Anki Overdrive review

Clip art

The introduction of clip-together tracks not only means you can make your own courses but also opens Anki up to all sorts of new video-game style features.

Many of these come in the form of special expansions kits that present a particular challenge to the diminutive robot cars.

The Launch Kit introduces jumps, the Collision Kit adds cross roads and the 180° Kit adds a U-turn piece. As well as making the circuits themselves more varied, this also introduces the possibility of different game types.

Non-continuous tracks, for example, are a shoe in for Capture the Flag-style games where you have to get your cars to the end zone first.

Anki also has a full campaign mode in the offing that will expand on the Commander AI drivers to deliver a fully fledged video-game story.

Other expansions focus on speed and combat opportunities. The Speed Kit gives a chance to flex your car’s upgrades and out run opponents. The Elevation Kit brings in more vertical elements with hills, bridges and underpasses. Finally, the Banked Turn Kit offers that true Indie 500 challenge for faster speeds and higher G-forces.

Easy does it

Scalectrix can be a bit fiddly to set up and needs a perfect connection for cars to run, but Anki Overdrive track uses magnets to snap together instantly – which makes it as simple to power up as plugging in a MacBook, while retaining enough flexibility for circuits to run up and around furniture.

Also, because the cars are self powered, there’s no need to worry about track electrical connections.

This is good news, as the original mats were a little large for most UK-sized living rooms: Anki Overdrive can now wind its way around your house without you needing to move furniture out of the way.

Although you’re still limited to a few racers in the Starter Kit, being able to vary the route and introduce jumps varies gameplay greatly.

PICK YOUR POISON

The firmware update will also bring in all of your upgrades and customisations too, which is another substantial part of the game. As you progress you are awarded points that can then be spent improving the performance of your car.

From a faster engine to better shields or even new weapons such as a Rail Gun or Timed Mines, making the right upgrade choice is crucial.

All of this new tech doesn’t come cheap though. Overdrive will set you back around £150 in the UK for a starter kit, which includes two cars and a few basic bits of track.

Cars currently retail at around £50, and the expansion tracks will range from £10 to £40. With this in mind, it’s good news that a firmware update is all that’s needed for you you to use your existing Anki cars on the new track.

We’ll eventually see new upgrades and weapons for the four cars that launched with Anki Overdrive: Thermo, Bones, Ground Shock and Nuke.

VERDICT

Anki Overdrive makes a strong early impression. The customisable tracks work really well, and the introduction of new game modes and a full campaign matches physical developments with an enhanced virtual video-game experience.

The addition of Supertrucks proves there’s life left once you’re done racing cars, too – it’s a hectic change of pace that’ll keep you playing that little bit longer.

It’s still a steep price to pay, especially if you want to go all-out on extra bits of track, but there’s plenty here to convert anyone from simple old Scalextric.

Buy Anki Overdrive here from Argos