Gas Guzzlers Extreme Review – No Multiplayer Is a Big Miss

Gas Guzzlers Extreme Review

If you want a fun racing game with some classic car combat, look no further! Gas Guzzlers Extreme is a new game from Iceberg Interactive that’s sure to scratch your itch. Cars and upgrades to unlock, several different game modes, and a whole lot of destruction await.

Honestly, the last few iterations of arcade racers have been a bit of a let-down. Thankfully, Gas Guzzlers is here to not necessarily save the day, but at least fill in the gaps. It’s sort of a mix between Need For Speed and Motorstorm, with a little bit of Destruction Derby thrown into the mix. It’s been around on PC for a few years, but has finally made its console debut.

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” It’s sort of a mix between Need For Speed and Motorstorm, with a little bit of Destruction Derby thrown into the mix.”

You start off picking one of two cars, and place near or at the top in races to acquire funds. Use your cash to upgrade your car or buy new ones as they unlock, and then of course upgrade those too. These are all pretty basic: new tires, bigger boost, more powerful engine, etc. The areas for improvement aren’t anything new, but it still feels great to drop ten grand into your ride and then slap on some customization.

There are three main types of races, each of which changing the rules slightly. The only one I didn’t really enjoy was knockout, and that’s simply because it’s set up like an endurance race where the last man standing wins. You’re forced to do 7 laps, with the racer in the last position being knocked out each lap. It’s a great concept and many people don’t mind long races, but personally I found them a bit tedious. Battle race and Power race were a lot more fun, and generally run between 2 and 4 laps. In Battle, once you pass through the initial no fire zone, combat is allowed. In Power race, you don’t have guns strapped to your vehicle but you can still grab power-ups that are littered throughout each track.

Once you’ve won a few races, you’ll be ready to enter sponsored events. These tend to be more specialized, like capture the flag or demolition derby modes. Rise high enough in the brackets, and you’ll start to see cups/tournaments pop up to compete in. The progression you’ll go through isn’t really anything new, but it’s still fun and a great way to kill some time.

Gas Guzzlers Extreme’s best trait has got to be the sense of humor and style in general. The developers knew not to take this concept to seriously, and so you’ll end up with AI racers having names like Alotta Fagina or Luke Likesheet. You can also choose your driver’s voice from a few options, all of which are cartoonish and fun.

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“Considering Gas Guzzlers Extreme costs a little under thirty dollars, it’s hard to justify the purchase.” 

While this is a solid arcade racer, there are some problems. At least with the port to Xbox One, it’s a tad buggy. I had a couple crashes, as well as controller disconnect issues when I walked away and left it running. Aside from that, it’s missing something extremely important: multiplayer. There’s no online features, and no split-screen, meaning once you’re finished with the campaign that’s basically it. It’s a shame really, because this would be an absolute blast play any of the modes with a friend, with or without AI. How do you make a racer like this without multiplayer?

Considering Gas Guzzlers Extreme costs a little under thirty dollars, it’s hard to justify the purchase. This version does come with all the DLC, but I’m not sure that’s enough to sway anyone without the multiplayer. If you really miss arcade racers and have been incredibly disappointed with other franchises like Need For Speed, then this is definitely worth your time and money. If all you want to do is race around blowing up other cars with your friends, you’re better off saving your money.

***Xbox One review code was provided by the publisher***