Pacer Reviews
I have always been a fan of zero-g racing games. Titles like Wipeout and Extreme-G were big players in my childhood, nothing else matched the neon rush or mind bending speed of the genre. Now R8 Games are getting into the race with PACER, but will it rise to the challenge or slide off the track?
I wish that Pacer tried to forge its own identity instead of being another WipEout clone because it's simply not as good of a game.
It all ends up coming across as an ‘almost’ experience. Pacer is almost a successor to Wipeout, but poor track design, a lack of strong audio design, and lackluster weapons all add up to a ho-hum experience that leaves you wanting for the early Wipeout days. If you really need something to scratch that old itch, then give Pacer a whirl. If you’re looking for the next S-Class zero-g racer, you’ll likely want to dust off an older PlayStation.
The intense rush of a photo-finish hardly ever occurs and the combat is underwhelming. Hardcore fans of the genre might find enjoyment in Pacer. But honestly, they probably won’t find enough to sink their teeth into or a reason to keep coming back for more.
Ultimately, PACER is an experience that gradually gets more and more frustrating due to its lack of speed, unbalance and the decline in the quality of the tracks. The beginning was promising, but that, unfortunately, was not maintained until the last moments.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Though there are a lot of issues under the hood, Pacer is a decent anti-grav racer at heart. If R8 Games continue to tinker, tweak, support and add enough post-launch content - the potential is there for this series to become a serious contender.
Solid in some ways, less-than-desired in others, Pacer is a fairly good futuristic racing game with some caveats.
Overall Pacer is a good game. It stumbles from time to time with flaccid weapons and a lack of an active online community, but in just about every other category, it does a corker of a job. When compared to other games in the genre, it holds up favorably and if you are a fan of said genre, then, honestly, this is one worth checking out. Heck, this is a pretty damn solid starting point too.
With many games trying to replicate the enthralling and addictive nature of WipEout, it’s understandable that many will fail miserably. Fortunately, Pacer isn’t one of these titles. With many well designed levels and modes, lots of weapons to choose, and 5 different vehicle types, there are plenty of options to make everyone happy. A fair but challenging difficulty curve will keep you interested from beginning to end, as does the wonderful graphical and audio presentation. I loved my time with this and recommend that you buy it here! Choose your ship, customise it to your liking, and make each of the sponsors happy. You must race for money, gold medals, but most importantly pride.
Pacer's lacklustre career mode and some dodgy event types might be turn-offs, but the core racing gameplay makes up for it.
Pacer is a delightful racer, filled with plenty of action-packed moments. It also has some of the more glorious drifting mechanics that are hard to find in most car-racing games. For those looking for the spiritual successor to the WipeOut series, look no further. While the vehicles are quite limited, and some of the tracks don't truly compliment the high-speed racing that this wants to be known for, when the right ingredients are in play, then the experience becomes quite memorable. If only the online community had more going for it, or at least if the offline modes had the option to increase the difficulty of the AI. Despite some of the setbacks, overall this is a very good racer that is worth jumping into and getting lost in.
So, Pacer is an accomplished anti-gravity racer, no doubt. But it falls short of being great due to its ho-hum campaign mode and the restrictive nature of some of its tracks. If you’re looking for a worthy Wipeout replacement on PC you’d be wise to give it a go; and while it pales in comparison to Wipeout Omega Collection on PS4, if you’ve played that title to death this will entertain you for decent amount of time. A Wipeout beater it is not, but it’s a fair contender.
Like all great racing games, Pacer is about repetition and mastery. The more you play, the better you'll become at speeding through all the sharp turns and wild loops. It's not as polished as the Wipeout games were, but it's still a pretty good deal if you don't care much about multiplayer.
Pacer is a good game on its own merits but it is nothing special, and when Wipeout HD Collection is still being sold for half the price of Pacer (and the other titles I mentioned at the beginning of this review are also less than Pacer) it is extremely hard to say this game that is just “good” is worth your money when competitors are out there for less. Pacer does not exist in a vacuum, and therefore I can not recommend it over other Wipeout inspired titles, which there is at least one on every current platform.
The game doesn't get everything right. Menus and UI are a little clumsy, and you're unlikely to feel attached to any of the teams in the career mode. However, it has it where it counts — fun, speedy racing, lots to do, and a CoLD SToRAGE soundtrack. WipEout fans looking for a new entry: this is as close as you'll find.
Pacer can most definitely give you a rush of nostalgia if you grew up with games of this type. It just doesn’t feel like it has the legs to keep you occupied once that euphoria wears off. It’s hard to tell here at launch, but if a community forms around this game and the online actually has players to play with this could very well be a go to game to get a quick adrenaline fix.
Pacer offers lightning-fast anti-gravity races on great tracks, but suffers from a lack of spectators and a hardly rewarding career.
Review in German | Read full review
Pacer is a thrilling racing game with plenty of content, variety and customisation. A couple of rough edges and slightly disappointing combat keep it from reaching true greatness but it’s still a fun trip down memory lane, even when you’re going at 1,000 kilometres per hour.
Clearly inspired by titles like Wipeout and F-Zero, Pacer slips a little in its presentation and proposal, but it respects the history of these classics. An uncompromised title, whose main highlight is its beautiful visuals and a fast and intense action, especially in the higher categories. A title worthy of the legacy it wants to represent and that will please fans of the genre.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
R8 Games tried to create a new WipEout and they succeeded. Well, partially. The game is fast and catchy but it's not as good ad original.
Review in Slovak | Read full review