Loved DCR1, but this is almost a different type of game. I don't mind the racing, but the coins you get for each race are pitiful - 7 coins for 1 race? Why even bother? In DCR1 you could at least grind a bit to improve your car, but now there's no point.
Soooo much grinding.
Since you're resetting our money and planes for each continent, why not reset the level? I'm in North America and it's absolutely fun-killing to have to grind for hours to advance a level - even when I go back to Europe with my big plane. This amount of grinding wasn't necessary when I was starting out in Africa.
Alternatively - scale the amount of XP I get to my level - just do something so the amount of grinding I have to do doesn't (seemingly) exponentially grow.
Would be great if the map had more indicators on it - like a special colour if a location is the target of a current quest (ie: turn Vienna blue if I have a quest to deliver typewriters to Vienna). Also useful would be an indicator if a location currently has a quest I know about, but haven't taken yet (likely due to the fact I don't have enough room). That way I don't have to be reminded of it every time I visit that location.
Finally, it would also be nice if there was a better way to get an overview of the economy. Maybe a way to tell what items are available at what locations, so I don't have to go traipsing around the continent looking for Cashews.
Would appreciate a little clearer explanation as to what the upgrades do. I don't know the technical jargon, so I'm not always sure what upgrade to choose.
There shouldn't be a dead-zone right on top of the character. Baddies shouldn't have to be in front of the character to be hit - I should be able to hit them if I'm right on top of them.
The hit zone could be more visible. I was half done the game before I realized there even was one that wasn't the full size of the dog. Good game otherwise.
Is it just me or is the researching a pain in the butt? Having to trial and error blindly is just boring. If I find a new material I have to go back through all my items to see if maybe that new material is the magic ingredient. I'd much rather prefer the ingredients were displayed like the components for an upgrade - blacked out if I don't have any. That way all I need to do is click on each research item to see if I have all the required ingredients.
You're right - it's a completely different gameplay. Don't forget to complete level tasks. You get 150 coins for each task you complete.