There’s nothing quite like some couch gaming with a friend or family member, especially when games like Beach Buggy Racing allow you to play against one another for a few hours, whilst having fun. I’m sure you’ve all played Mario Kart before, so this will all seem rather familiar to you, minus the choice of characters – which are random avatars.

Featuring a number of game modes including solo play against AI drivers and an online mode with local support too. Throughout each course there are a number of power-ups along the way, which will aid you to victory. Fire projectiles at the car in front of you or lay down a surprise spring boost to propel your enemy off the race course. There’s certainly some tactics in play here, as you’ll be figuring out where’s best to activate each power-up throughout the course. Placing trampoline traps are often good on walkways, as your rival drivers will hit them and be sent off the map.

Beach Buggy Racing start line.
Engines at the ready!

The game itself doesn’t demonstrate the full power of the Xbox One very well, as the graphics to be fair look a little dated and the game itself doesn’t offer very much in terms of content. Sure, there are several different tracks to race on, but once you’ve played one or two you don’t really want to play anymore. The racing experience just doesn’t feel enjoyable and the fact that when you play local co-op, there are no AI drivers thrown into the mix, it very often becomes a 1-vs-1 situation – which is no fun at all.

It’s a shame because the Xbox doesn’t have its own Mario Kart experience. Nothing has really come close; then again, maybe it’s one of those titles that will never be matched elsewhere. The characters from the Nintendo world are probably one of the biggest allures for the franchise. Microsoft can’t really offer that if they wanted to.

One thing to note about Beach Buggy Racing is the sensitivity in the controls. Manoeuvring around corners often felt like I was driving a truck at full speed, with a certain clunkiness feel to the controls too. The core element to any racer has to be the controls and handling ability to the controller and this doesn’t cut it one bit.

Watch out for the gulls!
Watch out for the gulls!

There isn’t really much in terms of variation in each race course either, as there aren’t any random events throughout each race, which would have been an interesting addition. I hate to rant about video games completely, but I really failed to pick up on anything positive from Beach Buggy Racing.

After playing with my partner for about 20 minutes, we both concluded the game was pretty tedious. The lack of variety in tracks and game modes failed to deliver anything spectacular and for this reason, the game has suffered hugely. You’re probably best off saving your pennies for this one.

Pros

  • Good for local co-op if have a lot of controllers

Cons

  • Tedious
  • Controllers felt clunky for handling
  • Felt dated for the Xbox One

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