Club 2 looks worse, and yet this game’s load times are pretty terrible, and I can’t help but wonder, why? At the very least, this game drops its predecessor’s baffling exaggerated lens flare/light bloom effect, something I’m very grateful for.

The result is a game that feels like two steps forward, one step back when compared to the previous game, and when you then take into consideration its $25 price tag ($60 when originally released), it becomes something closer to two steps forward, two steps back. For only $5 more you could get the absolutely superb Burnout Paradise Remastered instead. I suppose Gear.Club 2 does at least have a saving grace in that it goes on sale for $2 pretty frequently.

So, as I said, I find Gear.Club 2 to be baffling. In some ways this is an improvement over the first game, but in others it’s actually worse, and then there are problems the first game had that this one does absolutely nothing to address. Overall, I do think this is a slightly better game, but it’s frustrating that it makes so many unforced errors that keep it from being the significant step beyond its sequel that it could have been. I suppose, if you’re looking to expand your Racing Game collection, and you catch this game in a good sale, it may be worth it, but at full price? No, at $25 you should just spend a little more and get Burnout Paradise Remastered instead.

tl;dr – Gear.Club Unlimited 2 is an Arcade-style Racing game that improves on its predecessor in some ways, but is noticeably worse in others, with ugly graphics, bad load times, and still no actual online multiplayer. This is still an enjoyable Racing game, but it doesn’t have its predecessor’s benefit of being a budget title to make this worth considering over other far better games on Nintendo Switch. You might still want to get this when it gets a good sale, but it’s still disappointing how this game’s creators dropped the ball.

Grade: C+

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