Zoom Game Review–One Big Flat Tire

Zoom, one of the latest additions to the Xbox Live community gaming lineup, is a game that’s a fantastic idea but also a game that shows how important it is to execute a good idea correctly.

Zoom is a racing game that puts you, alone, on a track in a high-powered hover racer to see just how fast you can go.  And as the world speeds by around you, you’re out to break your own high score on a nearly continual basis.

This sounds awesome, of course–why would anyone play a racing game if they weren’t out for the vicarious thrill of the simulation of high speed without having to risk their lives doing it in an actual car?  But the problem with Zoom is that it can’t hold its speed, and with sloppy controls leaving you bucking around the track even when you’re not actually accelerating, that’s never a good sign.

So as much as I want to enjoy this particular high-speed thrill ride, it never really gets off the starting line for me.  Even at two hundred Microsoft points, it’s not worth the ride.