Jet X2O (PS2) Quick Review
So as you saw (if you watched the video) I picked this game out in my last behind the scenes episode. I needed something for a quick review, and i decided on this one for PS2. I'd never seen it before, never heard of it, and found it in my library as a part of a huge lot of games I'd picked up a while back. After it sitting on my shelf for a couple of months, I thought it was finally time to test this one out.
The Good
- Fun Racing Environments. The tracks in this game are filled with raging rivers, drops and jumps off of waterfalls, and jumps over small canyons. They're all through fantastical styled "tracks" that are point A-B sprint races.
- Easy, Simple Controls. The controls for this one are really great too. All your shoulder buttons (L1, L2, R1, R2) control tricks, which can all be modified by holding down square on the button interface. You can even trigger flips and barrel rolls by flicking the left joystick in one direction and then the opposite (so left then right, or up then down). It's a very straight-to-the-point racing control scheme.
The Bad
- Minimal Opponent Races. I tried all of the different modes in this game, and as far as the race modes went, the only way I could get myself in an actual race was doing a season mode. The single event race mode was just an arcade race-against-the-clock style.
- Destined To Lose. In a lot of the tracks, there are some sections where there is a shortcut available, all that you have to do is hit a ramp at a good speed and clear a jump over a spiked hill or stretch of dry land. The only problem is all the AI (even on the low difficulty setting) hits these jumps perfectly every single time. In fact I hardly ever saw any of the computers crash or wipe out. Which means you need to be picture perfect in these races or you'll be hanging around the back of the small pack for the whole stretch.
Is it Worth it?
This one isn't worth it at all. It's not even worth looking at it to be completely honest. The fact that a brand new sealed copy would only put you $10 in the hole speaks a lot for this one. A simple CIB copy will cost you about $4 and a loose disc only $1. I managed to get mine CIB in a lot that equated to $1 per game and I still feel like I spent too much on it. There isn't a whole lot of substance to this one. There's only one mode where you can actually race against other racers, and it lacks the one thing most racing games need : a catch. Unless its a straight up racing game like NASCAR, Gran Turismo, Forza, things of that nature, a racing game needs something to draw you in, such as the power-ups in Mario Kart. But this one doesn't, it's just flailing around on a jet-ski, in mediocre graphics, against unfairly toughened AI opponents. I really can't think of one reason to justify picking this one up unless you're a fan of collecting bad racing games.
The Good
- Fun Racing Environments. The tracks in this game are filled with raging rivers, drops and jumps off of waterfalls, and jumps over small canyons. They're all through fantastical styled "tracks" that are point A-B sprint races.
- Easy, Simple Controls. The controls for this one are really great too. All your shoulder buttons (L1, L2, R1, R2) control tricks, which can all be modified by holding down square on the button interface. You can even trigger flips and barrel rolls by flicking the left joystick in one direction and then the opposite (so left then right, or up then down). It's a very straight-to-the-point racing control scheme.
The Bad
- Minimal Opponent Races. I tried all of the different modes in this game, and as far as the race modes went, the only way I could get myself in an actual race was doing a season mode. The single event race mode was just an arcade race-against-the-clock style.
- Destined To Lose. In a lot of the tracks, there are some sections where there is a shortcut available, all that you have to do is hit a ramp at a good speed and clear a jump over a spiked hill or stretch of dry land. The only problem is all the AI (even on the low difficulty setting) hits these jumps perfectly every single time. In fact I hardly ever saw any of the computers crash or wipe out. Which means you need to be picture perfect in these races or you'll be hanging around the back of the small pack for the whole stretch.
Is it Worth it?
This one isn't worth it at all. It's not even worth looking at it to be completely honest. The fact that a brand new sealed copy would only put you $10 in the hole speaks a lot for this one. A simple CIB copy will cost you about $4 and a loose disc only $1. I managed to get mine CIB in a lot that equated to $1 per game and I still feel like I spent too much on it. There isn't a whole lot of substance to this one. There's only one mode where you can actually race against other racers, and it lacks the one thing most racing games need : a catch. Unless its a straight up racing game like NASCAR, Gran Turismo, Forza, things of that nature, a racing game needs something to draw you in, such as the power-ups in Mario Kart. But this one doesn't, it's just flailing around on a jet-ski, in mediocre graphics, against unfairly toughened AI opponents. I really can't think of one reason to justify picking this one up unless you're a fan of collecting bad racing games.
