Iridium Runners

Rating Everyone Genre driving Publisher South Peak / Playstos Entertainment External Links Iridium Runners Website

It's the year 2050 and no longer are we confined to low-tech machinery for our racing entertainment. As a matter of fact, we don't seem to be confined to hi-tech machinery either. In Iridium Runners, you take control of one of twenty racers participating in the 2732nd running of the Iridium Games. By this reviewer's count, if we started next year, these races will be held roughly 66 times a year. But regardless, these racers have no need for vehicular modes of transportation. Instead, their running speed is enhanced through the use of Iridium Crystals. One could think of these crystals as crack on crack. Throw in some weapons and power-ups and you have a basic, budget PS2 racer that can be fun at times and frustrating at others.

Iridium Runners unfortunately lacks any defining qualities in many regards. Generic characters, throw-away story and the standard futuristic tracks are all prime examples. It's as though someone had carjacked the F-Zero crew and they were trying in vain to chase the perpetrators down on foot. The graphics also lack the same treatment that non-budget late generation PS2 games benefit from. However, maybe this last note is for the best, as the game plays quite smoothly while you are zipping through the game's most twisting tracks.

The races themselves are hectic and competitive. You have to slam and weave by other runners while dodging their onslaught of rockets, jump gaps in the track, and constantly collect Iridium Crystals to fill your energy bar. This can prove especially difficult on some tracks when following close behind a fellow runner who consistently hogs all the crystals for his own. This game mechanic however, ensures the races are engaging and presents the player with obstacles other than simply beating your fellow racers.

My main peeve of Iridium Runners is the way in which the player must use boost. In lieu of assigning an extra button to control boost, the developers have decided to make the player frantically tap the run button to burn your collected crystals and perform an Iridium Boost. This seems to work well in adventure games when the intermediate burst of speed is used every so often. When one puts it into a racing game, this can lead to some unpleasant thumb fatigue. After the first few races, I was already feeling the burn.

Iridium Runners is a budget-game and it shows. But, where it lacks in polish and style, it makes up for in unlockables (characters/wallpapers) and an ample selection of tracks. Throw in some 4-player modes, both free-for-all and team racing, and you get an average racer for the aging Playstation 2.