Mad Tracks pulls back, zips forward on XBLA

I bought it. It's a really...random and silly game. I've only done the Adventure mode, which has a few races but a lot of random mini-game type things, like one where you use your car to knock as many things you can off this table. There's a lot of games like that.

Don't know if it's worth the 10 dollars I spent on it yet. It's pretty fun so far.

Siiick! I'll be gettin this soon...well maybe tonight...or after im done with aegis wing...this'll be my racing fix as i cant find forza 2 anywhere.

eb wil have forza this morning # 2. haha #2. anyways, the ones here in atlanta have them as soon as they open. on my way to get it now! add me if yo find it, badboy269

any idea where the heck the Hour of Victory dem that was said by fanboy is? was told it would be today. i love some FPS

LOL...i called around yesterday to 2 eb's, checked store stock online of 2 bestbuys and had a buddy that works at futureshop check for me if they had any and they were all sold out! HELP ME!

(i live in toronto btw.)

I'll check again today in hopes that i can finally get some good sim racing going...

Well apparently they did something wrong yesterday evening on the site as i was told they were out of stock...and now i'm being told the item isnt available yet and is due to be released on the 31st...that would make sense then.

Mad Tracks is yet another example of a game that was soooo overblown and hyped.

It's just ok, nothing great and certainly not worth $10+ (all the DL content that is coming is going to cost you an arm and a leg when all is said and done)

Yet another bomb on XBLA

I checked out the trial version and was unimpressed

The trial version was really fun! but i really think re-volt was much more fun, but that wont probably make it onto xbla so i will just have to wait to get some Microsoft Points to buy this game!

I was really looking forward to this game. For some reason the PC demo/trial felt better. After playing the 360 demo, I'm not sure if I'm going to buy it.

This game was a pretty big disappointment for me. I was looking for a simple and fun racing game, but the concept, limited content in the basic game, and multiplayer problems make me think that I wasted my money on this dog.

Although this is technically a racing game, the first 15 courses emphasize doing things other than racing, like playing pool and golf by herding your ball into the hole with your miniature car. While these games are all right, they would be better as counterpoints to the races, not as the meat of the game.

Incidentally, "Arcade" mode allows you to race on the tracks against yourself. And the clock, I guess. It makes the tracks seem far more boring.

When checking out the demo, I saw three screens of races. What I didn't notice (if it was even stated) was that only the first screen came with the game; the second and third are not unlockable, but downloadable. And in my habit of throwing good money after bad, I decided to try downloading the next set of races, and received a "Cannot connect to XBLA server" error message.

Which is a good place to turn to the problems with the online portion of the game. I tried repeatedly to join a "quick match" in both the ranked and player sections. I was repeatedly sent back to the menu with a message telling the match I was "trying" to join was currently full. Creating a match, though, attracted no other players after a few minutes of waiting.

Finally, I was able to join a mini-golf game, where four players race to knock their coloured ball into the cup. Within ten seconds my car disappeared, my ball was sailing through the air, and... I was declared the winner.

The lack of packed-in content, the lack of focus on racing in a racing game, and the horrendous multiplayer issues are enough for me to say: avoid this game.

Apologies for the long review, but I want to get the word out.

Thanks for your detailed write-up, Matthew. It'll keep me from buying it.

@ Matthew,
Thanks for your interest and thorough overview of Mad Tracks.

I can't judge our game in terms of interest since I'm part of the dev team, but I'd like to point out to a review that gives another opinion: http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1331/Mad-Tracks/p1/

As for the multiplayer issues your mentioning, I've had non in the past three days. Please be kind enough to send me some detailed info so I can investigate on it.

Have a great day,
Denis.

It's very cool when developers care enough to come on places like this and face their critics. It's only fair and, true, I am only one person reviewing it.

I will definitely get more detailed information together regarding my multiplayer difficulties and pass it on. If they were a one-time thing, I will be glad to amend my review accordingly.