Pimp My Ride
Posted December 29, 2006
Love it or hate it, MTV’s Pimp my Ride is a popular show that combines the attraction of make-over shows, like Extreme Home Makeover, with the popularity of custom auto programs, like American Chopper. Add in a charismatic host and they have an outlandish television show that’s actually better than most of the reality show drivel currently populating a network that rarely shows music videos. In an attempt to attract a portion of its core viewers, a video game adaptation of the show made its way onto the PS2 and Xbox 360 with the help of Activision. 
The presentation of Pimp My Ride is exuberant, but without much substance. The flashy opening screen kicks the player into a nearly option free menu. A catchy music track cranks up to set the mood for pimping some rides. The game uses a variety of short cut scenes before and after each level to showcase the pimped automobile. These scenes are usually entertaining and give the player a slight idea of the type of crazy custom gear that should go into the busted ride. Xzibit goes through the same exact interview and reveal process as the television show for each lucky pimpee. One minor change to the formula is that folks on the receiving end of the pimped cars all live in a mythical metropolis, unimaginatively known as Pimp City.
Gameplay:
The single player campaign is broken into the five sections of Pimp City. Each section contains three dilapidated cars, prime for upgrades. Once a car is chosen in the pda menu, the game begins the earning stage of the level. Basically, that section of the city contains a variety of tasks to complete for cash, all from the seat of your car. Players can collect money tokens, smash billboards, rip down parking meters, cruise by popular Pimp City hangouts, or dance your way to monetary success.
Dancing equates to ghost riding while hitting specific button sequences. For those unfamiliar, ghost riding is dancing beside a car that’s still rolling down the road. There are two forms of this mini-game, tapping the button to music and controller actions in a certain order. The first is fairly simple and only requires hitting the green A button. The game is oddly forgiving, but it does get slightly more frantic in the later levels. The second game is simple at the outset of the game, but escalates in difficulty rapidly. For instance, the first section may only want one or two button presses while the last section will require a combination of 3 to 4 thumbstick twirls / buttons. It’s much tougher to attain a perfect rating towards the end of the game.
Once enough money is totaled up, the actual car pimpage begins. Players are required to race around the city and upgrade the vehicle in less than two minutes. Upgrades include the paint job, rims, seats, body kit, A/V equipment, and a custom unit specific to the owner of the car. For instance, a runway model’s car would get an automated changing room or a surfer’s car would have access to a waxing rack. There are also three Xzibit challenges that automatically award a unique piece of hardware, if you can reach the target location in time.
Upgrades can be paid for in full or through the various mini-games. Mini-games include tapping correct button sequences, rapidly smashing button combinations, or rotating the thumbstick. Each mini-game is very simple to complete and definitely offers a 50% discount to the overall price. Once the two minutes expires, Xzibit will stack up your progress against an A.I. controlled vehicle. With but a modicum of competence during the upgrade process, it’s fairly simple to beat the A.I. every time.
The entire process is repeated 15 times. Unfortunately, most players will quit long before that happens due to the incredible monotony that overcomes the player. Anyway, Xzibit puts his car immediately up for pimpage after completion of the fifteenth car. Basically, you get four minutes to race around a few sections of Pimp City and grab all six upgrades. It’s actually the only challenging portion of the game to polish off. Once the single player game is finished, players only have the option of repeating the entire process for achievements, as there is no multiplayer mode within the game.
The 30 achievements are mostly awarded for collection tasks such as smashing all the billboards / parking meters in an area or grabbing all the money tokens. The main bulk of the gamerscore is weighted toward completing the game. The major achievements, such as getting perfect ratings on all of the challenges or pimping cars out to perfection, will take hours upon hours. Sadly, the statistic tracking system seems to be broken, forcing players to replay the entire game if they want to grab a specific achievement. Players who miss a cruising location or one parking meter have to start anew. It’s a unfortunate achievement structure that punishes the player rather than award them.
Graphics:
Visually, the game is very simplistic and doesn’t take full advantage of the 360 hardware. While the frame rate is rock solid, the textures are overly bland and the lighting effects are almost amateurish. The blurry appearance screams of PS2 quality graphics and the animations are completely dreadful. Citizens on the streets of Pimp City warp out of the way of oncoming traffic and cars bounce around the city as if in a pinball machine. The collision detection system is at odds with the physics system and often spins your vehicle out of control at the most inopportune times. Player models have a severe lack of facial animations, which makes Xzibit look pretty silly.
Audio:
The voice work is actually one of the most entertaining aspects of the game. Xzibit performs his lines admirably and the rest of the cast seems to be on the money as well. The dialogue is consistently humorous, especially the final PmR contestants. Regardless of any dislike of the show, it’s tough not to laugh in the scenes were Xzibit is previewing the busted ride.
The sound effects have an arcade appeal to their auditory nature. Most often, the speakers will be populated with high-pitched dinging as coins are collected from rammed cars. The musical tracks are catchy the first time you hear them, but there is little variety. It’s usually the same exact tune played incessantly during each portion of Pimp City. The menu audio track is actually the catchiest of the bunch, but oddly not played within the actual game.
Overall:
One last item worth mentioning is Pimp My Ride suffers from a specific lock-up problem when exiting the pda map screen. Since the game uses an infrequent auto-save system, it becomes very frustrating to actually complete an entire portion of the city or even a level. Additionally, unlocking particular achievements seems to require restarting the game for scratch. Whoever pushed this buggy title through Microsoft’s certification process deserves a pimp smack to the face.
