I'm back with another review, this is wrc 9 on the nintendo switch. I played this game on other consoles primarily the xbox one and having played the game already. I found the game was very good indeed and i wanted to see what this port would be like hence the review here. We have a straight up port, so let's get into it.
We'll break it down, we'll get straight into the gameplay section, there's no story here of course now WRC 9. For those who want to know is a rally simulation which has all of the events which were planned for the 2020 season before covit 19 struck and ruined all of those plans. Nevertheless fans will be happy that those events are here.
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First thing i want to talk about is the control scheme on the nintendo switch. As many of you are already aware especially with racing games, there is a lack of analog control with the brakes, and acceleration. Unfortunately that has a pretty big impact on this particular version of the game. It made me laugh when you know on the loading screens which are plentiful in this game.
Unfortunately and it says not to let go of the throttle altogether as it
changes the behavior of the vehicle. Those causing you to lose control.
Obviously this tip is fantastic for players on other consoles. But here, it
means you instantly have a disadvantage and a big problem controlling.
Those vehicles if you've already bought this and are experiencing these problems and believe me it's not your driving skills the issue with games like this.
You do need that acceleration control to finesse the vehicle. Through the vast
array of twists and turns the courses throw at you as this is a very technical
game indeed. You've got to be accurate and well more often than not. You'll be
losing control of the car through no fault of your own other than not having
the full range of analog controls available to you.
It just makes the game frustrating, there is a way around this though. I have
used this on various other races that afford the option for you to assign the
right analog stick as the accelerator by pushing forward and back for breaking
make sure you remove the left and right directions for control of the camera
though.
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Otherwise you'll wonder what on earth is going on it then becomes more of a twin stick a rally game. But it's the only way i could play. Otherwise, it's just very very difficult indeed and doesn't really solve the problem of using the throttle and braking at the same time. It's one or the other this is where the handbrake does come in rather handy.
So be aware on the switch version, this is a compromise you may have to make if
your only option is the switch version of the game then this is the only option
really when playing in handheld.
Especially you may be able to get an external controller which is from a third party which has those analog triggers. But i've not been able to test if it works here other than that though.
This is a decent enough port the cars do control okay. Once you sort the control configuration out if a little twitchy. Although you can also change the sensitivity. There are various modes that you can partake in many will be interested though in the career mode. Where you can employ a team to help you through the season such as mechanics to repair your vehicle agents and so on.
WRC 9 also a skill tree where you can assign points to improve performance
your crew team. All of that kind of thing which is really good to see now the management
part of the game will appeal to those who like to control every aspect of their
career ultimately though. It's how the gameplays which will either draw you or
not if you prefer racing against others on track.
You need a different racing game as this will not really be for you, if you
prefer just having you controlling the car against the clock where you take on
sections of tracks in nice environments such as kenya as one of the new events.
But be warned, it's a massive challenge and will require hours, hours of practice and persistence. I cannot tell you how frustrating.
It is to go off the track, losing your time which is super easy to do. By the
way, if you don't use analog throttling the ai is also a little bit iffy at
times. Some tracks you'll win comfortably while others it seems like there's a
demon set in those times. You can leave your times online to compete against
others around the world, which adds to that competitiveness in essence.
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It's a deep and satisfying rally game and if your only option is the switch version then look. You are getting a decent enough time. Although i would probably advise to play this in handheld mostly. I'll get on to why in a second for those that are finding it tough, there are driving aids and you can change the difficulty to suit you.
There's also a handy tutorial which will show you the robes other modes include
quick race. There's challenges also if you just want to practice you can the
official teams and their cars are here.
So it's got that official license which is gonna satisfy many of you performance wise. I'm happy to say that the game ran pretty stable most of the time at 30 frames per second.
Both in and in docked mode which is good news. Because it was pretty smooth the
visuals though have taken a massive hit and it is distracting to see the pop up
and bits of landscape render while you are racing the textures look really
poor. I have to say and the environment are lacking so much detail and color
it's not as noticeable though in handheld.
But boy oh boy do you notice it in docked mode on a big screen the cars look
just about passable. But everything else has been downgraded to such a degree
that you can see. It's the absolute minimum here if you own a switch light or
you only want to play this game in handheld. You won't notice it so much. But
if you want to play in docked then you're going to notice.
It's as simple as that we'll move on to audio. They've done a great job the
sounds of the vehicles are great the co-driver sounds good and clear. So you
know which turns to make and when it's all present and correct does the basics
and it does it well now. Value wires WRC 8 and 9 are both still 44 pound 99 in
the uk and 49.99 in dollars in the us and in euros.
If you already own a WRC 8 then i don't really think that wrc 9 is worth a
paying full price for. It just isn't enough really that's new to warrant the
outlay. However if you haven't got wrca and this is your first time to the
franchise possibly and you want to buy this on the nintendo switch then there's
no doubt this is going to give you hours and hours of gameplay perfecting those
tracks is not going to be easy and as long as you persist and you enjoy it.
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All that matters and gameplay wise you know it's going to satisfy. A lot of people before i get into my verdict. Let's talk about that verdict with the switch version of WRC 9 first. For most the gameplay is still enjoyable if you can handle using a slightly different control scheme that's the only way i could really enjoy appreciate the game to its full potential now. WRC 9 performance on the switch is stable at 30 frames per second. But there is a pretty noticeable downgrade in the visuals.
You know it's not perfect, it's to be expected and whether that bothers you or
not only you can decide as at the end of the day. You'll be the one paying full
price for it will it affect gameplay for you that depends you'll probably be
too busy concentrating to notice making all of those twists and turns.
Trying not to crash if you have a switch lite or play mostly in handheld, then you will notice the deficiencies less.
But on a big screen, i couldn't help. But notice those bare minimum visuals and
the lack of detail within the environment as well as pocket. So whether the
visuals bother you or not will be personal preference for me. I'll see you on
the next one take care everybody.
