Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged Reviews
After finishing the campaign in a few hours, I've felt that Unleashed 2 didn't have much to offer. The track builder is a strong feature for the creative type players, and overall the game is solid, even if a bit too simple. If you can grab it at a discount, it's a good Christmas gift for children who like the toy brand, but other than that, I can't recommend this game at its full price.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Like other arcade racing games, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 - Turbocharged provides a great approach to small cars. The impetus of collecting is there, not least because the cars are very different in terms of behavior, which makes the choice for a race or race a crucial moment, leading the player to want this and that model. This game is also proof of how Milestone has improved on the original baseline, of a game that has the campaign and the track editor as a reinforcement in terms of competition. Some races tend to repeat themselves, it's true, it doesn't escape some saturation, but when the gameplay is good and consistent, in addition to consistency in visual terms, fun is guaranteed.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged is a fairly decent approximation of toy car racing, with the added bonus of being able to customise your car collection and design your own tracks. However the karting / arcade gameplay doesn't quite click in either direction, and the failure to make the game accessible for younger children adds to the feeling of mild disappointment which pervades the whole game.
Honestly, unless you’re a big fan of Hot Wheels themselves, and derive a lot of joy from unlocking the different digitized versions of real-world toys, you can do better. Cruisin’ Blast came out the same year the first Unleashed did, and that game captured the essence of banging toy cars together in over the top racing environments perfectly. In comparison, Turbocharged is more scattershot, trying to be a Jack of All Trades and only hitting the bullseye with the IP’s aesthetic.
How Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged brings plenty of small improvements but doesn't fundamentally change much from the original.
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged is a fun, nostalgic hit of fast-paced racing goodness that offers players a number of ways to have a good time. However, if you look a little closer, you can see that some of the game's paint is peeling due to the janky nature of its gameplay elements and its over-reliance on player speed rather than quality tracks. Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged is full of charm but fans of racing games may feel that this isn't enough for them to stick around and get turbocharged with Hot Wheels cars.
It’s hard to recommend Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 without acknowledging that big DLC-shaped elephant in the corner. It’s not as bad as, say, the NBA 2K series or any others like it that are effectively pay-to-win, but it’s enough that it could put a damper on your enjoyment of an otherwise fun game. That said, if you can ignore the DLC push and just want a flashy racer, this will deliver on that.
I can't fault Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged too much. It's like an arcade racer straight out of your childhood dreams. It nails that feeling of being a kid and creating wild racecourses for your toy cars. Plus, the customisation options are off the charts. The quick races and the variety of modes keep things from getting stale, and before you know it, you're boosting your way to glory. I might not be a hardcore Hot Wheels fan, but the sheer imagination, speed, and customisation in this game totally reeled me in.
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 doesn’t do much different than its predecessor, for better and worse. If you liked the original, this sequel offers basically more of the same with some new cars and environments. Regardless, it’s a well-made arcade racer with endless combinations of tracks to master and excel at.
The continuation of the car race brings diverse tracks and fun game modes, but it's a shame that it doesn't contain more significant news.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged is an entertaining game, but it has a long way to go before it can compete against the big names of the genre. It is evident that Milestone thought of it as a casual arcade racing game that you can enjoy in challenges with your friends to spend a time full of laughter and chaotic fun. Unfortunately, this good foundation suffers from a completely soulless and generic track design that you'll quickly forget.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Overall, Hot Wheels Unleased 2: Turbocharged builds on the solid foundation of the first game by adding new vehicles, tracks and more importantly new race modes. While the story is bland and forgettable, the gameplay is too much fun for it to hold it back too much.
'Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged' is a trip of childhood nostalgia for kids who grew up wanting to slam on the gas and experience speed...but if you're someone who played the first and is looking to see what's up with the newest edition, you might fall flat at the starting line.
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged enhances the original's formula is every possible way.
Hotwheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged does an amazing job in providing a mechanically and visually pleasing experience, but the campaign mode has some downsides.
Hardcore Hot Wheels fans will get the most out of Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged, but even casual racing game fans will have a lot of fun with the game. Not everything clicks, and the game could have benefited greatly by having more variety with its track environments, but Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged is an exciting racer with a great set of creation tools that should keep fans busy for quite some time.
With new vehicle types, environments and driving mechanics, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 is the ideal arcade racer for the young and the nostalgic veteran alike.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The return of Hot Wheels has brought with it mixed results. The racing action is undeniably exciting and pulse-quickening, which correlates wonderfully with the nostalgia of using the real-life playsets, and the are plenty of models to collect that you'll feel spoilt for choice. However, Turbocharged is weighed down by overfamiliarity, unambitious race modes, on-track frustrations, and a sense not enough has been done to evolve this sequel. On a base-level, Turbocharged is a pleasure to play, but Milestone should try to stop toying around with this franchise, it's got the va-va-voom to be something special, but unfortunately Turbocharged isn't quite it.
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged tries hard to improve on its predecessor, and while stage designs, vehicle list and visuals are solid enough, the game becomes repetitive after a few short hours and puts a big question mark in front of its hefty price tag.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 is great fun in short bursts. The chaotic energy, ridiculous car designs, new abilities and commitment to the miniature racing aesthetic make for a bombastic racing experience, for a while. The campaign storyline left me cold, and the freedom to screw up might be fun in a silly multiplayer session but becomes annoying solo. The sheer amount of track and car customisation options should at least add longevity to the online multiplayer experience.