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A PS2 must-have game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: October 29, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Kinetica is essentially SSX (or the upcoming SSX Tricky) using exotic futuristic locales. The graphics are crisp, the worlds are massive, and the competition is fierce. With nine potential racers of varying abilities and more than a dozen race circuits, the unlockable features ensure long-lasting playability. The controls are easy to learn, but control is challenging to master.

Interestingly, the Kinetica game manual is extremely well-designed, being both informative and beautiful to look at. The racers and circuits are presented along the bottom of the pages across the entire manual, while the specific, easy-to-read details of the game (controls, options, etc.) are explained on specific pages. An added bonus is "The Art of Kinetica," a small booklet presenting close-up images of the game's characters.

Perhaps most impressive is the incredibly FAST load time for each race venue. The expansive worlds and their glorious detail take almost no time at all to load; this is made to seem even shorter as the game screen offers a tip to improve a palyer's performance while the venue loads. Another wonderful aspect is that the fast-paced gameplay is NOT interrupted by dropped frames :-)

The only potential drawback is the lack of a specific stunt track and/or interactive stunt tutorial (such as is available in SSX). This would be a great benefit to players as they first play the game, especially since stunts MUST be performed (almost continuously) to have a chance at winning. Nonetheless, while this is not a Gran Turismo 3, Kinetica is definitely a wonderful game which should definitely be a part of every serious PS2 gamer's collection!!!!!

Awe-inspiring

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: October 23, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I'm shocked to see that no reviews have come in for this game and thought I would put my two cents in. I'm disappointed to see that it hasn't made the top 25 best-selling list on your site or even the top 10 racing games. I'm not a big fan of racing games, but Kinetica is just different enough to pique my interest. I bought SpyHunter a few days before and haven't even gone back to it after playing this game. Contrary to some reviews, I've only found that stunts are difficult to get off when you're in tight turns, which I'm sure is exactly why there are extremely tight corners in the game, to make sure that you don't use the same old tricks to get through it. Unlike other racing games, I enjoyed playing the boards over and over, because the outcome can be completely different every time. I definitely recommend this to just about anyone who likes futuristic settings and racing games other than the everyday stock car variety.

yea, it's a pretty cool trip.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: October 25, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Graphics could be a little better, and the play a little smoother, but it's still a good play. feels like a combination between xg3 and bustagroove from ps1. the drivers are hot and have got some sick moves, all the stunts are L1 plus quarter circle, half circle, etc. environs are huge and you can get mad air. in a nutshell, you're trying to get as much "boost" power as possible. the more burly your stunts, the more boost you get. there's a total of about 9 characters, 3 of which have to be unlocked. during replays the backgrounds flicker alot, but they're pretty consistent during actual play. i didn't notice much slow down at all, not even when you encounter other racers. overall, this is a good game. the concept is rad and it'd be cool to see what they could do on a sequel. oh and yo, the music gets kinda boring after awhile. seriously, i'm pretty sure that in the future techno will not be the only music out there...

Driving game with a mild twist ...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: May 12, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Kinetica seems to be a very underrated game amongst my PS2 friends. In my opinion it is one of the coolest games for the Play Station up with Grand Theft Auto 3 and Jax and Daxter. You basically are one of a choice of racers in the future wearing exo-suits with special abilities allowing you to cruise a wide variety of inventive racing tracks in primitive to future environments. Since the suits have some special powers like gathering boost strength through doing stunts and skid/acceleration control it takes a lot of practice to get fluent. The tracks are very fast paced and tricky, and the further into the game the hairier the action. You begin by playing 'seasons' of racing which consist of 4 tracks each. Score in the top three out of twelve racers on the first season and it unlocks the next season, score top 2 on each track there and unlock the third season. Then you unlock bonus tracks which then unlock special racers you can use to get further with. The tactics of weight, speed, and cornering are all factored into the suits and sooner or later you realize how to power up at certain points in order to boost ahead at others. The graphics and design are wonderful, it moves well, and the game play is intense. Once a player goes through the motions enough this game is very enjoyable, and holds you tighter then any other game on PS2 while you are engaged. Clever game, clever execution, great play.

Addictive and original

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: June 26, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I first previewed this game on a demo disc I received in the mail. At first I didn't pay all that much attention to it and wasn't big into racing games at the time. Then a few weeks ago a friend of mine watched the demo and exclaimed, "Dude, you gotta get this game!" I watched the incredible speeds reached and stunts performed and realized that Kinetica wasn't just another racer like Gran Turismo 3. Since I'd be working this summer I decided to fork over the money and buy it. I can honestly say it was my best purchase decision since Twisted Metal Black. I picked up the controls and techniques within a matter of minutes and was well on my way to beating out the CPU. Amazon's review states that you can't see very well and that the game slows down when the action heats up. Both of these are false. Maybe on a PS2 that was released prior to Fall, 2001 these complaints hold water. On mine, there is no problem whatsoever. As for the concern about the races being so blindingly fast that one can't concentrate on stunts, someone with quick fingers and a little practice can easily refute this. And don't think the fun is over when you beat the game. Unlocking all the bonus tracks and characters offers the player to couple his or her racing skills with an awesome new bike on past courses or against a friend. Furious speeds, dazzling stunts, and flawless and intricate tracks: Kinetica is all this and more.

