Ray Tracers
North American cover art
Developer(s)Taito
Publisher(s)
Platform(s)PlayStation, PlayStation Network
Release
  • JP: 17 January 1997
  • EU: July 1997[1]
  • NA: 5 March 1998[2]
  • JP: 14 October 2008 (PSN)
Genre(s)Racing, vehicular combat
Mode(s)Single-player

Ray Tracers (レイ・トレーサー, Rei Torēsā) is an arcade-style auto racing and combat video game developed by Taito and released in Japan and Europe in 1997 and in North America in 1998 for the PlayStation console. It has been compared to Taito's own Chase H.Q. from 1988.[3][4]

Gameplay

Gameplay consists of driving a car along a street. There is a timer on the top-left, which counts down. Enemies, in the form of robots, appear from the front and are damaged by ramming. Killing an enemy extends the player's time.

Release

Reception

Ray Tracers received mostly negative reviews. While multiple critics praised the tight controls,[7][12][14] strong sense of speed,[6][7][10][12] high frame rate,[10][12][14] and light sourcing effects,[6][10] they almost unanimously concluded that the game is both excessively easy and excessively short, giving players no reason to buy it since they could easily finish it on a single rental and the replay value is minimal.[6][7][10][14] Computer and Video Games lamented, "Fun though Ray Tracers is, there's just not enough to it. A real shame."[6] Some also commented that the gameplay is too simplistic, to the point where it becomes monotonous even before one finishes the game.[7][12][14] GamePro remarked that a multiplayer mode could have greatly increased Ray Tracer's lasting appeal, but without it the game became monotonous quickly.[14] IGN was among the few publications to defend the game; while concurring that the gameplay is extremely simplistic, the reviewer felt that it was fun enough that players would enjoy popping it in now and then for casual gaming sessions despite its lack of concrete replay value.[12]

The review team of Electronic Gaming Monthly were particularly negative about the game, with Kelly Rickards calling it "the most simplistic, monotonous and boring racing game I've played in quite some time", Dan Hsu saying he completed it in 20 minutes, and Crispin Boyer lamenting its lack of personality and the easiness of defeating the bosses.[7] Both Boyer and Jeff Gerstmann (in a review for GameSpot) criticized the absurdity of the fighter jet and helicopter bosses, pointing out that there was no apparent reason for them to hug the road closely enough that the player car would ever have the opportunity to ram them.[7][10] Game Informer gave it a favourable review.[9] In Germany, MAN!AC praised the anime inspired graphics and called the racing exciting.[4] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 23 out of 40.[8]

Notes

  1. ↑ The four reviewers gave it individual scores of 3.0/10, 4.5/10, 6.0/10, and 4.5/10 respectively.

References

  1. 1 2 OPMUK staff (July 1997). "Ray Tracer [sic]". Official UK PlayStation Magazine. No. 21. Future Publishing. pp. 126–27. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  2. ↑ Johnston, Chris (5 March 1998). "Ray Tracers Traced to Retailers [date mislabeled as "April 28, 2000"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 19 February 1999. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  3. ↑ EGM staff (October 1997). "Ray Tracers (Preview)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 99. Ziff Davis. p. 46.
  4. 1 2 Bannert, Robert (21 January 2019). "Ray Tracers - im Klassik-Test (PS)". MAN!AC (in German). Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  5. ↑ Panda; Gia (March 1997). "Ray Tracer [sic] (Import)". Consoles + (in French). No. 63. pp. 130–31.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Lomas, Ed (August 1997). "Ray Tracers". Computer and Video Games. No. 189. EMAP. p. 80. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Boyer, Crispin; Kujawa, Kraig; Hsu, Dan; Rickards, Kelly (February 1998). "Ray Tracers". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 103. Ziff Davis. p. 119. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  8. 1 2 "RAY TRACERS（レイ・トレーサー） [PS]". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  9. 1 2 "Ray Tracers". Game Informer. No. 58. FuncoLand. February 1998. Archived from the original on 14 September 1999. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gerstmann, Jeff (15 April 1998). "Ray Tracers Review [date mislabeled as "May 2, 2000"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 5 December 2004. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  11. ↑ Stafford, Adam (July 1997). "Ray Tracers". Hyper. No. 45. Next Media Pty Ptd. pp. 56–57. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 IGN staff (10 March 1998). "Ray Tracers". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  13. ↑ "Ray Tracers". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Vol. 1, no. 6. Ziff Davis. March 1998.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Dr. Zombie (January 1998). "PlayStation ProReview: Ray Tracers". GamePro. No. 112. IDG. p. 96.
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