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Right on Track

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: June 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

It seems like a national law these days that a movie must have a video game tie-in. X-Men had it's official game, and even The Da Vinci Code got a video game. Usually when this happens, the game tends to be mediocre. A waste of the license. Other times it's a cash in for the franchise. Then, of course, there's the fact that the developers of these games, for some reason, never give it their all. Cars is another video game tie in to the movie, yet for all it's worth, this is one that's actually pretty good. It still suffers from some of the "movie gone video-game" trends such as bugs in the game, which usually comes because the game is rushed out to meet the release date of the film. Still, for what it's worth, Cars manages to be a good game after all.

The game actually takes place after the movie, something that doesn't normally happen when a video-game tie-in is done. Still, it's pretty nice. The good news is you needn't see the film in order to play the game. You don't even have to have heard of the film. The game is all about the racing. Lightning is gearing up to beat his rival Chick Hicks. That's all there is to it.

The gameplay at first carries out much like Grand Theft Auto. You get to roam around Radiator Springs, doing missions. Most of them consist of racing, and the racing actually isn't so bad. However, also like Grand Theft Auto, you've got to complete a set of missions before another set becomes availible. You'll also, of course, be able to free-roam.

Racing makes up the bulk of the game. It's no Gran Turismo 4, but it is, for the most part, a lot of fun. Your objective is to simply win, of course, and there are pit stops along the way, which you'll have to work fast to get yourself back out there, or risk losing your position. It's pretty much like playing a racing game. You can powerslide and boost, although you won't really need it during the races themselves and they can be a pain to control sometimes. Racing is easy. The games races are disturbingly easy at first sight. The AI of your opponents is predictable, and there were even cases where my opponents actually slowed down to give me a boost. So it's not by any means a challening game. It gets harder, but not to the point where you'll find yourself losing races. By the time it actually feels competative, the game is over.

There are also mini-games here. A lot of the time when games do this they feel tacked on. Not here. Not only are some games neccesary to progress further, but they're actually fun. The mini-games presented are for more than just wasting time. There's more of a point to them than in your average game. The pitstop game, for example, is a mini-game where you have to get your car back on the road in the fastest time possible.

The game also has two difficulty levels. The standard and one that's easier for kids. The standard is already easy enough, but the kids version is even easier. As you might expect, the easier difficulty is kid-friendly. Even your child might want to skip over playing the game in this mode. There aren't as many missions, and the already easy races are easier.

Cars is a game that looks fantastic. All the models look almost exactly like they do in the film. They're vibrant and detailed the way you expect them to be. The game just looks great. There are bugs, however. Such as you being able to get stuck in the environment and so you'll find yourself having to wait for the game to reset you back to where you want to be. These glitches are, thank goodness, few and far between. Most of the time you'll be able to get yourself out.

As far as a game based off a movie goes, Cars makes the best use of its voice cast. All the stars who supplied their voices in the film are here, and they do a fantastic job with their respective rolls. This is an all star cast and it works. Those who saw the film and enjoyed it, will absolutely love the voice work in this game. The audio itself is also really good. Big name music artists supply the majority of the audio.

This is one of the better video-game tie ins. The gameplay is sharp, and it sounds and looks good. It suffers a little from bugs, but not so much that it takes away from the gameplay. It's by no means a hard game, and it isn't long either, but while the gameplay lasts, it's fantastic.

The Good
+Great looking game
+All Star voice actors
+Free-roam style gameplay
+Racing is fun
+A good mess of mini games

The Bad
-There are a couple of bugs
-The game is far too easy for your average gamer

May Be Confusing For Younger Gamers

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 20 / 23
Date: June 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

My 7 year old son and I LOVED the movie Cars. We have several Cars books, the soundrack--my son even has Cars light-up sneakers and wallet!

It was with great anticipation that we got the PS2 Cars game a few days ago.

Let me start off by saying that this game is not very intuitive, and would definitely be problematic for younger children--even experienced racing or platform gamers. My son kept roaming the streets of Radiator Springs and I got to thinking "Man, there's GOT to be more to the game than this!"

So I went about trying to unlock various mini-games and races. (The guidebook wasn't much help.) I finally realized that not only did you need to "collect" (run into) lightning bolts for points, but you had to complete various races and mini-games to unlock more of the same. This isn't unusual, of course, but it's quite confusing. For example, a raceway may look familiar in the menu, but what you don't realize is that you need to race it *several times* to unlock other features.

I also figured out that the circular map on the screen (that you can disable if you want) features green and white dots on it. Green dots indicates a spot you can drive to for racing/games that it's an event you've already done. White dots are new events/games that you've unlocked.

