Avis Rapida - Aerobatic Racing

Disclaimer: I was a Beta tester for this game. Avis Rapida is a checkpoint plane racing game. You fly in a track composed of a series of checkpoints, of which there is a nice variety, from the normal checkpoint through which you can fly on any orientation to more demanding checkpoints that require you to fly through it sideways or even backwards. The variety in checkpoints allows from some pretty imaginative track design (and you can design your own tracks, too) and it's supported by a good, simcadey physics model: You can feel, for example, how different it is to fly a plane in supersonic speeds, and the model also allows for post-stall maneuvers like the Cobra or the Kulbit. Even then, it never feels like you need a professional flying license to be any good at it, and it's also perfectly playable on a normal Xbox Controller or something similar. The graphics are fine, the game runs pretty smooth, there's support for local multiplayer and leaderboards, and apart from a loading period when opening the game there are no loading screens once you're playing, which is good because on some of the harder tracks you can end up obsessively retrying and retrying to get that checkpoint *just* right; it has a feel similar to that of games like Trials or Nitronic Rush, where the only obstacle betwen you and the finish line is your own skill. Overall, if you enjoy planes or time-trial racing (and don't really mind the fact that there's no online multiplayer or bots to race against) this is a pretty solid pick.

The game is pretty cool. I hope we can see soon the final version, as a Ace Combat fan i loved how the controls worked the same.

What can I say about Avis Rapida other than this game is bonkers, and I love it. The flight model isn't the best (but I've seen worse), but it gets the job done, and the shortcomings of the flight model play into the course design perfectly. Some of the courses tell you to do things like fly backwards, land on a wall, or land like a pogo stick. One that sticks out in particular is a map where it tells you to pull half a cobra and fly the whole thing backwards, and then land, while still going backwards. My only complaints are that the gold times are a little tight, requiring often perfect flying to even get close, and that some of the later missions are just insane, pitting you against hurricane force winds, or doing an entire course in a controlled flat-spin. With that said, at this point (as of 10/8/19), the game is a little light on features. The included maps took me a little over an afternoon to get through, even if some of them were a little beyond my ability to finish (though all afterburner all the time may be part of the reason). There is a system for user made maps, but unfortunately not through the workshop (at least not yet), so there's a little bit of a barrier to getting them (admittedly, I haven't had the time to really investigate them). There is also only one aircraft, which makes sense for a checkpoint racer, as other aircraft may make maps easier or harder. But even with that concern, the addition of other aircraft, or at least the capability for them to be modded in, would be awesome. Even with its somewhat limited scope, Avis Rapida does what it aimed to do, and it does it well, and while little things like good HOTAS support and well featured options menus shouldn't be a selling point, in a world where the majority of flying games refuse to work with my flightstick and lack comprehensive options, it is. Overall, its worth the $15 asking price, especially given that it looks like the development will continue.

What seems simple at first turns out to be really challenging in the later stages. I would recommend this game since the dev tried something totally new; acrobatic jet fighters. The controls are hard to master but theyre fun. The game is a good time killer as well. I recommend it to anyone who wants to pass time doing crazy stunts with their jet planes.

Unfortunately, this game is dead, it didn't reach many people anyway... staying under the radar makes it hard to raise any fund to keep the game alive. I'm not regret buying it, though. Avis Rapida holds a special place in my heart, and it's irreplaceable.

Pugachev would be proud of me

ㅤ