As a big fan of racing games, and specifically combat racers, I’ll admit that the last generation has brought pretty slim pickings to the eShop. There are absolutely some stand-outs in pretty much any category you could be looking for, but it’s all single-digit numbers of titles that have some lasting value and appeal. A quick glance of the trailer for Max Speed at least raised some hopes for me, as even though its look was pretty humble, there appeared there could be some fun to be had somewhere in there. Unfortunately, actually taking some time to play it, what you’ll quickly find is a game that has come over from mobile and hasn’t been sufficiently retooled for being properly fun on a dedicated gaming console.

Coming at it from a purely aesthetic standpoint, while it may not be anything to write home about, it at least works reasonably well. It feels a little like racing RC cars, and over time as you have the opportunity to get new rides, and do some customizing, they at least can have a little personality. The places you’ll be racing are also pretty exotic, sporting dinosaurs and some other odd distractions, and in principle that gives it a feel more akin to the Cruis’n series with its over-the-top approach.

The issue is that there’s quite a lot that ends up standing in the way of this being a better time. The first, is that it isn’t truly much of a racer, instead it’s more like an action game that feels a bit like playing with slot cars. Your focus is on switching lanes, trying to perform tricks that will give you different boosts, and then deciding when to use said boosts to stay in the race. You thankfully do have the ability to get aggressive with the competition, which can be fun, but you’ll also need to be careful since it isn’t too hard to fall off the track. The biggest problem though is that unlike mobile games that have been ported in a way that attempt to minimize obvious free-to-play elements like energy meters and varying currencies for unlocks, here they’re still front and center for a game you’re expected to spend more than $10 on. Considering the fact that for just a little more there are legitimate indie racers out there that have no such baggage, this ends up being pretty hard to recommend.