Mini RC Rally

"A bit of old-school R.C. in the bargain bin..."

You've likely seen this game in the bargain bin. You may have even picked it up, looked at the box, and thought back to games like R.C. Pro Am and Circuit Breakers on PSX (a highly underrated game IMO). It usually goes for $14.99 being somewhat of a generic title. Let me start by saying DO NOT PAY THIS PRICE! You will be sorely disappointed and deep feelings of financial violation will swoon over you like a homesick kitten. Ok, for the sake of this Mini-review, I'll refrain from cutesy speak, so, here goes:

GRAPHICS:
Not too shabby. Nothing special but no complaints. Everything is discernable and there are some good uses of color in the environments. The gameplay takes place on the top screen and there's a map on the bottom. One minor flaw: there are not too many color variants for the cars so you may confuse your own with the computer's if they're painted the same.

SOUND:
I usually have the sound on my DS turned off unless I'm playing an RPG so this isn't a concern for me. However, it's a mix of industrial techno with a lot of screeching tires and buzzing R.C. engines. The blend is almost distorted, like cranking up the treble eon your stereo and playing a Slayer album. You'll likely mute it too.

CONTROLS:
Shoddy at best. Responsive yet very sensitive and problematic on turns. Turn too sharply and you'll come to a grinding halt. Turn too wide and you're hitting a wall. You'll only be holding A to go and using the control pad for steering. The L1/R1 are meant for "tighter" turns but I haven't found them beneficial. There may be some fine-tuned finesse that I'm missing but I really don't think so.

GAMEPLAY:
Here's Mini R.C. Rally's biggest downfall. Like many R.C. racers of yesteryear, once the computer takes the lead you cannot catch up. It's another one of those "have to keep the A.I. players on the screen to have a chance." And with all the turning involved it's near impossible to keep it close. Here are some added details:

Tournament Mode: you'll compete for points on 4 tracks. You have to win first place on points to advance to the next tournament. I guess the developers decided to throw players a bone because you still get 10 credits for 4th place to use toward upgrades (20 for third, 40 for second, 100 for first). Getting 10 credits for losing is a plus considering how often you'll be finishing well after everyone else. And if you don't win the tournament you can carry over all your upgrades into the re-try. I'm already on my fourth re-try and I've about maxed out the upgrades. Luckily, it does get easier. Don't expect to advance on your first playthrough. I think the re-tries are deliberately in place to inch in some replay value and pace the game out.

Upgrades: No nitros or missles here. There are only the standards; tires, engines, acceleration, boost, and a better controller for improved turning speed. Each of the five start at 10 credits and then increase in price by units of 10 until maxed out at Level 3 (e.g. 30 credits). The funny thing is, I noticed my car didn't feel any faster, rather, it was easier to try and stay competitive with the computer. Tires and the R.C. controller did make a slight difference for the better with the turning issues, however, even when maxed out the turning problems persist. There are also some new cars you can buy but the cheapest is 300. That would mean losing 30 races (which you would without upgrading) before you could buy it. Talk about a game of patience.

Repairs: This is, without a doubt, the worst feature. Every nudge, tap and scrape against a wall reduces your car's HP's. You start the game with 100 and one bad race could leave you with 45. A damaged car affects performance. In a game this bruisingly difficult, having to pay for repairs instead of upgrades brings great frustration. Keep your car above 65 HP's and you should be ok. But you can always restart a race before it ends, an option you'll likely be utilizing often.

CONCLUSION:
It's not all bad though. There is a single card multiplayer (up to 4). None of my friends have a DS so I can't comment but I can guess it would be a blast. The challenge is a bit more than necessary but it would probably be worse if you could just breeze through the game. Once you get through the initial grind it does become quite enjoyable and you stand a chance to win a race or two. There are single, quick races for the unlocked tracks. I will eventually get to the unlockables but this is a game to be played in small doses, just chipping away at it every so often.

I got my copy for $5 at a pawn shop. It is definitely worth buying for that price. And keep in mind this review is based on initial observations. I am far from beating it. Hope this helped-

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 08/25/08

Game Release: Mini RC Rally (US, 12/12/06)