After taking a look at some the facts, things didn’t look very good for the PSP version of Cars. With three strikes against it before I even picked it up, Cars had its work cut out for it if it was going to impress me. The first strike was that it’s another racing game for the PSP. Something the PSP definitely could do without is more racing games. Strike two was being a video game based upon a movie, and if you don’t know what that usually means you should take a video gaming history class. Strike three was the lesser offence of being a game released simultaneously across seven different systems. Rarely does that spell success for every version, as there’s always at least one black sheep in the family.
After playing initially, I quickly realized that this was no black sheep. The racing was quick and simple, yet enjoyable and often surprisingly challenging. Choosing one of 20 odd cars, you can race your way through the story mode, which is just race after race with cut scenes every now and then, or you can choose a simple race on any of your unlocked tracks. As a person over the age of 10, I found the story and characters dreadfully boring. Fans of the movies (old or young) will hopefully enjoy those aspects of game more than I did.
Aside from the fact it’s based on a popular movie, there isn’t much to make Cars stand out. The racing is a very simple arcade style with easy handling and little need for braking. The power sliding is easy to execute, and makes even the curviest of tracks seem like a straightaway. You have the ability to jump your car a little, which can help you avoid obstacles or reach some of the short cuts on each track. Short cuts isn’t really the right word however, as most opponents will take the fastest route around the track including short cuts, leaving the standard route as more of a long-cut that’s a mistake to drive on.
The PSP version of cars managed to shake off two of its strikes, proving that movie-based games aren’t always horrible, and avoiding being the worst version of a multi-console release (as it turns out the DS version wins that award). However it couldn’t overcome the biggest obstacle to success, which was being overshadowed by the plentiful selection competent racing games already on the PSP. Unsurprisingly this leaves the game in the position of many movie based games. If you absolutely love the movie (or your kids do) then get the game, but if you want a good racing game, get something better (i.e. Burnout, Wipeout, Race Driver 2006, Ridge Racer, OutRun 2006 or even Need for Speed Underground).
WHAM! Rating: |
6.5 out of 10 |
ESRB Rating: |
E (Everyone) |
Official Web Site: |
|
|
