Line Rider 2: Unbound

Alright heres some more info.

All of this information has been taken from IGN. All rights reserved. http://wii.ign.com/articles/872/872702p1.html


Like Rider has gained a pretty gigantic following online since the game released in its flash format back in 2006, and after two years of video sharing and TechDawg performances, the game is finally getting the star treatment in the form of this "sequel" production for PC, Wii, and Nintendo DS. Since the original is more of a working tech demo than a full-blown game, Line Rider 2: Unbound is really the first full-featured experience, and there's a lot of expectation to live up to with so many fans playing the already free precursor online. On Wii specifically, there's even more pressure to be had, as it's the most expensive of the packages, with PC coming in at $20 even, and DS/Wii hitting the $29.99 price point. Originally it was thought that the Wii version would hit for $39.99, but we're happy to report that the final price point is indeed $29.99 on both Wii and DS. Will it be worth the cash though?

Genius Products hopes so, and the company is teaming with inXile Entertainment to make it happen. The original Line Rider experience was simple, having players draw with their PC mouse and create a world of black and white lines to send a little sled-riding character down, but the sequel has built on that design in a huge way, and we've had a chance to try it out first hand.

For Line Rider 2, Genius Products has expanded the main design in a big, big way. Sure, you can still take the Wii IR and free draw your own worlds on a blank canvas in "freestyle" mode, but there's much, much more to the package. Famous Line Rider level designer TechDawg has actually been brought on board to help out with the project, and was responsible for building the levels featured in the new story mode, which follows the Line Rider character through various acts, each containing puzzles. In this mode, the main course is laid out, but it's up to the player to fill in green gap areas where the track is missing. Since you're working in such small confines, you'll need to make use of all the new line tools included, such as speed lines, slowdown lines, normal track, jumps, breakaway, and trap door tools. To make things easier on the players, new drawing techniques have also been included, so you can either freehand with the IR, or click point to point with the line tool to make a perfect edge, and then manipulate it at the ends and various points of articulation in the middle. Other no-brainer inclusions have been added, such as line colors, an undo key, and the ability to use different level backdrops and items in your maps as "clip art."

The main story mode is surprisingly addicting, and it has a strong enough level of ramp-up that allows first time Line Rider players to get the core idea down first, while still becoming extremely difficult later on. As you progress through the main game you'll unlock different regions to play in, more racers, and even the ability to race two riders at once, making things far more interesting, as you'll need to account for intersecting paths and timed tracks that still make use of breakaway lines and varying physics puzzles.

The freestyle mode is where most hardcore Line Rider veterans will spend most of their time though, and there's an obvious reason why. The world of Line Rider began as a simple creation tool, and that simplistic nature of "draw and play" gameplay is back again in full swing. We're still not totally sold on the Wii version specifically, as learning to draw with a floating cursor is more difficult than it is on DS and PC, but it works to say the very, very least. We ended up using a majority of the "line tool" rather than free draw, as it lets you establish perfect lines and then manipulate them very easily. The world itself is also gigantic, and we still haven't seen an end to how big levels can be, even when creating today's IGN create-a-level, which features a 10 second freefall.

The tool itself has some great options, but it's also a little strange in a few aspects, which we'll get into. The addition of clip art for making actual scenes is great, as is the fact that Line Rider levels can make use of seven layers – three in front, three in back, and the main playfield – makes it far more in-depth than the previous game ever was. The game makes use of predetermined parallax on those extra layers, so when you draw or place objects off of the playfield they'll move and scale at different rates, giving off a great effect. You can see this featured in today's TechDawg video, where the top creator himself has designed an exclusive track for you to check out using the Wii level tool.

The editor has a few oddities to it as well though, which are worth a mention. For starters, all horizontal movement through the menus is done with the Wii remote's IR pointer, rather than a quick tap of the d-pad. Since you can pause, play, rewind, and fast forward with the d-pad, that means all selection is done with a non-displayed cursor, so you'll click into menus, and then arrow over with motion to move from option to option. It works, but it takes some getting used to, as you need to be pointing at the screen as you would with any other pointer-based game, but you won't know if you're in the zone until the icons start moving. This in no way is a "deal breaker" for the Wii version, but it's certainly a bit less intuitive than the alternatives, which use touch and quick mouse clicks to choose options. Still, with a little practice, there's serious potential to be had, as the sheer amount of line types and customization makes this a truly never-ending experience. If you can imagine it, you can make it.


And once you make it, you'll want to share it, which is exactly what Line Rider 2 expects you to do. We haven't had a chance to try it first hand as of yet, but Unbound features a website that interacts with the Wii version to allow users to upload their created levels to a created profile, and then share them with friends in a similar fashion to our own Smash Bros. World. This means you can create puzzles for friends, download new challenges from other players, or even grab tracks from TechDawg himself and add your own unique aspects to it. There are also rules to the game, such as the need to fully finish any "puzzle mode" designs you may make before uploading them, so you won't have people spamming the site with broken designs. In addition, the team is looking into ways to display video or images of your levels on the site itself, so you could preview the content you're about to download, and then grab only the content you really want. We'll have more on that as the game's development continues though.

All in all our first experience with Line Rider 2 was a very positive one, and while there were a few changes we'd like to see (such as the somewhat strange Wii interface for level creation), the game runs at a smooth pace, and is a blast to play. Story mode may look simple, but there's a lot of depth to be had, and it's great to see TechDawg brought on board to bring a hardcore Line Rider's perspective on the experience, so you know all the nuances of the game like nose riding will still be included.

We'll have more on the game as we continue to blaze through story mode and create more levels of our own, so keep an eye out for more on Line Rider 2 very soon, and be sure to check out our other gameplay videos, new screens, exclusive interview, and TechDawg trailer to tide you over.

I will treat you all with screenshots in my next post.

Here are some screenshots.

All of these images were taken from IGN. All rights reserved. http://media.wii.ign.com/media/872/872578/imgs_1.html

The game appears to have 3 playable characters with a mix of improved new and classic modes to play in.

Here are four very in depth and exciting previews:

Part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQsTXYr5eoM

Part 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27ioS8rT ... re=related

Part 3:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ceDfBGo ... re=related

Part 4:
The Fourth Part is coming soon...