TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Video Game Review: Speed Racer

ADVERTISEMENT

DOUG BUEL

Tribune correspondent

Published: May 23, 2008

System: Nintendo Wii

Publisher: WB Games

Reviewer's rating: **

ESRB rating: Everyone

Game type: Racing

Kind of like: This game is a poor man's "F-Zero."

Best feature: You can jump your car and land on enemy cars to get a boost.

Worst feature: The tracks are more like twisting ribbons than race courses.

The bottom line: Movie video games are somewhat obligatory. Unfortunately, "Speed Racer: The Videogame" feels extraordinarily so.

This game for the Wii doesn't even hold up to games from the previous generation, including the GameCube.

In "Speed Racer," you drive one of several different cars down a twisting track that arcs through the sky. It sounds cool. But the tracks are simply ribbons that only gradually bend left or right as they twist. Steering is almost nonexistent.

The meat of the game consists of using the Wiimote - or the Wii Wheel, if you prefer - to make your car leap off the track and mess up the other drivers.

You have to use the Wiimote or Wii Wheel to steer in this game. There's no option to use a Classic Controller. By suddenly jerking the Wiimote upward, you make your car leap into the air. If you hold the thumbpad at the same time, you can make your car flip forward or sideways.

Landing on an enemy car can cause it to mess up. Also, you earn boost by wrecking your enemies. Some cars on the track are actually your friends, and you lose boost if you hurt them.

You can play the game with one friend on a split screen, but that's all. There's no multiplayer option to play with several friends at once.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT