Pulse Racer

Pulse Racer
Cover art
Developer(s) Jaleco
Publisher(s) Jaleco
Producer(s) Quincy Roach
Designer(s) David "Oz" Osborne
Composer(s) Mikael Sandgren[lower-alpha 1]
Platform(s) Xbox
Release
  • NA: January 2, 2003
Genre(s) Racing
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Pulse Racer is a Jaleco Xbox racing game released on January 2, 2003, albeit only in North America. It is billed as a futuristic cart-style racing game in a similar vein as Mario Kart taking place in 2024, featuring "high-tech tools" and "sleek vehicles" where racers must use their own life force to beat the competition.[2] It is often regarded as one of the worst Xbox games on the market.[3]

Gameplay

Pulse Racer's main differentiator among racing games is that a racer's life is tied to their vehicle. If a racer pushes him or herself too hard, their driver will have a heart attack. The driver will pass out for a few seconds until revived by an adrenaline shot to the heart. Holding forward on the left joystick will result in a speed boost, but holding it down for too long will cause the controller to vibrate before the driver suffers cardiac arrest. Other gameplay features include the ability to bring up a shield to protect against collisions and power-ups from other players (but prevents the player from steering), the ability to shoot cables out from either side of the car to assist in turning (using the left or right trigger buttons) and the ability to pick up power-ups such as speed boost, shield, health and more.

Critical reception

Pulse Racer met with harsh critical reviews upon release. It received a 1.9 (Unbearable) rating from IGN,[4] a 3.3 (Bad) rating from GameSpot[5] and a score of 24 from Metacritic[6] based on 7 reviews. Additionally, Pulse Racer made IGN's The Wednesday 10: Best Worst Game Reviews.[7] IGN says "Forget about Pulse Racer, it's not a good game. It's an example of a very, very poor game," and "Easily one of the worst racers on the market." GameSpot says "So, to reiterate, do yourself a favor and avoid this cheap-looking, unenjoyable game." Game Informer's Metacritic blurb reads, "Officially the worst Xbox game I've ever played..."[8] and OXM say, "This is the worst Xbox game available, in every category, from graphics through gameplay."[9]

Notes

  1. ↑ Additional music by David Goodale, Chad Mossholder, Steve Pabst, Mike Smith, and Heather Sowards.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Game Manual, Page 24.
  2. ↑ "Pulse Racer". IGN. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  3. ↑ "Pulse Racer". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  4. ↑ Goldstein, Hilary. "Pulse Racer". IGN. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  5. ↑ "Pulse Racer Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  6. ↑ "Pulse Racer". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  7. ↑ Geddes, Ryan. "The Wednesday 10: Best Worst Game Reviews". IGN. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  8. ↑ "Pulse Racer". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  9. ↑ "Pulse Racer". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
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