Zero Gear is an online multi-player kart combat game developed by and published by Nimblebit. The game features up to 8 players in online play, 15 maps to choose from, multiple game modes, and customizable kart and characters.

Requirements

• Windows operating system
• 2GHz CPU
• 1GB RAM
• Shader model 2.0 capable graphics card
• DirectX 9 or higher
• 300MB HDD space

Installation

Nothing really special here other than my excitement to just get it over with and start playing! I mean, you can't really go wrong with Steam unless you mess up your computer every single time you install something. Let's face it, it works.

First Impressions

Back when I was in high school, I used to play a kart game (If I could just remember it). It was only shareware which is why I can only play a couple of the karts and maps. It was a blast though, I either play it alone or I play it with my friend and we play it with just one keyboard. I get the WASD and he gets the arrow keys - that's how old school we were!

Playing Zero Gear just brings back the memories and I especially love the game feature where it pixelates the whole game making it look almost exactly the game I was playing!

Another feature that I like about this game is that you can customize your kart and your character. As you can see from the screenshots, I am the Stig! Hell yeah.

Singleplayer

Zero Gear doesn't really have a single-player option but you can play by yourself or with bots.

Multiplayer

This game is a no-brainer. You don't have to figure out which part of the keyboard you're supposed to use all you have to do is connect to a game server and have fun that's about it. If you somehow want to take this game seriously then you might have some problems with the community because I mean let's face it, the community isn't as competitive as the other games out there.

Finding a game isn't that hard since you can just click Quick Play or you can find your favorite server on the server's list. You can also host your own if you want to although I won't advise that unless you have a high upload or at least big enough to handle 8 players.

Final Thoughts

The game is meant for you to sit back, relax, and have fun. I mean this is the game that even if you mess up it won't really matter that much. If there's anything to complain about then it would be the amount of karts, characters, and accessories that you can use.

As far as the different game modes go, it's a matter of preference really like for example I can't seem to like some of them and I usually find myself playing the standard racing mode most of the time.

Ratings

Installer - The extra DirectX and Microsoft installs on every non-Valve game is taking its toll now and they're getting annoying.

Graphics - Certainly not the best out there but hey if you don't have a powerful graphics card, just turn the feature where it pixelates everything!

Sound - There's not a lot to talk about Zero Gear's sound quality, I mean the sound effects and background music are there but you never really notice them or they never affect the way you play. In other words, so-so.

Gameplay - Choose your favorite game mode and kart-away! I'm pretty sure casual gamers will find a suitable game mode for them in Zero Gear where they can waste their time the whole day.