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THQ offers one to fans of the latest Pixar film. Cars deviates a bit from the film of the same name, but the changes are welcome as it makes Cars feel more like a full-fledged game than another licensed title. It even manages to capture the classic Pixar charm that makes their films such hits.
In Cars, Pixar has manages to make cars into charming characters. The cars have their own faces and drive themselves in this world. In the game, you’ll play as Lighting McQueen, a new car who is trying to make it in the stock car racing world. Along to the way to a race, Lighting causes more than a few problems in Radiator Spring, forcing him to deal with these problems before fulfilling his dream. The game actually takes place after the film, but the film’s characters are here in full force.
In terms of gameplay, Cars combines an open gameworld with a variety of races and some minigames. The gameworld isn’t incredibly big but it was unexpected in this game and works well. You can drive to a number of different areas to get new missions. Like other open world games, you’ll only have a few missions available at one time and you’ll unlock more as you progress through the game. Cars includes a setting for “all ages” and another for younger children. Obviously, the one aimed at children is a bit easier and more forgiving but the AI usually keeps things interesting by driving very well when you’re far ahead or driving poorly when you’re behind.
Most of these missions that you acquire are races as should be the case given your character. The races are split between NASCAR-like oval races and off-road races in Radiator Springs. You can use a boost technique or power slide your way to victory. The actual racing isn’t incredibly complex but intuitive and fun nonetheless. Along the way you’ll find minigames. One of these is the pit spot minigame that you’ll find in the NASCAR-like races where you’ll need to collect tires, though the other minigames take place out of the races. Those minigames tend to be small missions and more fun, as well.
The visuals are great. The car models look very much like their film counterparts and the animation is also superb. It’s really like THQ took the film and made it into a game without losing the visual charm. Even the lip-synching is well done. The tracks are well done, especially the off road tracks in Radiator Springs, though they are usually some variation of a desert. The textures are crisp for the most part, though a few ugly ones did sneak in there. The console versions look nearly identical, though the Xbox version is marginally sharper.
The audio does equally well because THQ manages to get the movie’s voice cast. The actors include Owen Wilson, Michael Keaton, George Carlin and Paul Newman, among many others. The actors put effort into their line which lets the game faithfully recreate the film in this aspect. The soundtrack includes music from the All American Rejects, among others and fits the game. The only sour spot is that the sound is a bit repetitive though you may not notice.
Cars is not the most complex racing game around, but it manages to capture the Pixar spirit very well. Aside from this, it’s an enjoyable game with solid gameplay and a great presentation. This is no doubt thanks to developers Rainbow Studios who have produced solid racing games before. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Jun 27, 2006
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