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Cars Review (continued)
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Manufacturer: THQ
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ESRB Rating: Everyone
Platform(s): Xbox
Release Date: June 6, 2006
Average Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
View Cars Details |
Retail Price: $19.99
Online Sale Price: $59.49
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More User Submitted Cars Reviews
Date: 2006-06-21
Right on Track
It seems like a national law these days that a movie must have a video game tie-in. X-Men had it's official game, and even The Da Vinci Code got a video game. Usually when this happens, the game tends to be mediocre. A waste of the license. Other times it's a cash in for the franchise. Then, of course, there's the fact that the developers of these games, for some reason, never give it their all. Cars is another video game tie in to the movie, yet for all it's worth, this is one that's actually pretty good. It still suffers from some of the "movie gone video-game" trends such as bugs in the game, which usually comes because the game is rushed out to meet the release date of the film. Still, for what it's worth, Cars manages to be a good game after all.
The game actually takes place after the movie, something that doesn't normally happen when a video-game tie-in is done. Still, it's pretty nice. The good news is you needn't see the film in order to play the game. You don't even have to have heard of the film. The game is all about the racing. Lightning is gearing up to beat his rival Chick Hicks. That's all there is to it.
The gameplay at first carries out much like Grand Theft Auto. You get to roam around Radiator Springs, doing missions. Most of them consist of racing, and the racing actually isn't so bad. However, also like Grand Theft Auto, you've got to complete a set of missions before another set becomes availible. You'll also, of course, be able to free-roam.
Racing makes up the bulk of the game. It's no Gran Turismo 4, but it is, for the most part, a lot of fun. Your objective is to simply win, of course, and there are pit stops along the way, which you'll have to work fast to get yourself back out there, or risk losing your position. It's pretty much like playing a racing game. You can powerslide and boost, although you won't really need it during the races themselves and they can be a pain to control sometimes. Racing is easy. The games races are disturbingly easy at first sight. The AI of your opponents is predictable, and there were even cases where my opponents actually slowed down to give me a boost. So it's not by any means a challening game. It gets harder, but not to the point where you'll find yourself losing races. By the time it actually feels competative, the game is over.
There are also mini-games here. A lot of the time when games do this they feel tacked on. Not here. Not only are some games neccesary to progress further, but they're actually fun. The mini-games presented are for more than just wasting time. There's more of a point to them than in your average game. The pitstop game, for example, is a mini-game where you have to get your car back on the road in the fastest time possible.
The game also has two difficulty levels. The standard and one that's easier for kids. The standard is already easy enough, but the kids version is even easier. As you might expect, the easier difficulty is kid-friendly. Even your child might want to skip over playing the game in this mode. There aren't as many missions, and the already easy races are easier.
Cars is a game that looks fantastic. All the models look almost exactly like they do in the film. They're vibrant and detailed the way you expect them to be. The game just looks great. There are bugs, however. Such as you being able to get stuck in the environment and so you'll find yourself having to wait for the game to reset you back to where you want to be. These glitches are, thank goodness, few and far between. Most of the time you'll be able to get yourself out.
As far as a game based off a movie goes, Cars makes the best use of its voice cast. All the stars who supplied their voices in the film are here, and they do a fantastic job with their respective rolls. This is an all star cast and it works. Those who saw the film and enjoyed it, will absolutely love the voice work in this game. The audio itself is also really good. Big name music artists supply the majority of the audio.
This is one of the better video-game tie ins. The gameplay is sharp, and it sounds and looks good. It suffers a little from bugs, but not so much that it takes away from the gameplay. It's by no means a hard game, and it isn't long either, but while the gameplay lasts, it's fantastic.
The Good
+Great looking game
+All Star voice actors
+Free-roam style gameplay
+Racing is fun
+A good mess of mini games
The Bad
-There are a couple of bugs
-The game is far too easy for your average gamer
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