Gear.Club Unlimited 3 brings us the latest entry in the series as a Nintendo Switch 2 timed-exclusive. Learn more in our Gear.Club Unlimited 3 review!
Gear.Club Unlimited 3 brings us the latest entry in the series as a Nintendo Switch 2 timed-exclusive. That’s right, the latest racing game from Eden Games and Nacon is ready to roll on Nintendo Switch 2, which makes sense considering the first two Gear.Club Unlimited games were first available on the Nintendo Switch. Gear.Club Unlimited launched on Nintendo Switch in 2017 and was followed by its sequel, Gear.Club Unlimited 2, in 2018. The first game remains a Nintendo Switch exclusive to this day, while Gear.Club Unlimited 2 ended up being ported to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 as Gear.Club Unlimited 2 – Ultimate Edition. What does Gear.Club Unlimited 3 bring to the table? Let’s find out!
Right away, as you can tell from the trailer and screens in this Gear.Club Unlimited 3 review, the game’s graphics and framerate have been bumped up considerably when compared with Gear.Club Unlimited 2 on the Nintendo Switch. On top of that, we’re getting two new locations to race around: Japan and the Mediterranean Coast. It’s thanks to this that we’re getting 50 tracks to race around, which offers a ton of bang for your buck.
We’re also getting new customization options for vehicles, from mechanical upgrades and aesthetic elements such as distinct hoods and neon lights to spice up your life, to carbon fiber parts that offer some additional performance thanks to their lighter weight. It’s thanks to these and the customization options that are carried over from previous entries that you’ll be able to make each vehicle your own.
The Story Mode is going to be a big draw during your time with Gear.Club Unlimited 3. You’ll be able to progress through the game’s different tracks as you go back and forth between France, Japan, and the Mediterranean Coast, which does help to keep the overall experience feeling fresh. Once you prove yourself during the trial races, you’ll be put in charge of going to Japan to build the Gear.Club Japan HQ. This means you’ll need to assemble a team and a roster of cars. This will allow you to take in Japan and its car culture, adding a new spin to the Gear.Club Unlimited formula.
Free Play allows one or two players to use the Race, Dual, Time Trial, and Free Roam options. Race offers a single race to the finish line. Duel is a Vs. option. Time Trial, as expected, is one in which you’ll need to aim to get the fastest time possible. Highway Mode will change how you approach things, since you’ll have to drive through dense traffic to travel from point A to point B as fast as possible. You can play Highway Mode either in Highway Rush or Free Roam. As the name suggests, Highway Rush will have you racing against the clock as you try to shave some valuable seconds here and there. Make your way through the traffic and nearly miss hitting other vehicles to add some extra seconds to the clock. Free Roam will allow you to race for as long as you want, with not much to worry about.
You can race by choosing one of three driving assist options: Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert. The Beginner driving assist option is one to consider if you’re new to racing games, since it will provide you with a medium level of brake assistance and a high level of anti-skid. The Intermediate driving assist option will balance things out by lowering the level of brake assistance and anti-skid. As for the Expert driving assist option, it will completely remove the brake assistance and anti-skid, so you’d better be ready for it!
Once you’re behind the wheel, you’ll be steering the vehicle of your choice by using the left analog stick, accelerating with the ZR button, and hitting the brakes with the ZL button, which will also allow you to go in reverse if needed. Change the camera view by pressing the R button, and take a quick glance behind you by pressing the L button. If you’re using the manual shift, then you can shift up by pressing the B button and shift down by pressing the Y button. Oh, and you can switch the radio by pressing left or right on the D-Pad as needed.
All members of the Gear.Club are evaluated during each race based on their overall performance while driving down a track. If you’re good and drive safely – thus avoiding crashing into another driver or the sides of the track – you’ll get to earn Unlimited points. Going off-track will also make you lose points. Once the race is over, your Unlimited Score will be calculated, and this will determine the amount of materials you’ll receive. What will you do with the money and resources you earn?
They will be put to good use while upgrading your vehicle, unlocking new cars, adding customization options, and expanding your overall crew. You’ll start by working alongside Haruka Takeda in Japan. She’s a very talented mechanic who has connections with Tokyo’s underground scene, which means she’s twice as valuable for this particular endeavour. You’ll first have to race against the locals as you prove that you have what it takes.
Once you’ve established Gear.Club in Japan, you’ll get to use the workshop to improve your vehicle. You could, for example, spend your resources on engine tuning, which will improve your car’s overall speed, acceleration, and braking. You can assign engineers to any of your club’s buildings to unlock passive bonuses for the buildings they’re assigned to, which can unlock upgrades and other improvements for you to consider. You can also spend a big chunk of your money on improving the workshop to level it up, so that you can unlock additional elements.
You can also choose how you’re going to take on this game by picking between the Quality and Performance options for the Graphics Mode. Quality will prioritize image quality by capping the framerate at a lower value. Performance will, on the other hand, prioritize the framerate at the expense of image quality. Either way, the game is going to look great on your TV or on the console’s screen when playing in Portable or Tabletop Mode.
Gear.Club Unlimited brings us the latest entry in the series as a Nintendo Switch 2 timed-exclusive. The game’s graphics and framerate have been bumped up considerably when compared with Gear.Club Unlimited 2 on the Nintendo Switch. On top of that, we’re getting two new locations to race around: Japan and the Mediterranean Coast. You’ll even be taking on duels – a tradition in Japan’s street racing scene – against other drivers as you aim to bring their score down to zero by staying in the front for long enough.
Some races will have requirements that you must meet in order to be allowed to race. These could include, for instance, the car’s origin, class, manufacturer, and year of release. There are even races that require that you get behind the wheel of a very specific car before you can even think about rushing toward the finish line. Races will be split between those that will help to move the story forward, as well as optional events for you to obtain additional money and resources.
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/gear-club-unlimited-3-deluxe-edition-switch-2/
With 50 races in three locations – France, Japan, and the Mediterranean Coast – as well as 40 officially licensed cars from top manufacturers such as Alfa Romeo, Pagani, BMW, Bugatti, Porsche, Ford, Nissan, Subaru, Mazda, and Honda – there’s plenty on offer for this full-pledged retail racing experience. Gear.Club Unlimited 3 launches on Nintendo Switch 2 on February 19 with a $59.99 price tag. Pre-order the game to gain access to the Honda S2000 GCU3 Edition and the BMW Z4 GCU3 Edition.
You can also get the Gear.Club Unlimited 3 – Performance Cars Pack for $9.99, which adds the Nissan GTR R-35 NISMO, Nissan 370Z NISMO, and Bugatti Mistral. Another option is the Gear.Club Unlimited 3 – Customization Pack for $4.99, which includes 3 carbon-fibre bonnets for 7 Japanese cars. Another option is the Gear.Club Unlimited 3 – Deluxe Edition for $59.99, which includes the base game and the two aforementioned packs, as well as the Career Starter Pack, which includes 200,000 GCU3 Dollars, 50 “Alloy” resources, 50 “”Electronic Circuit” resources, 50 “Component” resources, and 2 Engineers for the Story mode.
Disclaimer
This Gear.Club Unlimited 3 review is based on a Nintendo Switch 2 copy provided by Nacon.
