Games
Kuuasema’s brand new off-road racer for Android and iOS brings the best riders on two wheels to a touchscreen near you. Here’s how to keep up with them.
As the follow-up to the addictive Bike Unchained series, Finnish developer Kuuasema have this time turned their hands to making a motorsports game. A team full of long-serving professionals, they know their craft in and out, so don’t expect Dirt Bike Unchained to be an easy ride just because it’s a mobile game.
Lucky for you, then, we sat down with Pekka Tanskanen, CEO of developer Kuuasema to get the lowdown on how you can become a master like Sam Sunderland or Cody Webb. We’re going to cover everything from how to properly land your jumps, to powersliding, and even get into the nitty gritty on the difference between race-types here, so jump on in.
1. Improve your jumping, landing and powerslides
You need to know your bike’s capabilities and the track profile, as you cannot pull a clean jump in all situations. Of course, making sure that you have enough speed helps a lot. A long jump can be a great way to go over difficult spots but remember that you can only accelerate when you have tires on the ground. After unlocking the Scrub skill, you can use that to cut the jump times by lowering your jump height.
Hit the centre part of the landing area for maximum boost. Don’t be afraid to cut your jump short if the optimal landing spot is close. On many tracks you have a choice of a close or further landing area, learn the tracks and what your bikes can do to pick the right area. Do not land on an uphill, that will kill your speed dead.
But the most important thing regarding turning is not to overshoot as then you’ll lose the boost entirely. For maximum boost you’ll need to fill the guide on the track full and not more. You can also keep your eyes on the stars and time the tap that way. Act no later than when the track guide flashes orange! Be cool and don’t hesitate even if there’s an opponent breathing on your neck.
2. Learn about mentors and what they do
Unlocking and leveling mentors is a great way to upgrade your race performance as each mentor boosts all rides with all bikes. I like to think of mentors as the coolest real-world riders out there, actually mentoring me on how to get the most out of me and my bike. And, of course, I love to add new tricks to my catalogue. It’s such a cool moment in the game when you throw a Superman or Shaolin Backflip on top of a massive jump.
3. How to upgrade your bikes
Individual bikes can be upgraded in two ways. The first is to use (in-game) Cash to upgrade the different parts of the bike. There are four parts: engine, tires, suspension and transmission. Engine improves your top speed, but makes the bike harder to control. Tires improve your grip, helping you in powersliding and climbing. Suspension makes landings easier and preserves your speed better. Finally, transmission makes your bike accelerate faster. The second way is to collect Tokens for the bike and use those to rank it up. Each rank gained improves all the bike stats at once.
4. Work out the difference between races and challenges
The Dirt League is the main event of the game that sets you up against three other real players in an asynchronous multiplayer competition. This is the global arena for you, as a player, to gain Reputation Points and to raise your position on the Reputation Track. With the Challenges we would like to mix the pack a bit offering events that have different set-ups and goals, like the story-driven missions and the (upcoming) Daily Streak Challenge.
5. Improve your reputation
Reputation is simple: You get the most if you win. There are no tricks or secrets, just make sure there are bikes behind you and not in front of you. The reputation of all your bikes is counted for your total reputation. Getting reputation gets harder the more reputation your bike has, so the best way to get a head start is to drive many bikes equally. When you get your bike to 500 reputation, you can consider it ‘done’. The reputation track contains lots of rewards, such as Cash and mentor Tokens. Reputation is also a measure of your progress and prowess with the game, of interest for those of a more competitive bent.
6. Adapt to terrain and advancing yourself
Generally, desert is the easiest terrain, with forests only mildly harder. The various swamp levels have more complex track profiles and feature mud and water that might slow your bike down. Timing your jumps becomes even more important here.
Getting a wide variety of bikes broadens your options and makes completing co-op missions easier. The higher tiers of co-op missions feature good rewards, but you need a dedicated team to tackle the harder missions.
Dirt Bike Unchained is available now on iOS mobile devices and iPad.
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