Written By: Patrick Orquia
Title: Aqua Moto Racing Utopia
Developer: Zordix AB
Publisher: Zordix
Genre: Racing
Number of Players: up to 4 players
Release Date: 19 Apr 2018
Platform: Wii U
Price: $19.99
Aqua Moto Racing Utopia is a jet-ski racing game that was originally released as a mobile game some 4 years ago. A Wii U port of the game was announced long before the announcement of Nintendo’s new console, the Switch. The Switch version was released also released, but kudos to the developers for actually fulfilling their promise of still releasing the Wii U version. Unfortunately, the game lacks overall quality and the 4 years between the announcement and its actual release on the console really didn’t equate to making the game better. I have never played the original, but if its quality is just the same as this version, then it’s not a very good game to begin with.
But despite that, the game could still potentially provide some fun, especially to water racing game fans. Upon playing the game for the first time, you are asked to complete a short tutorial level that teaches you the basics, like how to drive your ski and how to go around buoys, and also the advanced mechanics, like doing stunts, managing speed, etc. After this initial tutorial level, you are now (supposedly) ready to join races.
There are many game modes available for both solo and multiplayer gameplay. There is the Championship mode wherein you start as a beginner and you have to win races to increase your level and to unlock new race levels. There is also a mode that is dedicated to performing stunts to achieve a certain number of points to win medals that will also unlock new stages. If you are not too keen to play either modes, there is also a Leisure mode where you just explore the waters of unlocked stages to practice your riding skills and stunts. If you have up to three friends (with the same number of Wiimotes, Wii Classic Controllers, or Wii U Pro Controllers), you may opt of local couch multiplayer. You can race with one another or try the party mode, where you can play a variety of different games.
Races can be pretty challenging, even against AI players. The game features a pretty aggressive water physics that could take some time getting used to. There is one course that can be raced in early in the game is set near an oil rig and the waves are really big and wild and I personally find it quite annoyingly frustrating. It took me quite a while to finish in the top 3 on that course. By the way, courses can be replayed indefinitely during a race campaign until you get satisfied with the results. You have to finish within the top 3 of each race campaign to unlock the next one, and you have to get really good to do that because of the aforementioned water physics. Add to that the necessity to go around buoys. Red buoys need to be passed on the right side of it and the yellow ones on the left. If you miss 3 buoys or don’t follow the correct way to pass them, you get disqualified, so again, you really have to work hard to be good at a particular course.
If finishing a race on the top 3 isn’t really your goal, then maybe performing stunts is. Performing a stunt is pretty easy with only a combination of at least 2 buttons to press. You can do on water stunts or air-borne stunts (do it while on air after riding up a ramp). The longer and more complex the stunt performed, the higher score you get (which will be equivalent to the currency used in-game). You also fill your turbo counter faster. Pressing B while the turbo counter is at max can make you go really fast for a certain period of time (depending on the jet-ski that you are using). If you wipe out or miss a buoy, your turbo counter goes back to zero right away, so you have to be very careful and mindful of when to perform stunts.
Overall, Aqua Moto Racing Utopia on the Wii U is something that is not a necessary buy, but can be a good purchase if you are a fan of water racing games. It’s challenging and could be frustrating at times but it can also be very fun to play if you put some work on it. The game has a good selection of jet-skis available can help in obtaining the best possible results in race, depending on your play style. So until a better game comes along (very unlikely, since it’s the Wii U), this should quench your thirst to race hard and fast on water.
REPLAY VALUE: medium
PROS:
- The water animation looks amazing
- The game supports the Wii U Pro Controller, Wii Remote (+ Nunchuck), and the Wii Classic Controller
- The stages are decently designed
- Opponent AI is pretty good
- The character and ski customizations are cool
- Up to 4 players for local multiplayer gameplay
- Performing of stunts can be done by a simple combination of buttons, with some that can be done by toggling the R stick to a certain direction, but could be challenging to do because of timing and speed constraints during races
- Hit detection is pretty good
CONS:
- The overall graphical style looks a bit dated
- Races takes quite a long time to load and start; even restarting them takes the same long time to load
- The aggressive water physics makes the jet-ski a bit too unwieldy to control at times
- The whole passing around buoys mechanic of the game makes the game a lot less enjoyable, at least for me. There should be an option to not include that mechanic for just straight-up racing
- NO ONLINE MULTIPLAYER
- The soundtrack lacks variety
- The gamepad shows what is seen on the TV but during actual gameplay, there is no sound coming from it, making off-TV gameplay incomplete
RATING: 3/5 waves and splashes
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