Motor Toon Grand Prix

"The Cutsey Racer That Introduced A Little Depth To The Genre..."

Just imagine yourself in a racing car, only this racing car was in a cartoon. Think Wacky Races and you wouldn’t be too far off this little gem called Motor Toon Grand Prix 2. Oh no, not a cutesy racer I hear you all scream, but this is cartoon cutesy. The characters are all fictional but with their own personality and suitably styled cars. The Penguin Brothers are gangsters and have their slick, penguin coloured getaway car, while the tracks are all massively colourful and loud, but in a way that is manageable. This game is heavily stylised and influenced from Japan. From how the wheels on the cars don’t really turn, they slide around to point the car in the right direction, to the way the customisable menu screens offer lots of different children friendly backgrounds, it all suggests lightweight arcade experience. You know, the type of game that is great fun for 10minutes but then suddenly the flaws become far too apparent and the game is over before you start? Well for once, a game breaks this mould.
Initially, only 6 characters and 5 tracks are available. To tantalise you, the bonus’ screen has 5 lines of question marks on them, 1 for each difficulty level. You must complete the game in each mode to unlock new characters, newly stylised tracks, new power-ups and much more. The harder it gets, the better the stuff unlocked, but it really keeps the challenge alive.
The actual handling of the cars may not be to everyone’s liking. Generally its responsive enough, but the whole way that the car slides does take a little getting used to and because it plays a large part of the game, it’s essential to master. It plays an essential role because scattered around the tracks are $ signs and when ran over them, it triggers off a little wheel that you must stop and gain a power-up to use. These car once again stolen from comics and Wacky Races, ranging from Bombs and 1 ton weights, to growing big and small medicines. All are great fun to use, and knowing when to use them and on whom, adds an element of strategy that is further enhanced by panic, as a bleeper will sound if something is targeting you.
2 Player modes are a must for this type of game and while it does nothing too outrageously special, the mode here is still a good laugh and worthy for a quick game if you have 10 minutes spare, but not for long periods of time.
While Motor Toon GP 2 is not an essential purchase, it does provide some good comic fun and there’s no harm in that is there.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/18/02, Updated 06/30/03