Underneath the large variety of flaws, there is an entertaining game at the core. Unfortunately, attempting to get the most out of vehicle pimpage is definitely more trouble than it is worth. Lock-up issues, insanely repetitive gameplay, broken achievements and a complete lack of multiplayer options are the main detractors from improving the lives of the citizens within Pimp City. The unique nature of the game aside, Pimp My Ride is a below average mess that should be avoided.
The presentation of Pimp My Ride is exuberant, but without much substance. The flashy opening screen kicks the player into a nearly option free menu. A catchy music track cranks up to set the mood for pimping some rides. The game uses a variety of short cut scenes before and after each level to showcase the pimped automobile. These scenes are usually entertaining and give the player a slight idea of the type of crazy custom gear that should go into the busted ride. Xzibit goes through the same exact interview and reveal process as the television show for each lucky pimpee. One minor change to the formula is that folks on the receiving end of the pimped cars all live in a mythical metropolis, unimaginatively known as Pimp City.
Gameplay:
The single player campaign is broken into the five sections of Pimp City. Each section contains three dilapidated cars, prime for upgrades. Once a car is chosen in the pda menu, the game begins the earning stage of the level. Basically, that section of the city contains a variety of tasks to complete for cash, all from the seat of your car. Players can collect money tokens, smash billboards, rip down parking meters, cruise by popular Pimp City hangouts, or dance your way to monetary success.
Dancing equates to ghost riding while hitting specific button sequences. For those unfamiliar, ghost riding is dancing beside a car that’s still rolling down the road. There are two forms of this mini-game, tapping the button to music and controller actions in a certain order. The first is fairly simple and only requires hitting the green A button. The game is oddly forgiving, but it does get slightly more frantic in the later levels. The second game is simple at the outset of the game, but escalates in difficulty rapidly. For instance, the first section may only want one or two button presses while the last section will require a combination of 3 to 4 thumbstick twirls / buttons. It’s much tougher to attain a perfect rating towards the end of the game.
Once enough money is totaled up, the actual car pimpage begins. Players are required to race around the city and upgrade the vehicle in less than two minutes. Upgrades include the paint job, rims, seats, body kit, A/V equipment, and a custom unit specific to the owner of the car. For instance, a runway model’s car would get an automated changing room or a surfer’s car would have access to a waxing rack. There are also three Xzibit challenges that automatically award a unique piece of hardware, if you can reach the target location in time.
Upgrades can be paid for in full or through the various mini-games. Mini-games include tapping correct button sequences, rapidly smashing button combinations, or rotating the thumbstick. Each mini-game is very simple to complete and definitely offers a 50% discount to the overall price. Once the two minutes expires, Xzibit will stack up your progress against an A.I. controlled vehicle. With but a modicum of competence during the upgrade process, it’s fairly simple to beat the A.I. every time.
The entire process is repeated 15 times. Unfortunately, most players will quit long before that happens due to the incredible monotony that overcomes the player. Anyway, Xzibit puts his car immediately up for pimpage after completion of the fifteenth car. Basically, you get four minutes to race around a few sections of Pimp City and grab all six upgrades. It’s actually the only challenging portion of the game to polish off. Once the single player game is finished, players only have the option of repeating the entire process for achievements, as there is no multiplayer mode within the game.
The 30 achievements are mostly awarded for collection tasks such as smashing all the billboards / parking meters in an area or grabbing all the money tokens. The main bulk of the gamerscore is weighted toward completing the game. The major achievements, such as getting perfect ratings on all of the challenges or pimping cars out to perfection, will take hours upon hours. Sadly, the statistic tracking system seems to be broken, forcing players to replay the entire game if they want to grab a specific achievement. Players who miss a cruising location or one parking meter have to start anew. It’s a unfortunate achievement structure that punishes the player rather than award them.
Graphics:
Visually, the game is very simplistic and doesn’t take full advantage of the 360 hardware. While the frame rate is rock solid, the textures are overly bland and the lighting effects are almost amateurish. The blurry appearance screams of PS2 quality graphics and the animations are completely dreadful. Citizens on the streets of Pimp City warp out of the way of oncoming traffic and cars bounce around the city as if in a pinball machine. The collision detection system is at odds with the physics system and often spins your vehicle out of control at the most inopportune times. Player models have a severe lack of facial animations, which makes Xzibit look pretty silly.
Audio:
The voice work is actually one of the most entertaining aspects of the game. Xzibit performs his lines admirably and the rest of the cast seems to be on the money as well. The dialogue is consistently humorous, especially the final PmR contestants. Regardless of any dislike of the show, it’s tough not to laugh in the scenes were Xzibit is previewing the busted ride.
The sound effects have an arcade appeal to their auditory nature. Most often, the speakers will be populated with high-pitched dinging as coins are collected from rammed cars. The musical tracks are catchy the first time you hear them, but there is little variety. It’s usually the same exact tune played incessantly during each portion of Pimp City. The menu audio track is actually the catchiest of the bunch, but oddly not played within the actual game.
Overall:
One last item worth mentioning is Pimp My Ride suffers from a specific lock-up problem when exiting the pda map screen. Since the game uses an infrequent auto-save system, it becomes very frustrating to actually complete an entire portion of the city or even a level. Additionally, unlocking particular achievements seems to require restarting the game for scratch. Whoever pushed this buggy title through Microsoft’s certification process deserves a pimp smack to the face.
Underneath the large variety of flaws, there is an entertaining game at the core. Unfortunately, attempting to get the most out of vehicle pimpage is definitely more trouble than it is worth. Lock-up issues, insanely repetitive gameplay, broken achievements and a complete lack of multiplayer options are the main detractors from improving the lives of the citizens within Pimp City. The unique nature of the game aside, Pimp My Ride is a below average mess that should be avoided.