Disc Drivin’ 2 review
:: TURN BY TURNPrice: Free
Version: 1.1
App Reviewed on: iPad Air 2
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It’s hard to imagine a racing game that is also turn-based, but that’s exactly what Disc Drivin’ 2 is. Disc Drivin’ 2 feels like deck shuffleboard, but instead of carefully pushing discs to try and land on scoring areas, you’re trying to shuffle your way across race tracks faster than the competition. Some of the game’s controls take some getting used to, and it’s free-to-play design is not ideal, but otherwise Disc Drivin’ 2 is a great little multiplayer game.
Push it
Disc Drivin’ 2 pits up to four players against each other as they slide over race tracks filled with jumps, lasers, spikes, speed boosts, and more. The racing action feels quite a bit like a traditional cart racer, except with the fact that it’s a turn-based game where you are racing with discs.
Whenever it is your turn, you can survey the course, plotting out where the dangers are, where your opponents have gone, and even replay previous moves before making one of your own. This is done by dragging to the left or right on the screen to line up your shot and then swiping up to send your disc skittering down the track.
Turn-based tuning
Once your disc is on the move, your turn isn’t quite over yet. Disc Drivin’ 2 lets players swipe again while their disc is moving to keep it moving even further or make adjustments for shots that weren’t lined up quite right. The system feels quite a bit like Burnout’s aftertouch system, which adds a level of control to the game that’s really satisfying, at least when done right.
As it turns out, this aftertouch system is entirely necessary to perform well in Disc Drivin’ 2, as the game’s courses are littered with obstacles that would otherwise be practically impossible to avoid. If you hit an obstacle or fall off the map, your turn immediately ends, and you are left with two options: watch an ad to use one of your limited retries or simply end your turn and live with the consequences.
Devious discs
The base gameplay in Disc Drivin’ 2 is super fun, but there are some caveats. The controls in the game take a certain amount of getting used to, especially when it comes to adjusting the game’s camera. They don’t exactly behave the way you’d expect, but considering the game is turn-based, this isn’t a huge deal.
The more disappointing part of Disc Drivin’ 2 is its free-to-play model. The game is ad-supported and has some in-app purchases, including a $4.99 “Deluxe Drivin’ Bundle,” but even that doesn’t completely remove ads. It reduces their appearance, but still serves you an ad whenever you want to mulligan a shot. In addition, Disc Drivin’ 2 sports upgradable cards that can give players who grind out coins (or pay for them) a distinct advantage online.
The bottom line
Disc Drivin’ 2’s core action is pretty great, though it is partially compromised. It’s nothing that’s too unlike a lot of other free-to-play games out there, but that doesn’t mean it's excusable. Disc Drivin’ 2 is excellent as is, but it would be even better if it had a better free-to-play model.