As mentioned above, Wild Gears takes the top down approach to racing, where you see an overhead view of the track and the tops of all the cars. I’m not sure why I prefer this view – maybe it’s the fact that you can see more of the track at once, or maybe just because racing games in this perspective tend to be a little less realistic and consequently wackier and more fun (in my opinion, anyway). At any rate, given PDAMill’s pedigree I was sure I’d enjoy this game. For the most part, I do.

There is a nice variety to the tracks, so there shouldn’t be any reason to get bored from that perspective. There are 15 tracks divided between four cups, and ultimately you’ll strive to take the gold in every race. There are also four different cars to choose from. There definitely seems to be variances in how each of the cars handle, but sadly there’s no explanation about the different vehicles and what makes them unique. I will say that I’ve pretty much had to switch to a different car every couple of races in order to keep getting gold cups, and there’s no way of telling which car will work best for which race until you’ve tried the one that gets you the gold.

There are a few power-ups in the game, including shield, health and traction. It would have been nice to have a few more, however. Since there’s nothing aggressive like oil slicks, rockets or other such intimidating gadgets, the gameplay feels a bit flat. The nice variety of tracks does help make up for this, however. Learning the nuances of each course will certainly keep you on your toes. It’s just a shame that there were only fifteen tracks, because once you’ve gotten the gold in all of them, there’s not much impetus to keep repeating the races.

On the plus side of things, I appreciated the fact that the rest of the players drove just like me. In other words, I actually saw other players crash and burn, instead of some other games where it seems like I’m the only one who can lose control of my vehicle. I also liked the fact that the game didn’t take itself too seriously, as evidenced by some of the course designs. On the other hand, there were a couple of things that kind of annoyed me. Even though the same principle applied to all racers, I felt that the respawning after death was a bit unreasonable at times. This was especially noticeable on the lava track, where you had to make several jumps, and the respawning would often place you back a couple of jumps instead of just the one you missed. It also seemed like the power-up placement was a bit too random, because power-ups were often unreachable.

Now on to my biggest gripe about the game mechanics: the on screen control. Your “hardware” is a virtual joystick that is supposed to simulate the control of a remote control car, I suppose. You use the stylus to move the joystick around, and the further your stylus from the central point of the joystick, the faster your car goes. Or so it would seem. However, it often felt like my car was going really slow, even if I had my joystick in a position to be going “maximum speed”. Also, every time I’d set the game aside and come back to it a couple of days later, it felt like I was re-learning the use of the joystick all over again. It never really felt smooth or natural to control the car. Having said that, I did manage to take gold in all fifteen races, but I still often wonder how.

Graphically, as with most any PDAMill game, Wild Gears is a treat. Everything is finely detailed, and each track exudes personality. There were even some themed after other PDAMill games, like the Corsair track in the Fantasy group. There were a couple of tracks that were almost too much, though. For instance, while it looked really neat, it didn’t take long before Checkerland began to hurt my eyes. Also, between the always on HUD, the overhead map, and the on screen messages announcing things like acquired power-ups, there was often so much besides the track going on that it really impeded the gameplay. This is really a minor criticism, but it was something that did affect my racing on occasion.

The music was quite good, and though it didn’t always seem to fit the tracks, it was nice to listen to. It was neat to hear the music get more upbeat on your last lap of the race. The sound effects fit quite well with the game, from the announcer telling you “last lap” to your car exploding when you’d taken too much punishment.

Overall, Wild Gears was a fun ride. Creative tracks, excellent graphics, and a rockin’ soundtrack make for a fairly complete package. A few more tracks would have been nice, but ultimately the main detractor for me is the control scheme. If you can get past that, however, this game can certainly be a blast to play.

Overall Score: 6/10
Product Page: Wild Gears Page
You can try or buy the game for $9.99 here