
The lack of balance between racer attributes is probably why there hasn’t been an attempt to include an online multiplayer mode in this re-release, but you can still go for local competition with a two-player split-screen multiplayer. Otherwise, you can always just select a different vehicle and character, whose alien designs may not be that memorable but matter when it comes to stats, and more unlock as you win more races. It’s a frustrating progression system that means you can easily find yourself short of funds to get the part you need to really give your accelerator a much-needed boost. Naturally first place is where the big prize money is at so if you only just scraped through at fourth (usually the bare minimum to unlock the next race), you only get a pittance of dough and nothing more, yet failing the race means you can retry again, and again.
#Playing pod racer on win 10 free
But while you’re free to replay any race, you only receive a reward when you beat it the first time. Vehicle customisation and learning a track down to all its shortcuts is a staple part of any racer when you’re replaying to improve your position and time. Upgrading your engine is key to progression as races gradually spike in difficulty both in terms of your rival racers as well as the track layouts – in the latter case you might find chasms you can’t jump over unless you can hit a high top speed. There’s also junk dealer Watto who you can visit in between races to splash out your hard-earned prize money on new parts to soup up your vehicle. You do however encounter some familiar faces, namely arch-rival racer Sebulba, who’s also unlockable – incidentally the only one of the 25 available racers who can also attack with a weapon, the filthy cheat. At most, it imagines how Anakin’s life might have been had he chosen to become a galaxy touring podracer instead of training to become a Jedi. There’s a structure to the campaign Tournament mode as you win races before unlocking the next race or tier but nothing that approaches a story, certainly not one that would fit in the Star Wars canon. Interestingly, the sound of the roaring engines at top volume is enough to send vibrations to your hands when you’re playing on a Switch Lite, a console that doesn’t even include HD rumble.

By default, the volume mix is positively booming compared to other Switch games. But instead of just the deserts of Tatooine, there’s a total of 25 different tracks spread across eight different worlds in the galaxy, from the snowy surfaces of Ando Prime to the swamps of Baroonda.Įven if some of these planets seem to exist purely for this game, the best use of the licensing is having John Williams’ original score in the game, which makes these races sound all the more epic. The podracing very much captures the simple thrills of the film as you compete in super-fast and deadly races for glory.

Nonetheless, when you’re barrelling full-throttle down each track, the visuals come second to the sense of speed, and modern hardware means the performance never dips below the game’s smooth 60 frames per second. Naturally, it’s better suited to Switch in handheld mode where the smaller screen draws less attention to a classic game’s aged looks.

#Playing pod racer on win 10 pro
You may be able to get a 4K resolution on a PS4 Pro but that doesn’t really amount to much when it still uses the same pixelated textures and dated character models from the original game. It should however be noted that this isn’t a modern remaster, but largely a no-frills HD re-release on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch with all the same content and graphics as the original. Over two decades on, the game has burst back onto modern platforms for a nostalgic rush thanks to publisher Aspyr, who has already ported Star Wars classics Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy earlier this year.
