187 Ride or Die for Xbox

Are you ready to race gangster style?  If you haven't had a chance to play 187 Ride or Die yet you may be missing out.  However, trying to find a good storyline within the game can be a little daunting.  Regardless, you're the next hip-hop megastar in the making trying to be the "King of the Streets" if you will.  Unfortunately your game play may come to abrupt halt right at the last second.  We'll explain more below.

When it's racing time you have the opportunity to use turbo boosts, take corners like a champ, and blow the competition away.  The only problem is you won't leave them in the dust.  It doesn't matter how well you're running the car the others are always close behind.  In fact, you can even wreck in the beginning and they will slow down so you can catch up for the finish.  Obviously if you just stop they'll be well ahead, but the last quarter of the race is really the most important so save some of your turbo boost.

The rest of the game revolves around blowing up things, which everyone loves to do.  If you see a weapon on the ground simply drive over it and your navigator will stand up where he will be able to fire forwards and backwards.  You can find several different forms of weaponry to use during the storyline if you really want to call it one.  The story is back and forth throughout the entire game.  When finished there really isn't an ending and it leaves you hanging which can be a little irritating.  However, it only takes about five hours to beat the game if you play all the way through. 

One thing everyone will love about 187 Ride or Die is the graphics.  They may have put so much effort in making the game look good there wasn't enough money for the rest of it.  A crystal clear picture leaves the action looking like it came out of a movie.  Definitely the best part about the game which you will soon see.  Even though there is a vast amount of problems throughout the game, it's worth playing one time and get a good laugh.  Why?  Wait until you hear the voices and read the story.

Since everything is set up in a gangster atmosphere with money, guns, and power, the hip-hop slang is integrated into the story.  At least it's what they tried to do anyways.  The way you hear it and read it we think it had to come from someone in the suburbs who has never experienced anything having to do with a gangster or hip-hop lifestyle.  In fact, it's more fun to play with one of your friends on the multi-player mode.  This way one can drive, the other can shoot, and you can both make jokes about the horrible literary.

Besides single player and the cooperative version of 187 Ride or Die, there are also combat arena challenges.  This is basically like a demolition derby with guns and ammunition.  The setting is with you in a pick-up truck taking on other opponents at the same time.  Having two guns and ammo around the track will give you enough to fend off anyone who tries to blow you up.  Oh, we almost forgot about the armor you have on the vehicle.  There is a meter that allows you to view just how long it will be before the your car or truck goes boom.

We were trying to think of a game that this reminds us of, but can't remember the name.  However it does have a lot of similarities as something like Mario Kart does, but obviously without the childish appeal.  This isn't something you want to go shell out money for to purchase, but a one time rental will do the trick.  After all, if we beat the game in five hours why purchase it and never play with it again.  Then again the game does offer a good variety of vehicles for you to race in so getting different ones is intriguing.

In the end it really comes down to your preference.  We would play any game once, which is why this review can even be written.  There are thousands of games out there much worse then this one so don't think we're knocking it too bad.  It's just after playing something like Need For Speed, the old Grand Turismo games, or Grand Theft Auto, this takes a back seat to all of them with ease.  If you've got five hours to kill and don't know what to do, play this during that time.  Have fun.