Looney Tunes Space Race

"Wow, all I can say is Wow,"

Looney Tunes Space Race is the best racer on the Sega Dreamcast. It has a few small problems, however, that lead me to believe that the developer Melbourne house, was rushed by Infogrames in the late stages of development.

Control- 910

The control is standard Kart racing fare, you have a boost, gas, and brake, as well as steering and Item buttons. the greatness of the control comes in the form of the analog triggers, used for gas and brake, they give you amazing control of your speed, which is very helpful with some of the tight corners in the game.

Steering is very arcade-like, it seems a little more floaty then a game like Mario Kart which is understandable since you take control of a flying hover-vehicle.

Graphics- 910

The in-game graphics are beatifully cel-shaded, bringing the personality of all the Warner Bros. characters to life. The backgrounds are done amazingly as well, with a lot of colour and even more personality.

One small problem I found, was that the outer lines of the characters were not too dark, and sometimes characters seemed to blur into the background, but it is a minor complaint.

Sound- 810

The Sound effects are amazing, bringing home the zaniness of the cartoon world. All of the characters have various catch phrases they use at points throughout the race. Foghorn Leghorn and Lola bunny provide commentary.

My complaint here is that the cartoony background music, is pulled back quite a bit. The music itself sounds great, but is nearly impossible to hear without cranking up the volume on your T.V.

Characters- 710

All the characters of Space Race have a lot of personality, the problem is that there aren't enough of them. the game gives you 6 characters off the bat, including: Bugs Bunny, Wile E. Coyote, Sylvester, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, and Elmer Fudd, with Marvin the Martian and Porky Pig unlocked later. There are too many notable ommissions including: Tweety Bird, (who makes a brief appearance at the start of each race) Pepe La Pew, The Roadrunner, and my personal favourite Looney Tune, Taz.

Tracks- 910

The game contains a large assortment of tracks, each of which is well detailed and well designed. The courses contain a lot of Acme boxes (which contain combat items) and fuel cans (five of which give you a boost)

The courses contain a number of shortcuts, all of which help out in the tense races.

Gameplay- 1010

Wow, this game is intense. The game contains an ''elastic A.I'' meaning if you race well, your opponents get better, if you do bad, the computer does bad too. This creates very competitive races. The combat involves various memorable and not so memorable Acme items (Four-leaf clover? I don't remember that thing) which are found in crates strewn across the courses. Success in this game requires good use of your weapons, and boosts.

Multiplayer- 1010

This game is a blast with friends. The racing is fast, and furious, and the power-ups keep it competitive. Everyone has a favourite Looney Tune so you get rivalries going (you know how much Elmer Fudd hates Bugs)

Overall- 910

The Gameplay is great, and the graphics are amazing, but the lack of many of my favourite characters tarnished my enjoyment. The whole time I was thinking how much cooler this already cool game would be if I could race as Taz.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/24/01, Updated 09/24/01