The load screen of Jet Velocity 2 makes it quite apparent that you are not about to embark on yet another street style or circuit style racing game. Even though this game would be classified as racing — it involves manoeuvring a futuristic hovercraft through a very narrow circuit and hence the physics of it is quite different from what you would expect from a car game.
Starting up, you’ll notice that the game says “speed boosts” and “weapons” and you might think that this is a space shooter/defender style game. In reality, this is more like a Star Wars Pod race with elements of Death Race in it. The fact that you get illuminated speed boosts and weapon boosts will certainly amuse Death Race fans. Speed boosts are temporary and basically slingshot you further when you run over them. Weapons serve to slow your opponents down and speed you ahead of them. There are four different kinds and each has a dedicated key for releasing or you can hit space bar and whatever weapon you have at your disposal will be engaged.
During the few levels that I managed to finish, none of the opponents had fired back at me. That is probably reserved for higher levels.
One complaint that I have for the developers is that there’s no visual or audio or any kind of feedback when I pick up a weapon. There’s no way of knowing other than the small symbols with a tiny number on the HuD. In the heat of the race it’s easier to frantically hit spacebar hoping that a weapon will emerge and slow down that annoying opponent who’s speeding ahead of you.
Other than that, the game is refreshingly different. The design is nice and gives you a sense of thrill as you start. The 3D graphics are not as great as PC or console games but for an online Flash game they are very good. Some of the tracks are visually a bit challenging to navigate but then that is perhaps what adds to the excitement. I also liked the music in the background — a fast paced drum & bass tune is exactly what you need when you are careening through a tight turn at 435 kmph (yes, that’s what the speed gauge shows).
As far as game mechanics go, Jet Velocity 2 relies on a tried and tested formula — easy to pick up, hard to master. You will love zooming your way through the first few levels and then when the challenges grow harder, you will find yourself replaying levels more often and honing your hovering skills.
Since these are jet powered vehicles, their mechanics seems to have been designed in a way that straightens up the vehicle as soon as you let go of the left or right movement controls. This makes it very hard to make turns if you are trying to play from muscle memory developed through playing car games. But it is easy to get reprogrammed and hooked on to this. Recommended for those who are looking for a simple but good-looking online racing game to get in to.
You can play Jet Velocity 2 at Miniclip along with a load more car racing games.