{"id":36978,"date":"2023-10-16T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.xtremeservers.com\/blog\/hot-wheels-unleashed-2-turbocharged-review\/"},"modified":"2023-10-16T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T07:00:00","slug":"hot-wheels-unleashed-2-turbocharged-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.xtremeservers.com\/blog\/hot-wheels-unleashed-2-turbocharged-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Turbochargers work by sucking in air from the atmosphere, compressing and cooling it, and subsequently blowing it into the cylinders to help your engine burn fuel at a faster rate. Unlike turbochargers, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged doesn\u2019t suck or blow, but it is pretty damn cool. This palm-sized sequel shines with graphics that range from excellent to outright remarkable, an inspired selection of life-sized environments where stools loom large like skyscrapers and skateboards are as big as sailboats, and accessible and drift-heavy handling with a couple of new twists. However, while it\u2019s certainly a slight step forward from the excellent 2021 original, it has introduced a couple of annoying quirks \u2013 like creases in the cardboard of a Super Treasure Hunt blister pack.<\/p>\n

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Just like Milestone\u2019s first Hot Wheels Unleashed two years ago, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 is still the antithesis to the tossed-together, toy-licensed turds today\u2019s parents toiled through during our own childhoods. Beneath the corporate branding, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 really does remain an indubitably groovy arcade racer with highly imaginative tracks and some of the most brilliant-looking vehicles in the genre.<\/p>\n

It really cannot be stressed enough just how unflinchingly faithful Milestone\u2019s models are to actual Hot Wheels miniatures.<\/section>\n

The car models are still absolutely amazing renditions of real-life Hot Wheels, which appear essentially photorealistic on-screen. Rotating them around in the menus and photo mode they look like genuine toys placed under a microscope; seriously, it really cannot be stressed enough just how unflinchingly faithful Milestone\u2019s models are to actual Hot Wheels miniatures. The texture differences between plastic and metal. The faint knit lines left on injection-moulded parts. The subtle accumulations of extra paint on tapered spoilers. The difference in finishes between a glossy hard plastic tyre and a rubber Real Riders wheel. The stamped text beneath each chassis featuring the model name and production year.<\/p>\n

Better still, the way they carry their imperfections <\/em>makes them look even more credible, from the child-sized fingerprints that reveal themselves on certain surfaces under the right light, to the scratches and gouges they get from both the gladiatorial racing and going end over end on gravel.<\/p>\n

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Of course, returning players will know Hot Wheels Unleashed already<\/em> looked this good. More crucially, it still feels good, too. Like all its truly great high-speed peers, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2\u2019s arcade-typical brake-to-drift handling is easy to pick up but tricky to totally master. This depth comes via the particularly nuanced layer of in-air controls that let you adjust direction and boost through the sky like a die-cast cruise missile, which has now been augmented with double-jump and lateral dash abilities. However, this time around it also comes from the distinctly different feel of the cars in each of the six different classes.<\/p>\n

Class War<\/h2>\n

As you\u2019d probably expect, these new classes \u2013 Rocket, Balanced, Swift, Drifter, Off-Road, and Heavy Duty \u2013 each carry certain advantages and disadvantages. The additional bulk of Heavy Duty vehicles makes them better to battle with, but they quickly straighten out of low-angle drifts when they lose too much momentum. Off-Road vehicles can ride over rough terrain like grass and dirt without hassle, but they aren\u2019t going to be the best models to take to tight time trials. I will say the differences between Rocket and Balanced, Swift and Drifter, and Off-Road and Heavy Duty aren\u2019t always especially pronounced \u2013 so it actually tended to feel a little more like three classes than six to me.<\/p>\n

The new upgrade and perk system makes things a little malleable \u2013 so it\u2019s possible to blur the lines between classes by, say, pumping up boost stats in a Drift car at the expense of some of its handling points. You can also now change the boost mode from single, uninterruptible shots to a bar that can be drained at any pace you want (which is essential if you want a car you can hold in a drift without constantly slamming into the side walls under uncontrollable acceleration). <\/p>\n

I did find myself giving greater consideration to what car I was bringing to each event than I did in the original.\u00a0<\/section>\n

Regardless, I did find myself giving greater consideration to what car I was bringing to each event than I did in the original. It\u2019s a smart way to encourage us to engage with more of the cars in our virtual garage than previously (I have to admit that, while playing the original Hot Wheels Unleashed, I pretty much raced the Back to the Future DeLorean in virtually every event once I\u2019d unlocked it). It mostly works, too \u2013 but only when Milestone adheres to it.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, one of my biggest frustrations with Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 has been the instances when it forces us to take on events in vehicle classes that are ill-equipped for the job. This happens throughout the main story mode, where it was only really a minor annoyance, but it became a severe irritation trying to clear the salvo of bonus events that unlocked after <\/em>I\u2019d hit 100% completion. Hitting huge drift totals in Off-Road or Heavy Duty vehicles is just a pain. They\u2019re simply just not as fun to drift in as the other classes, because they\u2019re a lot worse at it.<\/em> I\u2019m guessing the argument here is that it\u2019s a challenge, but something being challenging doesn\u2019t automatically <\/em>make it fun. Certainly not when it\u2019s like having a drawer full of steak knives but being forced to cut your meat with the edge of a spoon.<\/p>\n

It also didn\u2019t really help that reaching the end of the story mode left me mostly confused, anyhow. It\u2019s just odd being told I\u2019ve reached 100% completion, finished both objectives in every event, and unlocking nothing but\u2026 more events. I don\u2019t have a problem with more events, but how about some cars at that point? Six billion cars built since 1968 and we can\u2019t get a couple of curios for finishing? Hot Wheels Unleashed seems surprisingly stingy with unlockable cars considering how many decades of them there are to choose from, though I did appreciate the time it takes for the car sales showroom to refresh its random line-up dropping from four hours of play to 45 minutes. You can even refresh it immediately for a nominal amount of in-game credits; you can get several refreshes with the credits earned from a single event. The default range still leans extremely heavily towards mostly recent models, though \u2013 or, at best, recent re-issues of older castings. It really feels like there ought to be more relics from the \u201980s and \u201990s in here, especially considering this is something designed for generations of Hot Wheels fans to enjoy together.<\/p>\n