If you remember the original CycloManiacs, and are like me, you remember it as one of the best racing games around by one of the best developers around, LongAnimals. Now with the help of RobotJAM, LongAnimals brings the second installment, CycloManiacs 2! CycloManiacs 2 is by far one of the best racing games around, as it follows in the footsteps of the original game, but carves a bit of its own path with new features. Unlike the last game, this one has a storyline – an evil group has kidnapped Princess Jennifer, and you have to use the original 39 characters (which are now ninjas) to travel through the best riding courses in the amusement park in hopes to find the evil group and rescue the princess. With over 100 unlockables, tons of inventory items to find throughout the park and loads of hidden stuff, you can say goodbye to the next couple of days!
CycloManiacs 2
CycloManiacs 2 has the perfect mixture of difficulty. Earning the first place medal was hard, which made winning all the more rewarding when you past the finish line in first. What I also enjoyed about CycloManiacs 2 is that the levels forced you to pick different characters. For example, while the Cyclo King would be great for a level with a lot of jumps and wheelie area, a flatter level, where you would need to trade in tricks for speed, would be great for a very fast moving character, such as Captain Star Spangle. I really liked that, because, unlike the previous game, you sometimes had to switch out characters to grip and advantage in the level (I’ll talk about level design in a moment). Challenges, such as doing various task like backflips and airtime were also a bit challenging, but not as challenging as obtaining first. Anyway, a very challenging game that is sure to leave you struggling for, even, third!
What I loved about CycloManiacs 2 is that the level design was as elaborate as ever. The levels were obviously very well though out and actually changed to the theme of the level, such as the waves in the Pirates level, the underwater environment in the Aquarium level, or the backwards level. So far I haven’t seen any caves, or don’t remember seeing them, and that was a factor that I definitely missed. It made you a bit more weary of your surroundings and, like a speed bump, made you slow down a bit. Anyway, there was a lot of unique levels that I was very exciting to see taken on. Gameplay was overall very exciting and had a bit of strategy involved it it.
CycloManiacs 2
The artwork was phenomenal! I’ve always adored RobotJAM’s artwork. It’s a very simple looking style, cartoon effect, and when placed together, and when it creates a scene it really does become a master piece. The character drawings were especially good and the rider’s moments were fluid, smooth and realistic. The scenes were very good and I loved the simple textures that obviously had RobotJAM’s touch to them. Backgrounds usually matched the foreground, such as in the roller-coaster level and looked really good and was slightly faded to make the foreground pop very well. Like always, all of the art work was very good, character were nicely drawn and the backgrounds and foregrounds were sublime.
I only had one tiny problem with this game and that was the music when you were in the map zone and in the menu. The rest of the games music was fantastic, but the music in the map page and the menu seemed quite ambient and dark, while the game was mostly happy looking, with bright vivid colors. That’s the one and only thing I would change about this game, besides that the rest of the game’s music sounded great and work tremendously well with the races and the colorful theme of the game. There weren’t too many sound effects, not that I noticed, but that worked out well for the game I think and the music was so nice that I didn’t really mind there not being too many sound effects.
Overall, CycloManiacs 2 is one of the best racing games that I’ve played in a long time. Actually I probably have’nt played any racing game, as good as CycloManiacs 2 since Grand Prix Go, which is another great game by TurboNuke (LongAnimals and RobotJAM’s collaborative company)! Anyone that enjoyed the previous game, Cyclomanias, will definitely love this game as it brings the best of the original and brings out some new features and ideas. In review, the game was pretty difficulty, but in a fun sense – the game wasn’t frustrating, but just a perfect mixture between difficulty and fun, bringing the best of both into one game providing an awesome experience. In a gameplay sense, this game was also fantastic. It had a great racing aspect that everyone loves, but also has a bunch of achievements and unlockables for you to earn! The artwork was great, as I expected from RobotJAM and that really created a wonderful and very colorful, exciting, environment for this game. The music was great. It matched the bright, vivid, theme very well! The music in the menues (excluding the “Your Race Stats” menu) sounded ambient and dark, which I didn’t like. Anything happy themed would have worked nicely. That’s really the only thing I’d change! All in all, this is one of the best Flash racing games I’ve had the chance to play, so if you love racing games head on over to Kongregate now and start playing CycloManiacs 2!
Play CycloManiacs 2 on Kongregate!
