First Look: Keri Racing — a Genre Mash-up so Crazy, it just might be Awesome!

Three of the most proven and popular social gaming premises — “tycoon” gameplay, real-time PvP racing, and RPG-inspired pet-raising, namely — are set to collide in the upcoming Keri Racing, a particularly inspired-sounding genre fusion from PixelAmmo and NEOWIZ (the publishers behind the Official London 2012 iPhone game).

Due to hit the App Store soon, this hugely ambitious title tasks you with tending a farm and hand-rearing a mystical, bird-like critter called a Keri. Once you’ve trained up your Keri and he or she is strong and ready, you can pit it against other iGamer’s birdies in side-scrolling online races!

Today’s press release goes into a lot more detail on how the developers went about melding together together multiple genres and what we can expect gameplay-wise from Keri Racing:

Keri Racing’s diverse activities are related to one another naturally, giving the gameplay a cohesive flow that helps to create the vibrant world of Keri Racing. For example, the tycoon gameplay of Keri Racing pays homage to the genre it is inspired by, building instant familiarity. Gamers will immediately recognize the familiar activities of farming crops, creating buildings, and earning gold. This familiarity leads to intuitive, addictive play, but the fun of Keri Racing doesn’t stop there.

As the tycoon gameplay progresses, the player will acquire a pet Keri. Keris are a mystical species of bird-like creatures, hatched to race.  Before they are ready for competition, however, they require attentive care. The inclusion of raising Keris throughout the game results in the successful fusion of the pet-raising and tycoon genres. Diligently cared for Keris mature into race-ready competitors.

The action aspect of Keri Racing includes not only the ability to race the Keris the gamer has devoted time to raising, but the ability to race against your friends and contacts in real-time when connected via a 3G or WiFi network! Up to four players may join a single race, and there are a variety of environments in which these races can take place. Each has its own unique themes and obstacles that can alter the outcome of the race, depending on each Keri’s strengths and weaknesses. Keris can be groomed for racing success through training, which improves their stats, and with the addition of special gear and items that provide stat buffs. The individual player’s skill is also an important factor. These variables give the racing aspects of Keri Racing enormous replay potential.

There’s no word on a firm release date or pricing as of yet, but we will, of course, let you know when we find out more.