Bowl Expo 2022 has come and gone and today, I’m able to dive into more details about one new arcade game that was unveiled there – Fast & Furious by Raw Thrills.
Technically the fifth game in the series (if you count The Fast and The Furious Super Bikes; Super Bikes 2 and 3 didn’t carry the F&F moniker), Fast & Furious brings the franchise back to arcades after a several year hiatus. Anyone familiar with those older F&F titles should feel right at home with this one, although Raw Thrills has introduced some new elements to the game which should reward more serious players.
Here’s a list of specifics, which I’ll then break down further:
- Dual 65″ HD Displays
- Four Colors Red, Orange, Green & Yellow
- Thrill-D Motion Platform
- 6 New Tracks
- 8 Licensed Supercars
- Race + Mission Play (more to come)
- QR- Based Accounts
Displays – This was the first thing anyone would notice with the game, given that it’s quite a distinctive feature. I had not been aware that they are 65″ in size however. I imagine that a quad cabinet setup would be rather impressive to see…almost like a video wall one saw in movies of the 80s & 90s when they were trying to depict “the future.” But the future is now, so here we go…
Colors – This refers to the game cabinets themselves. Raw Thrills has also offered games like MotoGP, Nitro Trucks, and Super Bikes 3 in different colors. On the subject of the cabinet however, this does feature a brake pedal which Cruis’n Blast lacked; No stick shifter for those asking. The current control panel and seat re-uses pieces from Cruis’n Blast but these will be changed out for final production:
Motion Base – It was noticed in the first video about this that the game used a motion platfom. The “Thrill-D” piece is referring to Raw Thrills’ motion tech that they’ve used in other games starting with the motion DX version of Jurassic Park and was further refined for titles like King Kong of Skull Island. Note that this model with the two screens and a motion base is the only one in the works but like we’ve seen before with titles like Halo: Fireteam Raven, other options with fewer features may become available later on.
6 Tracks – What “new” refers to here is that these tracks are original designs that have not appeared in other F&F games. Those tracks are: Swiss Alps; Yellowstone; Havana; Colombia; Abu Dhabi and one more, although it did not appear in the software build seen at the show.
8 Licensed Supercars – I’m not an expert on cars so I can’t tell what models these all are just by looking at them, but I’m sure that some of you out there can. The show model only had six available, including the 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500:
Race + Mission Play – As the parathesis state, more details on what that is will come later. As I understand it, these are kind of like achievements and each race has multiple missions – even secret ones – that players can complete. These also can serve as a way to drive replay value, which is nice. F&F Super Cars did have achievements but as I recall, only that and H2Overdrive used them from Raw Thrills’ side. They also maintain the ride upgrade feature (insert a coin or swipe-based) that was present in earlier FnF games, although this particular way they are doing it is reminiscent of the “Ultra” upgrades that Super Bikes 3 has:
QR-Based Accounts – Raw Thrills is no stranger to QR codes, having used it in many games over the years for sharing high scores, but using them for an account is something new. More details will also come along for this at a later time but it means no more PIN pad. I’ve heard that those pads are difficult to come by but they also, sadly, almost never get used by players. I saw that with the F&F games that I used to own as well as the Cruis’n Blast I currently have. Moving it over to QR codes is interesting and it shows that completing missions is something tied to your account.
At the show, Betson was heard quoting operators on a “$25,000” price but that might have been rounding; It also wouldn’t include shipping & applicable taxes or any additional changes that could come into play thanks to continuing production & inflation issues. One other question interested operators might also have on this one is: When is it shipping? The best answer I have on that is early December but note that can change too. Either way, I’d definitely expect to see this game dominating Raw Thrills’ IAAPA space this November.
What are your thoughts on Fast & Furious – anything change with some of the new information?