The Best Racing Game on PS2

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: November 17, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I don't like racing games. I used to, then Gran Turismo 3 came out, which I think is a horrible excuse for a source of entertainment. Ican't stand that game. And because of that game, good racing games have stopped coming out. Then, I saw an advertisement in a magazine for this game called Kinetica, and I thought to my self "Heavens to Betsy, it's an imaginative racing game that isn't copying GT3! I must have it!" So I went and plopped down my .... When I got it home to play, it was even better than I was expecting. This game is so easy to just pick up and play, no hard to learn stuff, no ultra sensitive controls, just plain fun. The game moves ridiculosly fast, going at speeds up to 300 mph, and that's without boost! Also, the addition of tricks and power ups sweeten the deal even more. It's fun on 2-player, as well. The tricks take a little getting used to, but I picked it up pretty quickly, and I ... at video games, so anyone else should get it right off the bat. I encourage anyone who wants some good arcade racing action to pick this game up, it's worth your money.

Fast and Furious!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: January 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is hot, folks! Take a bunch of people with wheels on thier hands and feet, send them flying through multiple fully realized, 3-D enviorments, ranging from futuristic urban locales to steamy ancient jungles and beyond, set the whole shebang to some killer techno (most noticably from Paul Oakenfeld) and you've got Kinetica, one of the stand alone best titles for the PS2. This is the fastest game I have ever played, using all the speed and grace the powerful PS2 processer can muster up. The controls take ony a short time to learn, though I'm betting they take a lifetime to fully master. This game gets my personal highest rating due to its graphics mastery, lightning speed, superb gameplay and overall technical prowess. Much thanks to Sony for showing us just what the PS2, elder statesman in the neuvou games race, can really do.

Non-Stop Action Packed Racing From Start To Finish

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: July 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I had finally bought a Playstation2 a couple of days ago and Kinetica was the first game I had bought. This game is nothing but action. Picture yourself flying off of 40ft ramps at 300mph doing flips, spins, tripple axles, barrel roles, twists, and much much more. That's what Kinetica is, and more. You can choose one, from nine different kinetic suits. The kinetic suits have enhanced speed, agility, Acceleration, and everything else that goes with it. There are 13 anti-gravity tracks (where you can race on the walls, ceiling, etc...) to race on. Spread through out the tracks are powerups that raise your boost power. If you collect a certain number of power ups, you get a special move, like drafting, attacks, and super boost. You can also raise your boost meter by doing sweet stunts on the ground and in the air. Despite what other reviewers have said about on-screen slow downs, I have yet to have the game slow down, even with about 5 racers on the screen at once. And what some have said about moving so fast that you cant tell what's going on is also faulse. It's true that you race incredibly fast (I think I passed 400mph going down a large hill with super boost on once) but not too the extent where you can't tell what's going on. As for mastering the controls, I have yet to do that, but I'm starting to get good. The steering is pretty easy, actually it depends on which character you pick. All the woman, are much more maneuverable than the men, they have better grip, and they have better steering. The men seem faster, much stronger, and accelerate faster (mainly because their engines are much more powerful). I myself use the woman characters the most, since the tracks have many hard and short turns it seems they would be more usefull. That's only my opinion though. In some way Kinetica reminded me alot of a game that was for the ps1, called Hydro Thunder. In that game you also have to go out of your way to collect alot of turbo boost powerups. Plus, the handeling and steering in Kinetica felt exactly the same as Hydro Thunder's. Now the graphics. Compared too other ps2 games that Iv played at some friends, Kinetica's graphics are nothing special at all, but their not even close to being bad eather. The textures and designs on the tracks and the kinetic suits looked very nice I thought. This is a futuristic game so of course it plays techno music (which can get boring and old after a while). So that's about it. I highly recommend this game to anyone who loves action packed, incredibly fast racing games, or if you just like racing games none the less.

unique and original

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

the first time playing kinetica a few years ago, i mus admit i didnt like it. Back then, i found it difficult, but i soon realized that the only reason i found it so difficult was because i had little to no expierience in racing games. I waited, i played the need for speed series, and i picked this game up again. Now that i have more expierience, this game is an adrenaline filled rollercoaster.

The game feastures full body suits, that have wheels on the hand and feet, which race you through a futuristic worlds of ups and downs. Through the entire expierience, you are never completely sure which way is up, since you are constantly shooting up, and along side walls.

The best feature of the game is the boost system, which ties directly to the trick system. Doing tricks is an amazong display of twists, turn and lights. You can do flips, spins, both at the same time, and many other arial acrobatic tricks. After preforming these great acrobatic feats, you earn boos which makes you move MUCH faster.

So you may say, why not a four star rating. There is only one gripe i have about this game, and it is a problem that can be the ultimate downfall of many games. The game is just too short, iwas able to beat it in a solid two hours of gameplay, which is a less than inspiring statistic.

If kinetica would have been made just a bit longer, i think it would have been a five star game. Thats not to say that the short time you are playing is not exciting quite the opposite actually. If you have a lot of freind who can't get enough racing games, then this is the perfect multiplayer delight, and the game is even fun repeating the career several times, well worth the measley 5 to 10 dollars for the speed nut!

One of the Best PS2 Games I've ever played!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: October 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Kinetica is a futuristic game that allows you to race in a Kinetic suit on awesome tracks. the suits allow you to easily pull off over 7 different stunts. The tracks move off in to different areas, there are no plain trcks in this game. You can play by yourself in a Season (which you can unlock the tracks for when you play with your friends), a single race, or just a practice race to memorize your tricks, which give you boost to better your chances at winning. You'd be crazy not to like this game!

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