Cars (US Version) for Xbox

I purchased this game for my son shortly before Christmas. At that time it was available at Wal-mart for around twenty dollars. When it was getting closer to Christmas this past year, I noticed that Wal-Mart was phasing out all XBox games in favor of games for the newer systems. This game will probably remain available for purchase on the internet. The current pricing at Epinions lists a price range from $19 to $42, but upon clicking the link, I can only find the game at Amazon Marketplace for $42. A search of other sites might be worthwhile to find this game at a more reasonable price.

Cashing in on the movie success. It seems that Disney has mastered the art of cashing in on their children's movies. They have marketed a slew of video games based on their movies. My son's favorite games are all racing games, so this movie was a perfect fit for the video game market. Disney brought back all of the familiar characters from the movie. Being masters of marketing madness, Disney turned another trick. They hid cheat codes for the game in the toys that Mattel produced for this movie.

The Graphics in this game are extremely realistic. Not realistic in terms of racing games, but realistic in terms of animation. The screen shots look and feel like the actual movie. You might actually think you were watching unseen footage of the movie during some of the scenes. Some of the gameplay modes have a variety of icons on the screen to track progress or navigate. These icons are easy to read and understand. The movement between scenes during gameplay is seamless. I have not experienced any jumping or video hanging up during play. The graphics are augmented with a decent soundtrack that includes voice overs from the characters in the movie. Some of the canned language gets a bit old, but that is true for any video game with running commentary.

Using the Controllers is very simple. If you play enough racing games, you start getting a feel for which buttons create which type of effect. My son has a steering wheel and brake/gas pedal that go with the game, but I played it with a standard controller. There are a few tricks that you can learn with the controllers that you would not see in other racing games. Beyond the standard controls, you can make the car leap or drive on two wheels.

Navigating the Game Menu is self explanatory. There are several game modes to choose from including Story Mode, Arcade, Head-to-head and Bonus Content. Like many story games, you unlock content as you complete various stages of the game. This game is set up with bonus points where you select which content to unlock in the bonus area. As you unlock levels in Story Mode, you make them available for play in Arcade Mode. You are not able to access levels in Arcade Mode that have not been unlocked.

The races are fairly easy to win. The racing part of the game is a bit boring for me, but my son loves it. I guess that is why this game is geared towards his age group. There are also mini-games which are a little bit more interesting, but still very basic. You have tractor tipping, a highway challenge game and a game where you get to be the Sheriff, chasing down speeders. Story mode offers two options. There is a Full Size mode for the full adventure based on the movie. There is also a Compact option for a shorter version geared to younger players.

You can select which character you want to be in this game. Different characters have different attributes for speed, acceleration, handling, etc. You can unlock additional characters with bonus points. In some of the game modes, you can select different paint jobs for your character to further customize your experience.

My overall experience with this game is that it is very appealing to the pre-teen age group. I would suggest that any child old enough to move the buttons can find something to do with this game, even if that means just driving around in one of the mini games. For adults, it is a very mediocre game. I will base my rating on the target audience, which brings this game in at five stars out of a possible five. My son loves this game!

This review is part of Dianapinions Best Little Write Off.