Jetcar Combat-o-racing: Quantum Rush Champions

While futuristic racing is defined by Wipeout for many, for me it'll always be dear old MegaRace. My futuristic racing comes as a dystopian TV show starring campy presenter Lance Boyle in reels of reels of full-motion video. Pre-rendered 3D! FMV! Prizes! Even the name is exciting: MegaRace! It's a bit pants, of course. I recognise I have a problem, and that jetcars are probably my salvation.

Quantum Rush first caught our compound eye last year with its pretty jetcars and wacky idea of Kickstarting a free-to-play multiplayer game (which, obviously, failed). Developers GameArt Studio persevered and in July released Quantum Rush Online, and now have followed up with singleplayer-only jetcar combat-o-racer Quantum Rush Champions. It's on Steam Early Access for £3.99, which is more appealing to my hovercar hankerings than a F2P oddity.

Champions strips out the online stuff to bosh in single-player gubbins, with a career mode including boss battles and challenges, unlockable customisation parts, and other racy things. The challenges sound interesting, special modes along the progression track like Damage Control, where racers need to avoid crashing as their car moves ever faster, and one where the last-placed players are regularly eliminated. It'll be in Early Access for two or three months, developers GameArt Studio say, while they gather feedback and add more content.

The jetcar racer I'm really watching for, mind, is Formula Fusion, made by folks formerly from Wipeout creator SCE Studio Liverpool. QR might still help set me down the path to righteousness.

While Champions has no demo, I suppose you can hop on over to Quantum Rush Online if you want to give the basics a spin before buying. Who knows, perhaps one day GameArt will manage to combine the two!