Cars Race-O-Rama (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

This is the third game based on the Cars movie and the second with Australian developers Tantalus taking on the development duties. It's still a bit of a mystery as to why the first outing (released at the same time as the movie) was not a racer but rather a selection of rather dull mini-games. Still, that was rectified last year, when Cars: Mater-National delivered the kind of arcade racer that fans were no doubt expecting the first time around. Given that this is based on an enhanced version of the same game engine, it could be more of the same or does it go the extra mile?

Gameplay

Race-O-Rama allows you to control Lightning McQueen as he races across 20 tracks through deserts, cities and around the coast. It is all locked to begin with though

so you'll need to tackle the Story Mode before you can indulge in any of the other challenges. As with the last outing this is simply a case of crossing the finish line first, using the various short cuts and collecting the spanners that are scattered around the track. It's vital that you seek these tools out as they not only allow you to purchase upgrades from the shop but they also unlock other tracks. In addition they open up one of several head-to-head races with one of the other cars challenging you to a 'winner takes all' competition. Success means that you can select the car from the main menu although failure simply means retrying the race.

Hidden throughout the races are a variety of unlockables. We only managed to uncover a handful but if you have more luck than us then you'll be able to enter one of the many Postcard Events. These can be tackled just about anyway you like; you can choose single races, beat the clock, drift challenges or cone chaos (which involves you knocking down all the cones on the course). Better still; all of these can be enjoyed with the Multiplayer option, which provides some much needed longevity to the package. Even then though, you'll still have to seek out the other goodies presented by Mater himself although exactly where these are is anyone's guess.

Controls

You'll be at home with the control system here almost immediately and everything from drifting to jumping is intuitive and easily accessible and, even if you are experiencing problems, the first level is an enforced tutorial.

Graphics

Like Mater-National the developers have managed to get the look of the game spot on and this is just about as close as you could get to replicating the big screen experience of the DS. Yes, the car models look a little blocky but the various environments have been well designed and it's sometimes nice to break off from the action altogether just to drive around the back roads.

Sound

Gamers are treated to a selection of 'Country and Western' style tracks, which suit the style of gaming perfectly. The sound effects aren't bad either with the power drill making a welcome return every time you select an option from the menu.

Dual screen

Most racers ignore the touch-screen altogether and Race-O-Rama is no different; in fact, the only thing you'll see on the bottom screen is a handy map. It's useful but hardly interactive. You will, though, get to use the touch-screen during one of the many unlockables, but we won't spoil that for you.

Final comments

It's difficult not to compare all arcade racers to Mario Kart and, if this were going head to head, the classic Nintendo offering would win hands down. If you can put all that to one side though there's a lot to enjoy in Race-O-Rama and the controls are simple and responsive whilst the tracks are interesting and challenging. There are also a fair bit of replay value thanks to the multiple unlockables and the Postcard events not to mention the Multiplayer. The only real downside is that, due to the source material, this won't have the broad appeal enjoyed by Mario Kart and therefore, while this is all very entertaining stuff it's only likely to appeal to the pre-teen market.

Pro: Lots of Unlockables, Visually Faithful to the Movie
Con: Only for Younger Gamers
Final score: 7.1

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