Another confusing aspect is that there is an Arcade Mode and Story Mode--as well as other options. Figuring out what does what can be confusing. For example, let's say you've earned enough points to unlock cool paint jobs for Lightning McQueen. Well, you wouldn't go to Ramones, believe it or not. You have to first go to Bonus Materials, buy your paint job/s, THEN go back to Ramones for him to apply it. (And the load times seems unusually long!)

Other Bonus Material includes unlocking characters (Ramone, Flo, a souped up McQueen that's like a monster truck, Doc, the Sheriff, Sally, Mater, etc.), paint jobs, and movie clips.

Some of the mini-games are very difficult without the circular map. We played a "Find the Postcards" game and only found SIX out of 20 on our own WITHOUT the map. Some mini-games appear to have various levels, too. For example, there's a Tractor Tipping Game where you can be either Mater or Lightning. You must stealthily creep up on sleeping tractors, toot the horn to "tip" them, and avoid Frank's lights. In subsequent levels of this same mini-game, there are other moving searchlights you must avoid (in addition to a roaming Frank), and actions you must perform in order to access trucks in a maze (such as pushing wheeled bridges to cross over gulches.) I believe there are 6 levels to that game, which I've completed.

You can choose various levels of expertise, and Rookie seems to work just fine for me and my son. I'm able to win races in this game, whereas I can't even steer straight in games like Need for Speed! However, my son and I keep placing last in Mater's Rustbucket Race-O-Rama (a dirt track arena complete with hills and rusty car parts!), so I don't know what's up with that.

Other mini-games we've experienced so far (we're at the beginning of Chapter 2 in Story Mode) include Luigi finding tires (we're on Level 3) and racing with Doc while learning how to Power Slide. (This comes in handy for racing, because you earn extra points for tricks, including this Power Slide.)

One of the arena races features a very cool mini-game in the form of a Pit Stop: after exiting the raceway, there are four button games controlling Guido's tire changing. For example, there may be 5 symbols on a tire and you have to press them in order. Or, you may have to quickly toggle between square and circle for him to squeegy the windows in time.

We've already noticed several glitches on this game, including lagging/freezing, bright lights "spiking" from cars, and one level not even opening (black screen). I have a feeling that this game was rushed to coincide with the movie's release. We'll be taking it back to the store tomorrow, telling them it's defective. HOPEFULLY, it's only one game and the next one is fine, but I have a feeling it's a designer flaw...

If you like racing games, there's a lot here for you. You can free roam in an extensive landscape (off-roading, too), race various speedways and town races, and play amusing mini-games. It may be frustrating for younger gamers, as I said, so parents may need to babysit the controls to help unlock games. But if you're little one just likes to race and roam (or crash into other cars, as my son likes to do)--then it's a nice game.

fun for all ages

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: July 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is s fun game to play. The one thing I do not like is allot of the tracks are very simaler but still a blast. The pit crew thing is very intense and very fun to try and beat my son. I repeat try.

great game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 6
Date: July 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Im 23, i love this game...when i first got this game i wanted to explore but i didn't know i had to race first before i explored and i found 5 post cards so far and can't find anymore so i ordered the guide to help me :) i would want everyone out there to buy this game (if you or family member likes Cars)

Cute Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: August 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

We love the Cars movie and this video game does not disappoint. I bought this for my 4 year old son and he loves it. It is easy enough for him not to become frustrated, yet there are many levels to unlock that also keeps it challenging. His dad and I love to play also.

Enjoyable

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is an enjoyable game but if I could go back and do it again I'd wait for the price to come down. It's entertaining but not great. Some of the events are a little confusing and you end spending so much time just aimlessly roaming around . . . [...]

You have to have this video game!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: November 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I beat the game. It's really hard. Mostly Mater's Backwards Lesson. I beat all the Piston Cup Races. My baby brother loves the game very much and he plays it alot. (He's only two)

Cars Xbox

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game for my grandson and he thinks its the coolest game there is.

Can't get it to play

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

We have had two copies of this game from two different sources and both have program issues. The first one would play and my grandson liked it but it would lock up intermittently and some screens were blank. We returned that and got another copy. This one would not even boot or start. It has also been returned. If I ever get one to play I will write a new review. Buyer Beware.

It doesn't run on XBOX360 Console!!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: February 20, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Take care when you're going to buy this title, because it doesn't plays on XBOX360 console! If you have a XBOX360 console, like me, buy the XBOX360 Cars instead of this one.

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