Everywhere I look I see quotes like: GEt JCS NOW!!! JCS is a must!!!! If you have an empty slot, you NEED JCS!! I must have missed the boat on this game. I have installed it 4 or 5 times over the years and each time given it a serious try. Each time I thought to myself that with this much hype, I *HAVE* to be missing something. Each attempt netted me completing a few levels then ramming my face through the wall as I either careened off a course on a sharp curve, or fell too short on a gap, over and over. This post isn't meant to bash JCS, it's a serious plea for some enlightenment on what I am missing.
It's one of those games where you have to put time into to mastering the controls and handling - which has a bit of a learning curve. Once mastered you can take that car anywhere in the levels and do things you though were very hard to begin with, with ease. The game has been criticised for that by a lot of people, we had people who rated the game pretty low and came back and rated it high after they got the hang of how the car handling works. Some people pick it up pretty quickly - I guess it's to do with how people feel about accelerometer controls. In my opinion the controls a very responsive and can handle what needs to be done for the car but I think the biggest problem is training the mind to handle how the accelerometer works. The controls are very responsive so really all that needs to be done is to tilt in small movements.
It's all about enduring the learning curve. Once you figure out how to not fly off the track and get blown up on those nasty curves, you'll start doing some insane stuff. You'll drift around those corners at top speed with perfect control then continue with this momentum throughout the track. The sense of speed is awesome and so are the tricks you can do. If you get easily frustrated or don't like driving games, I'd say this isn't the game for you. You need to have that urge to replay a level after you failed miserably on it over and over till you finally get it to enjoy JCS. Also, the open environment lets you find shortcuts, which is a great time waster. Controls are amazing. Best accelerometer controls on the ipod. Period.
Some people find enjoyment in the challenge provided by failure, and others don't. I have JCS, but have never played it. I have serious doubts as to whether I will ever fire this game up. I do not find enjoyment in failure; especially in infuriating trial & error-related failure. If you are like me, then surely this game is not for you. I don't want to exceed more than three of four attempts in a trial & error siutation. Dont get me wrong. I can exceed dozens of attempts, but only if I'm led to believe that similiar situations are not going to constantly repeat themselves. It must have taken me an hour to catch that damn train at the end of the first city in Gameloft's recent port of Driver. But I'm not going to play a game that is based 100% on trial & error.
Looks like you really havent played the game yet. There is no trial and error here. Definitely not if you are looking to complete all the levels with gold stars. But if you want to get on the top of scoreboards, then it'll require a lot of unconventional routes and tricks. JCS is the perfect game for casual and hardcore gamers alike IMO coz of this only. You can play and enjoy all the levels without much trouble, and if you are really hardcore and want the fastest time, it wont be as simple as just driving a little more carefully. You'll need to do think completely out of the box. I dont think of my self as hardcore gamer, and can never ever come up with a JCS shortcut on my own, but thats where it gets even better. The game offers downloadable replays from top scorers and I can easily try and copy them (only after my jaw drops at the ridiculous shortcuts in the replay) by racing alongside the top scorer. Dont think any other game offers more than this on a mobile game. Its got console quality gameplay with a really balanced learning curve, and still fun to fire up and play a couple of tracks even if you dont have a lot of time to invest in the game.
JCS is one of the best games I have. Controls, graphics, sound, gameplay all is perfect. At first the game looks hard but like True Axis says when you get the controls (after 5 or 10 minutes) the game is very addictive and fun. I love the graphics and was amazed first time I played
Did you try the time trial mode? Those tracks are a lot more geared to casual gameplay, in my opinion. As for your question: I guess you're missing the excitement, the depth, the excellent controls, the ability to challenge friends, and all the stuff that INSM mentioned. But that's ok...personally I was blown away by the game from the first track but not everyone will appreciate the same things. Maybe your expectations were too high when you were going into it or something, and it turns out it's just not your cup of tea. Yes, I think you're missing out, but there are games that other people love that I don't get, so who am I to say.
What I like is how the designers came up with a response in 14 minutes!!! Thanks for sticking close to the forums. I wish all developers did.
You must be some kind of a game god then, because everyone I know finds Jet Car Stunts to be challenging. It's a great great challenge though. da shiz wiz 19 puts it nicely. It's all about "enduring the learning curve." And once you do that, there's a great sense of accomplishment.
Nah.. no god, but I finished it without loosing more than 10 lifes... Never played the DLC though, cause I used a promo code..
Don't worry, you're not the only one, I seriously could not get into the game at first, though there was something hilarious about smashing my car into pieces everytime I failed. Like the other users mentioned, the secret is mastering the controls. IMO the key is to master the air controls, specifically, pitching, yawing and airbrakes. I suggest getting all golds for the Just Learning levels to ensure you have more control over your car. and finally, make sure you're not tilting the device the wrong way like I was when trying to gain height lol!
I tried the trial - the accelrometer control is broken for me, I can't turn right at all :/ (the screen shows a tilt to the right but the car does nothing)
It could be your device, but I am assuming you have tried it out on other tilt-based games and it's fine?
It's a game with simulation-ish handling, so that makes it "hard" or certainly harder than an arcade racer where you never need to brake or let go of the throttle. Many people prefer arcade racer handling, many don't. Personally I'm in the simulation handling camp, so I absolutely love JCS. I also love Grand Prix Legends on the PC, a game so "hard" that many people complain it is impossible to get around a corner therefore it must be unrealistic. I would *love* someone as talented as JCS's developer to have a crack at doing GPL on iOS! Or even just a car game from them with equally realistic handling would rule (for me).
I have really been appealed by the demo but wanted do all levels before buying the full game. I never finished the last level and finally removed the demo to get free space and end to never buy the full game. But this thread refresh my faith into my ability to get fun from the full version. But I recently bought Snail Mail, before I finished the demo and then only bought the HD full version... And ends in feeling blocked into some some level I feel too hard and not enough motivate to improve my skills in the game. I quote Snail Mail because of a same difficulty problem and also because it's a sort of simplified Jet Car Stunt but with wipeout and platform games elements. Snail Mail have not good graphics, too bad because with really cute graphics it would be so much forgotten.
