I love Pixar to death but not 'Cars'. No how. No way. I am still shaking my head at that release. How could anyone make an animated movie featuring NASCAR racing but have very little action for young children to enjoy? Someone's spark plugs need changing. That's for certain.
While 'Cars' is consumed by a black hole of stark boredom running right through the middle of it, the Xbox game developed by Rainbow Studios for THQ really does shine. One of the best kids games released this year, 'Cars' gives kids exactly what they want: tons of choices and tons of action. Playing as one of the oddball characters from the movie, kids can compete in a Piston Cup season, single road races or play a story mode that somewhat follows the plot of the movie. There are also a multitude of fun mini-games too not just a shoddy handful cobbled together from spare parts.
As you might expect, 'Cars' is made for kids and is not a true, hardcore racing game. Adults will make short work of the races as the AI rivals are absurdly pathetic. Their role is just to bunch up and get in the way on occasion as you lap them silly and trade a little paint with them. As long as you can get out in front, the race is yours to lose. With the target audience in mind, Rainbow Studios obviously wasn’t aiming for realism nor should they have been. Kids who aren’t accustomed to Forza Motorsports type gameplay will appreciate ‘Cars’. Those who are will be bored out of their minds.
What really leaves all the other modes in the proverbial dust though is the free-roaming aspect of ‘Cars’. The town of Radiator Springs is the jumping off point for any of the other in-game selections. The town and the desert area beyond are massive with all manner of vehicles cruising around, small missions to check out and interactive elements like street signs you can run over or smash into. Roaming around, bumping into other vehicles, finding hidden icons and doing Evel Knievel jumps at the cliff tops is actually a lot more fun than the game itself. Think of it as a virtual toy car play mat. Kids will be able to spend hours and hours just zipping around Radiator Springs.
With so many options to choose from, 'Cars' the game will likely have a long shelf life when it comes to the ankle-biters unlike the tedious film which will be ready for the DVD scrap heap in a few short months.
WHAM! Rating: |
9 out of 10 |
ESRB Rating: |
E (Everyone) |
Official Web Site: |
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