Cracking Sands – Racer Coming to TouchPad? (Video)

Polarbit, the developer behind the forthcoming TouchPad title, Armageddon Squadron 2, which also happens to be the only officially announced game for HP’s forthcoming TouchPad tablet, have shown off a video of a racing game they have in development.

Currently titled Cracking Sands, the game is set to be a 3D Mario Kart clone with weapons, shields and everything you would expect from the genre. The game does seem to employ a slightly different camera angle from Mario Kart, with a more elevated position, almost like an isometric viewpoint that follows the player.

The angle looks good, and will at least mark it out from the pack, but I do hope they offer more angles in the final game, as it does appear that it might be quite hard to see too far ahead of you.

The graphics look really nice, and the gameplay, at least from looking at the video, looks smooth. The game will offer multiple routes through each track, which, with the desert setting, lends the game a Motorstorm look, despite the cartoon characters.

One thing I am pleased to see from Mario Kart is the ability to hop, which if Polarbit use correctly could really open up the gameplay possibilities, but lets hope that the ‘rubber banding’ from Mario Kart doesn’t get included.

The game will probably launch for iOS and Android with Xperia Play a possibility, but I think a TouchPad version must be a cert, as not only do Polarbit have one title in development for HP’s tablet, they have a habit of releasing their games on as many platforms as possible.

Whatever platform it is released on, it is looking good, so check out the video below.