Recent reviews by CACHET

Really enjoy this game while I am listening to podcasts and just want something chill to do in the background. Difficulty is very well scaled. You can play casually and still have a good time, or full sweat after leaderboards.

Fun little game - design and flying are surprisingly intuitive, although it is pretty short with not a lot of replay value, imo.

Damn, GTA6 goes hard

I must admit, I was hesitant about buying this game following all the noise at release time about bugs and how you needed an absolute monster of a PC to be able to run it...

... and I was pleasantly surprised. My PC isn't the best (top of the line 5 years ago), and it hums along fine on Ultra settings. As for bugs, there are a few glitches and weird things that happen, but they are far from game-breaking. Most of them vary from slightly inconvenient to downright hilarious. Certainly no worse than what you would get in a game like GTA V.

Overall, I am blown away by the scope of the game, and the sheer immersion of the gameplay. 50 hours in, I can see myself playing many more hours of this game, just for its brilliance. Driving physics are pretty bad imo, but it might just be personal taste.

If you have the PC to run it, just get it. It will be a classic like San Andreas in 10 years.

Still a better basketball game than NBA2K18. 10/10

Alright, I think I've played this game for long enough to write a helpful review. I've made it to the top of the ladder globally in KPS for air arcade, and have unlocked close to 1800 vehicles, so here are my honest thoughts.


Pros:

The game is fun - obviously. If I didn't think so, I would not have spent the hours that I have in it. From getting your first kill when you begin, to clutching a 1v5 when you are more experienced, there are moments that just keep you coming back for more, and make you want to keep improving.

The game has a lot of depth. Name a war plane, tank, or ship from the 20th century, and it's probably in the game, fully-modelled and playable. If you're a history buff or a completionist, this game will scratch that itch.

The developers are actively improving the game. Yes, they get a lot of flak in forums and elsewhere, but you can tell that they actually care about this game, which is rare for a game that has been out for 12 years. The game rarely feels stale, as there are new features being added all the time, and they regularly run special events for holidays, where you can unlock exclusive vehicles. Not to mention, there is usually a completely new game mode added for April Fools every year, such as submarines, UFO's, or cartoon planes.


Cons:

The learning curve is STEEP. Matchmaking is based on vehicle rating, not player skill. So yes, although you will start in a little biplane or a basic old tank, there is nothing stopping you from meeting seasoned level 100 players early on. It is still fun, if you have the right mindset, but we all get humbled by better players when learning the game.

The grind is LONG. You can see my hours in game, and there are still MANY vehicles that I have not unlocked yet. Don't expect to have a jet any time soon, unless you fork out to buy a premium, which I would not recommend, as learning in lower-tier vehicles is very important.

It can get expensive. While I disagree with the shrieks that the game is pay to win, as there is usually a non-premium equivalent of most premium vehicles, if you are a completionist or just want to speed up your grind, you'll be very tempted to buy premium time to speed up your grind. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing, as the game is perfectly enjoyable without it, but if you really want it, I'd suggest buying premium when it is 50% off, which is usually available a few times per year in the big sales.


Conclusion:

Give it a shot. It is free to play, so see what you think of it.

I really enjoy this game. The idea is awesome, and I have had a lot of fun with it in the past. The number of times that the game crashes for me now though makes it nearly unplayable - it just gets too frustrating to be doing well in a race, and then the game crashes.

Without the crashing, this would be at the top of my Steam library.

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UPDATE: So it is 6 months since my review, and I decided to try this game again and it is still performs just as badly, if not worse!

I am still getting post-race crashes a few times a season, so I tried the Beta which promises to fix the bug, but now I am getting the duplicate driver bug! I opted out of the Beta, and now I have both issues!

Well done, devs! You have taken a great idea for a game and absolutely ruined it. The state of this game would be understandable for pre-release, but it is crap to expect people to pay money for this POS.

UPDATE 2 (Oct 2024): After 5 years since my last update, I decided to give this game a spin. New rig, new decade, clean slate :)
Immediately got crash-on-start issue which required an edit to system variables to resolve, and then got the end of race game crash in my third race. Yuck! There is no hope for this game, it seems.

Ridiculously addictive game. I mean, you will think about your investments when you are driving, eating, at work, or doing anything. At least I did.

After way too long, I have finally clocked it, so I am free to continue with life again. 10/10

Good game! Yeah there are bugs, but there is a lot of depth to it. Highly recommend.