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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Racing Developer: Incinerator Games Publisher: THQ |
Over the past couple of years licensed games have become a staple to the gaming community and publishers are making huge profits
from these games. Games for younger gamers are often dropped on some developer with the expectation that the game will hit stores
in a short of time period as possible to ensure that kids are still hooked on the series that they had recently seen on the big screen.
The odd thing about the latest game in the Cars series is the fact that there hasn’t been any recent Cars movie in theaters, and a
sequel to the film isn’t due out for another year and a half. In the end, “Cars Race-O-Rama” like a game that was released before kids
forgot about the series, though there are some moments in the game that are fun.
There is no doubt that the Cars franchise will continue to pull in large amounts of money, even after the sequel is released. This time
around the new game feels a lot like a new movie in the series, without a lot of the storyline that would be seen in an actual film. There
is nothing that is really bad about Lightning McQueen’s quest to beat the returning Chick Hicks and his crew of evil cars, but there isn’t
anything to get extremely excited about in the game either. Though there is a slight story in the game, a deeper story would help players
to better understand what is going on and would pull in even more fans of the game.
In contract to the open world design of the first Cars games and the much more mini-game oriented style of “Cars Mater-National,”
things are a little bit more seperated in this latest release. Players will travel from one small hub world to the next while working through
a variety of mini-games and main storyline race events that help to further the story along. Also, players will be able to collect bolts in
each world that will unlock a variety of new skins. In the main races, collecting three spark plug icons will help unlock new sets of paint,
tires and body modification kits, but there are purely for show and will make no difference in the overall performance of the vehicles that
are driven throughout the game.
Though the game was released on several different systems, the controls for the game remain nearly identical between the systems.
The A button gets the vehicles on their way while the X button slams on the brakes. The left trigger activates a drift that is very important
to the game and the right trigger unleashes the vehicles turbo boost. The B button works as the E-brake, though players will find that
they won’t use it very often with the option of drifting. The same goes for the left bumper used to tilt the vehicle to get through sharp
turns. Also, jumping is back in the game again by a down and up flick of the left analog stick, though many challenges won’t allow
players to use the jump ability.
The races in the game are fair simple this time around. This game includes the “turn left to go right” that Doc talks about in the film,
allowing Lightning to move around corners without losing too much speed and allows for a great drift score. Both of these are done by
holding the drift button and adjusting the vehicles angle constantly, but it is still basically a game of catching air, going as fast and
possible and waiting for the charging turbo meter to fill. Though it may sound like a fairly boring game for those that are more advanced
in gaming, but kids will enjoy the funny cartoon race cars.
Through the world hubs there are multiple types of side challenges ranging from tracking down tires for Luigi, a few funny Mater mini-
games and some very frustrating kart-style challenges where players drive around as Guido. The races with Guido get to be quite
frustrating do to the fact that the controls a way too touchy for a game of this type. One slight miscalculation and the kart spins out and
bumping a tiny object will bring Guido to a complete stop, often losing the race because of it. However, the Mater mini-games make up
for the Guido races by allowing players to travel the world with Mater and complete some fun challenges, from making a huge jump in
Radiator Springs, bull fighting in Spain and drift racing in Japan. Players will find themselves wanting to play the Mater mini-games over
and over again to try beating their previous score.
Almost everything about “Cars Race-O-Rama seems as though it was simply designed to let the game get by with the absolute
minimum amount of effort, while trying to keep the same amount of charm that the original movie offered. Though it does end up being
just another average game, it does start a new chapter in the Cars world by introducing some new characters that could possibly
appear in the next film. It is unfortunate that other than the few Mater mini-games, there isn’t really anything in the game to get too
excited about and many players will probably find themselves simply playing the story missions and skipping many of the side quests.
Though time is an important factor in racing, this game could have used a little bit more time in development before its release, though
kids will enjoy the final product and that is really all that matters for a title of this type.
from these games. Games for younger gamers are often dropped on some developer with the expectation that the game will hit stores
in a short of time period as possible to ensure that kids are still hooked on the series that they had recently seen on the big screen.
The odd thing about the latest game in the Cars series is the fact that there hasn’t been any recent Cars movie in theaters, and a
sequel to the film isn’t due out for another year and a half. In the end, “Cars Race-O-Rama” like a game that was released before kids
forgot about the series, though there are some moments in the game that are fun.
There is no doubt that the Cars franchise will continue to pull in large amounts of money, even after the sequel is released. This time
around the new game feels a lot like a new movie in the series, without a lot of the storyline that would be seen in an actual film. There
is nothing that is really bad about Lightning McQueen’s quest to beat the returning Chick Hicks and his crew of evil cars, but there isn’t
anything to get extremely excited about in the game either. Though there is a slight story in the game, a deeper story would help players
to better understand what is going on and would pull in even more fans of the game.
In contract to the open world design of the first Cars games and the much more mini-game oriented style of “Cars Mater-National,”
things are a little bit more seperated in this latest release. Players will travel from one small hub world to the next while working through
a variety of mini-games and main storyline race events that help to further the story along. Also, players will be able to collect bolts in
each world that will unlock a variety of new skins. In the main races, collecting three spark plug icons will help unlock new sets of paint,
tires and body modification kits, but there are purely for show and will make no difference in the overall performance of the vehicles that
are driven throughout the game.
Though the game was released on several different systems, the controls for the game remain nearly identical between the systems.
The A button gets the vehicles on their way while the X button slams on the brakes. The left trigger activates a drift that is very important
to the game and the right trigger unleashes the vehicles turbo boost. The B button works as the E-brake, though players will find that
they won’t use it very often with the option of drifting. The same goes for the left bumper used to tilt the vehicle to get through sharp
turns. Also, jumping is back in the game again by a down and up flick of the left analog stick, though many challenges won’t allow
players to use the jump ability.
The races in the game are fair simple this time around. This game includes the “turn left to go right” that Doc talks about in the film,
allowing Lightning to move around corners without losing too much speed and allows for a great drift score. Both of these are done by
holding the drift button and adjusting the vehicles angle constantly, but it is still basically a game of catching air, going as fast and
possible and waiting for the charging turbo meter to fill. Though it may sound like a fairly boring game for those that are more advanced
in gaming, but kids will enjoy the funny cartoon race cars.
Through the world hubs there are multiple types of side challenges ranging from tracking down tires for Luigi, a few funny Mater mini-
games and some very frustrating kart-style challenges where players drive around as Guido. The races with Guido get to be quite
frustrating do to the fact that the controls a way too touchy for a game of this type. One slight miscalculation and the kart spins out and
bumping a tiny object will bring Guido to a complete stop, often losing the race because of it. However, the Mater mini-games make up
for the Guido races by allowing players to travel the world with Mater and complete some fun challenges, from making a huge jump in
Radiator Springs, bull fighting in Spain and drift racing in Japan. Players will find themselves wanting to play the Mater mini-games over
and over again to try beating their previous score.
Almost everything about “Cars Race-O-Rama seems as though it was simply designed to let the game get by with the absolute
minimum amount of effort, while trying to keep the same amount of charm that the original movie offered. Though it does end up being
just another average game, it does start a new chapter in the Cars world by introducing some new characters that could possibly
appear in the next film. It is unfortunate that other than the few Mater mini-games, there isn’t really anything in the game to get too
excited about and many players will probably find themselves simply playing the story missions and skipping many of the side quests.
Though time is an important factor in racing, this game could have used a little bit more time in development before its release, though
kids will enjoy the final product and that is really all that matters for a title of this type.
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