The game was released on May 12, 2010, for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade. A downloadable content (DLC) of the game was released in August 8. In January 2011, it was patched to solve a problem in which players who downloaded content could not get achievements unlocked. The game itself alongside the DLC were removed from the Xbox 360 stores on July 29, 2024, along with over 220 digital titles on Microsoft's system, making it no longer purchasable. It was not backward compatible with Xbox Series X/S. It has been met with a negative reception from most critics upon release, for its gameplay and graphics.
Gameplay
Example of the gameplay in Things on Wheels
In Things on Wheels, players control remote control cars in racing competitions. Many races have a non-linear track design, where the player can choose from pathways that may branch to shortcuts or secrets.[2] They can collect one of four power-ups (freeze, shield, static shocker, or speed boost) that give temporary abilities.[2][3]
Single-player mode has players race against a CPU player. Outside the game, players may use a sandbox mode to freely learn tracks and their layout.[3]
Things on Wheels was the second, and the last game released by Load Inc., exclusively on Xbox 360 (pictured).
Development
Following the completion and release of Mad Tracks (2006), and its port for the Xbox Live Arcade, the studio began development of the project.[4] Its innovation in the racing game genre was the non-linear track design.[5][6][7] Some concepts and gameplay mechanics like camera setting and track editor were considered but scrapped in the final game.[8][9][10] While the reason for the latter was unknown, the first studio couldn't find its useful purpose in the game.[9][10][11]
Microsoft Windows' version of the game was planned to be released along with Xbox 360 version, but it was cancelled for unknown reason.[11][9][10]
Release
Things on Wheels had met with numerous delays before release.[12] The first time the game was announced was in January 2008, by its first publisher, SouthPeak Games, with one screenshot of a game and a release date of summer of that year.[5][7][13][14][15] In April, a short teaser trailer was released. According to the art director of Load Inc., Herve Nedelec, the trailer was short intentionally, but long enough to get a feeling for its races and the discovery of the huge house inside and outside.[16] Later that same year, screenshots of RC classes were revealed.[17][18]
One of the screenshots seen before the release of the game
The game was released on Xbox 360 at Xbox Live Arcade for 800 MS Points on May 12, 2010.[19][20][21][22][23] Oon May 28, two downloadable content packs (DLC) were announced to be released, approved and certified by Microsoft.[24][25] The first DLC that was announced, but never released, was an achievement, called "ToW Night 20", in which the player had to win a race in the course "Red lantern" in RC car "master" class, at 7th level of AI difficulty.[25][26] The latter DLC came out a month later, on July 15. Both "VrooM" and "RooAR" added one achievement and five track courses.[26] The other one was released on August 8. A patch was released in January 2011, that solved an issue in which players who downloaded its content could not get achievements unlocked and add to their gamerscore.[27]
Removal from Xbox stores
The game and its DLC were removed from the Xbox 360 stores on July 29, 2024, along with over 220 digital titles on Microsoft's system, making it no longer purchasable.[28][29] It was not included to be backward compatible with Xbox Series X/S.[29][30][31]
Things on Wheels received mostly negative reviews from critics. According to Metacritic, the game has a "generally unfavorable" rating of 41, based on 11 critics.[32] Jack DeVries of IGN criticized the game's CPU players' faultiness and stated the single-player campaign was "boring" with a "poorly written" story.[2][34]
The game's graphics and visuals were mostly viewed negatively by multiple critics.[2][3][12] Jack DeVries of IGN expressed that he saw other Indie games looking better than TOW, by the time when it was released.[2] The darkness of it was also criticized by Brett Todd of GameSpot, as it would "often obscure track hazards".[3] However, Stacy Code from Xbox Addict claimed that they were "a nice upgrade from Mad Tracks", being more detailed than its predecessor.[35]
The AI/CPU opponents were widely criticized.[2][3][12][36]
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