Back at IAAPA 2017, UNIS had a sit-down racing game at their booth by the name of Ultra Race. While I had thought it was a new racer, it turned out it was IGS’s Overtake with a different name and in a sleeker cabinet. That was the only time I’ve seen the game, although it is still listed on the UNIS website. That doesn’t always mean it’s still available, but chances are if you really wanted it, I’m sure you can grab one.
A little more recently at IAAPA 2018, IGS showed off Overtake VR at the Wahlap booth; and just a few weeks ago we ran news on a new IGS-made motorcycle racing game called Speed Rider 3DX, a deluxe version of the previously released Speed Rider 3.
Now, it’s time to talk about Ultra Race VR. This trailer below gives us our first glimpse at the game, which you can watch, then we’ll discuss:
Where Ultra Race was simply a renaming of Overtake, I thought that this might be the same thing with Speed Rider. But in comparing the two trailers, this does look unique (apart from being in VR & first person). The levels, locations, and bikes are different, you have elements similar to Super Bikes 3 with giant creatures wreaking havoc on the track, the graphics in this one appear sharper & smoother, and it doesn’t seem to have any focus on characters (excepting in the feature image, which seems to have their own variation of Batwoman/Batgirl, but as far as I can tell, that’s not actually the character), likely to help you with the immersion. Overtake VR did the same thing, where the gameplay was changed significantly from the standard models of the game. My guess is that the same team behind Overtake VR are behind this.
Going with UNIS also makes sense as they have been making a strong push for VR for a while now with their Fun VR Tech division. They have previously shown the likes of D-Day 2077 and Tiger Knight VR, so having a racing game join that mix makes sense. I also would assume that this will offer a more affordable way to enjoy VR motorcycle racing than one previous example I saw at IAAPA 2016.
I imagine we’ll see this one at IAAPA 2019, what do you think about Ultra Race VR from what has been shown so far?
I don’t see enough innovation to like this game.