Driving games are plentiful as are gang inspired games (more so in the future) and if you take GTA:San Andreas as an example, it manages to combine both together in one neat package. Well 187 Ride Or Die isn’t a free roaming game but more a mission based racing/driving game; and what is unique about this title for a driving game (other than the stereotypical gangster slang) is the fact that you can get your passenger to shoot the other gang racers off the city based tracks. So buckle up and get ready to protect your hood as you take to the mean streets where wining races grants you the ultimate respect. It’s a 187, you ride or you die simple as!

GAMEPLAY

Game play comes in the form of taking one of many varying pimped up vehicles (unfortunately you can’t do the pimping) and entering a race that is somehow linked to the story. I think the story is a little secondary to the fact that you are there as young gangster to be, Buck and your job is to beat rival gangs in races to the death, simple. You get into a vehicle ranging from classic to sports and SUV’s etc then you hit the starting line and zoom off around the track. Well that would be any other racing game but where 187 Ride or Die does things different is the fact that your passenger can now lean out the window/sunroof whatever and start spraying bullets at the other cars. Not only is this bad manners but can also result in the opponents cars blowing up. Actually this is great however the opponents are merely slowed rather than killed as their car will re-spawn in a few seconds. The same can happen to your car as well so things can get pretty hectic with concentrating on the rather simple circuits and controlling a secondary character at the same time. Whilst navigating the circuits there are weapons pick ups (although lacking in much variety) and health to drive over, almost like (dare I say it) Mario Kart but a little less fluffy and perhaps not as varied, but you get the point.

Controlling the car is fairly straight forward and is pretty much as you would expect, however what is neat is using the right thumb stick to control the direction of fire in some 360 degrees action. When you are successful at destroying an opponent’s car then you are treated to a cinematic slow motion shot of their car being blown up and coming to a distinct halt.

187 Ride Or Die mixes things up a little as it isn’t always about simple lap races around the circuits. There are a number of varying themes on racing around the circuits and what is more there are arena battles, death matches, escort and escape missions to name but a few. The death match missions are pretty hectic as you are free to drive around fairly small areas and take out as many cars as you can within the time limit. The premise of this mode is very simple yet it works despite the aggressiveness of the other cars being a little on the lame side.

187 Ride or Die is story based and at times you are treated to some reasonable looking cut scenes that for the most part are full of fast cars and fast women. These help to add a little cohesion to the game but really are nothing more than a break from all the carnage racing/driving. What more can I say other than that you either Ride or Die; of boredom as the game does enter the realms of repetition pretty fast. Yes you can unlock more cars and yes you can replay any missions you have completed at anytime to perhaps unlock more of the game but the game remains pretty much the same throughout; and when tracks repeat for several missions in a row then you know something isn’t quite right.

GRAPHICS

I would say that by today’s standards the graphics are not really up there with the greats and whilst the game runs smoothly throughout, the game world, cars and characters really could look much better. The in game cut scenes look fairly decent but hey, who buys games for the cut scenes.

SOUND

As you would expect, the game is filled with Oscar winning performances from the actors in the hood and I think are a little over stated, but hey that’s gangster for you. The music soundtrack is typically Hip Hop inspired and is great if you love the style. For anyone else then I guess the mute button is the only music you will be listening to if that makes sense. The sound effects are reasonable but really nothing to shout about.

LONGEVITY

The single player is not the longest of games and to be honest the repetitive nature of the game will probably make it feel longer than it is. The real longevity comes from trying to complete the mission challenges that require you to beat a race in a certain time or get a set number of kills. Alternatively you can ride co-op with player one driving and player two taking the shots. If that’s simply not enough then you can embark on split screen, system link or Xbox Live play which in my mind is much more enjoyable than racing the non aggressive AI.

OVERALL

187 Race Or Die is a part of this growing fascination with gangs, cars and Hip Hop (GTA: SA: has a lot to answer for). On one hand you have a reasonable playing experience that’s easy to pick up and play yet on the other you have something that merely feels average at best and really is a one trick horse. The driving and shooting is something different yet the repetitive nature of the game, lack of true variety or tactics with the weapons means that the game soon becomes old. I’m sure some players will like the game and get a fair amount of entertainment from the title but in my opinion there just seems to be that wow factor which is sadly absent from the title. I strongly suggest renting this game before parting with your hard earned cash; who knows you might actually like it.