Lego Racers

"Better than Lego Island"

In 1997, the very first Lego game (Lego Island) was released, and was a hit among younger gamers. Because of Lego Island's success, they released more Lego games, including Lego Racers. I don't care much for the Lego games before it, but is Lego Racers any good?

Story
The story is basically "Beat the Rocket Racer and become the Lego Racing Champion!". Its ok, but the main problem with the story is that it's not really needed at all, and it sounds very generic (Even more so than the overused "Rescue (Princess) from (Villain)" story).
Story: 5 out of 10

Graphics
There are a few round things in Lego Racers, but the graphics mainly consist of blocky, Lego-like graphics (Which fits the game well). There isn't much detail to the graphics, hence the low system requirements compared to other games from the time. Still, the blocky graphics do a great job representing Lego, but there is room for some improvement.
Graphics: 7 out of 10

Controls
The game offers the ability to use either a keyboard or standard controller to play. The keyboard is not the best choice, because of how they lay out the controls, but if you don't have access to a controller, it'll work until you can afford to buy one one. A standard controller (Preferably a pad, but a Joystick will work as well) is by far the best you can use for the game, because it's easier to powerslide and it's just laid out better. Thankfully, you can change up the control setup however you want in the game's options menu, adding flexibility to the controls.
Controls (Keyboard): 5 out of 10
Controls (Controller): 10 out of 10

Gameplay
It's a typical racing game with some notable additions. First off, you can create your own Lego character along with a car for your avatar, which is fun to do. How you build the car does have an effect on it's handling; The more bricks you use, the heavier it becomes, which can be taken advantage of to create unique strategies for the game. Also, it features an unique item power-up system; there are 4 different items you can use to gain an advantage over your opponent (Each have being categorized by the color of the brick you collect: Red is for projectiles, Blue is for shields, Yellow is for hazards (Like oil slicks), and Green is for speed-boosting items), but the items can be powered up with White Power-up bricks (Each item supporting up to 3 white bricks), leading to a total of 16 items. There's a multiplayer mode, which is what gives the game some replay value once you've unlocked everything. The game is a blast, but it suffers from being easier than most racing games I've played; A decent enough gamer can have it finished in less than a week. Also, there are only 6 sets of tracks for you to race on, plus an extra track (Rocket Racer's track), making this both short and easy.
Gameplay: 6 out of 10

Overall:
It's good, but a little too easy and short. But, since the game can now be bought for less than $10, it is worth trying out if you love Lego and racing games.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/10/08

Game Release: Lego Racers (US, 07/31/99)