Kinetica (game)

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title = Kinetica


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developer = SCE Studios Santa Monica
publisher = Sony Computer Entertainment America
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designer = Tim Moss ("lead programmer")
Richard Foge, Quinlan Richards, Tobin A. Russell, David Jaffe ("designers")
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engine = Kinetica game engine.
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released = 14 October 2001
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genre = Racing
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platforms = PlayStation 2
media = 1 DVD-ROM
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input = DualShock 2

"Kinetica" is a futuristic racing game for the PlayStation 2. It's the first game to use the Kinetica game engine.

Plot

It is set in the future versions of Earth's major cities, outer-space, and some fictional locations over a wide range of time in the distant future. The game has little respect to gravity with racers with wheels on their hands and feet racing up the sides of buildings and through rough terrain. The nine racers that are available for gameplay are Ava Giovanni, Cera Esper, Vigor Desoto, Xia Covault, Zinon Tera, Razzo Corsair, Siba Gastron, Greck Auger, and Crank. There are also 9 alternate racers, accessed by pressing the circle button during selection. These are: Dusk, Silkut, Thorn, Evalon, Argos, Steyer, Cyan, Maddox, and Gore, respectively. However, these characters are simply palette changes of the other characters, though their names suggest that they are different.

The many different Kinetic Suits you race with have the ability for the racers to scale walls and ceilings, the ability to go as fast as terminal velocity and sometimes even go beyond that, reaching speeds of over 350mph(570km/h), although if F-Zero is the typical Formula 1 in the future, then Kinetica would probably be the futuristic version of MotoGP.

The mechanics of the game are the same as any racing game; be the first to cross the finish line. But that is where the similarities end. The which-way-is-up aspect and the unique racer designs are what truly set this game apart from the rest. There are fifteen tracks in the game. In order, the tracks are Macropolis, Lost City, Electrica, Orbital Junction, Suicide Slide, New Vega, Electrica II, Cliffhanger, Gabriel's Horn, Lost City II, Neocropolis, Metroscape, Emerald Eve, Electrica X, and Orbital Junction II.

Technology

The slight cell-shading technique found in many videogames like Sonic Shuffle and many games from Cartoon Network resides in Kinetica as well, but Kinetica is much different in the way that it is used, giving the player a futuristic sense of racing.

The music in the game is mainly House, Breakbeat, and Trance. The soundtrack is very Oakenfold-esque with tracks by Amoebaassassin, Skope, Hybrid, Way Out West, and Meeker.