Cars

"A game for an animated movie that is better than you might expect"

The movie was great, but the game was terrible. How many times have you said that? Sadly, many movie-based games fall far short of the glory of the movie on which they are based, and even worse, the games themselves often fail to even be an okay experience as they are often shoddy excuses for what one would call a game. However, it is with some delight that I can tell you right now that Cars, based on the hit Pixar movie, is not such a game.

Here's the breakdown:

Story: The story mode starts off soon after the the end of the movie. Lightning McQueen is ready for another Piston Cup racing season but to get there he has to complete various races and mini-games to unlock new Piston Cup events as well as a couple of new areas. The story is cute and thankfully doesn't rely on just telling the same old tale from the movie. It is mostly centered around McQueen and the Piston Cup, but at certain points you can play as some of the other memorable characters from the movie (both good, and not-so-good).

Gameplay: It is a racing game, so the gameplay concept isn't exactly different from other games in the genre. There are a few exceptions, such as the unlockable ability to drive backwards, which is a fun, albeit pointless little trick. The story mode is a free roaming type of driving experience where you can drive around looking for new events and finding bonus points which can be used to unlock new cars, paint jobs, and concept art. There are a few mini-games added into the mix such as a tire hunt with Luigi, and a police chase with Sheriff. Oh yeah, and tractor tipping.

Getting back to the driving, you'll have your standard mechanisms, brake, e brake, boost, powerslide, etc. The powerslide is particularly useful in helping you get through a race quickly without having to slow down or break very much.

The AI in the game is decent, but a skilled racer can beat the game without too much effort, because after all, the game is aimed at all ages, so it won't be as challenging as more grown-up racing games. Overall, it only takes five to ten hours to finish the story mode and unlock all of the tracks for use in the arcade and versus modes.

Sound: The cars sound like, well, cars. The music is actually pretty good as there are a few tracks from bands like The All-American Rejects mixed in with the simple background tracks. No Life is a Highway though. The voice acting is done by the actors from the movie, all of whom do a decent job on most of their lines.

Graphics: The graphics, while not as pretty as the movie, do a good job in capturing the Cars feel. The characters have well animated faces and the three environments all look nice and have that animated movie feel to them. On the GCN, the graphics fit well with the traditionally bright color palette of the system.

In Closing: Overall, Cars the game is a fitting partner to a great animated movie and if you enjoyed the theatrical experience and have a penchant for racing games, check out this title. You won't be disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/15/07