A chicken replaces the ink-spraying Blooper. A screaming creature replaces the blue shell. The power-up selection is nicely varied, with tributes to most of Mario's hits being played out with aplomb. When racing, Beach Buggy Racing provides decent action. No matter what the event, you're rewarded coins in order to upgrade your ride, all the way up to a 1000HP version which goes like the clappers, should you have the funds to do it. These diversions aren't the sort of thing that will get your heart racing, but they're enough to mix things up a bit. 'Shooting Gallery' litters the track with rocket power-ups and sets you the task of blowing up targets and drone racers in order to hit a high score. 'Follow The Leader' for example, sees you trying to keep pace with an AI racer, picking up any power-ups that they drop. Every now and again, you'll be faced with a different style of play. It isn't just racing in career mode, either. If you beat them, they're added to your racing team for use in future events. Earn enough stars and you'll unlock the next event, continuing all the way up until you have to take on a head-to-head race with a section's 'boss' character. In career mode, you'll start out in a 250HP buggy, with the goal being to win stars from doing well in events. There are daily challenges that you can take on to try and earn a few credits, also. Each character in the game has four championships to beat, each containing four races, and that's before you even step into the game's career mode. A selection of track types are on offer, along with upgradeable vehicles and an absolute ton of events to compete in. It should be said that they initially appear to have made a decent fist of it. Riptide GP2 developers Vector Unit are attempting to fill that gap with a port of their mobile title Beach Buggy Racing. The trend has died off a little in recent years, meaning that there's a gap in the market for a fun and light-hearted multiplayer racer on Xbox One. Shrek, Looney Tunes, Sonic, Bomberman, Digimon, LittleBigPlanet, Crazy Frog, Crash Bandicoot, Madagascar, The Muppets, South Park and more have been cynically shoehorned into titles in the karting genre and while some have been relatively playable, most of them have been games to avoid. Ever since the legendary Super Mario Kart made its first appearance on the SNES back in 1992, it really does feel as if every publisher has tried to emulate its success.

Xbox beach buggy racing