There are a good number of games that combine racing with some destruction, and also features hovercrafts rather than wheeled vehicles in a sci-fi setting. A lot of it draws inspiration from material like Star Wars and maybe Mad Max, but with a bit of a twist every time. There is another game that can be added to that list, but for the iOS Protoxide: Death Race has quite a bold title, and it does a lot of other bold things as well to assert its relevance in this particular genre.

Protoxide is a straight-up racer, so the story is all about a young protagonist who dreams of being the best while taking revenge on someone who had done him wrong in the past. Most games would leave it at that and spend the rest of the time focused on the gameplay, but this particular game decides that you should actually care about the plot. There are various cutscenes with dialogue that most players would want to skip anyway. A race is all about finishing first anyway, so it doesn’t really need any more explanation.

The 3D graphics is pretty good for a mobile title, and it helps with the sci-fi feel of the game. The controls are responsive and lets you steer your racer quite nicely, letting you avoiding walls and obstacles. There are a total of 12 ships and 16 tracks to race in, which is a sizeable lineup for a mobile game. With that, you can race against other people with wireless multiplayer. A lot is going for this game when you look at the positives, but there are quite a few negatives that seem like important details either missed or ignored.

However, the AI in this game isn’t very good, but it’s alright since you wouldn’t really feel that you’re any faster than they are whenever you try to gun it. The sense of speed isn’t really there like in a lot of other racing games. There are also qualms about the controls having too many automatic functions, so it’s almost like you’re not driving at all. With that said though, it’s still pretty good all in itself anyway.

While there is wi-fi multiplayer available, it’s for local only. That’s almost like opening a bar, but not getting beer to serve customers. The single player isn’t exactly populated with greased lightning, so you may want to race against online players who may give you more of a challenge, but this does not prove to be viable as you can only play in local network. Maybe there’ll be an update in the future that includes online play, but it’s not really worth it yet for now.

Because of that, it takes Protoxide a notch down. It’s not that this is a bad game, but it’s not that good either. Mediocrity may also be a factor for most to ignore it altogether, but it does have enough potential to be better. If you really like sci-fi combat racers that much, then you can download this game from the App Store by all means. It still looks pretty good on its own, so there shouldn’t really be a problem.