This collection of mini-games features some very nice graphics, but how does it play?I'm not totally opposed to mini-game buffets. WarioWare makes it work by offering so many games and by creating a zany, hyperactive atmosphere that makes the game even more fun to play. Sega's Feel the Magic does a good job with fewer games, thanks in part to the funny story and music. The DS version of Cars, loosely based on the hit Pixar movie, follows the mini-game formula but isn't as successful as those other examples.
Part of the problem is that there is literally no story or natural order of events to bind the disparate morsels of gameplay. Each mini-game features at least one or two characters from the movie, but they may or may not be doing something that happened in the movie, and the sequence of events has nothing to do with the movie's plot. In fact, the only thing at all to organize the twelve mini-games is a fancy menu screen designed to look like a drive-in movie theater. It's a nicely presented menu, no doubt, but not sufficient story structure for license-hungry kids who want to "relive the movie".
The mini-games in Cars vary in complexity, but all of them are longer than your typical DS touch screen-enabled mini-game. Adding some heft is a good idea – after all, there is no main game here – but you are forced to play several rounds of each game before it is declared "won". These required sessions can last up to five or even ten minutes each, and most of these mini-games are far too repetitive to hold up for that long. Some are even downright hard, which would be great except those don't necessarily come up last. You start with three mini-games available and must pass all of them to open the next set of three. The learning curve is more like an arc drawn on an Etch-A-Sketch; among the first set of three mini-games, one is extremely hard to pass while the other two are easy. A couple of sets later, you run into another game that is much, much more difficult than its comrades. There's no reason why these harder mini-games couldn't have been reorganized to come up gradually and towards the end of the progression, so players of all skill levels can open up at least half of the content.
Between sets of mini-games, you must beat Chick Hicks in a Piston Cup race. This NASCAR-like event is really just another mini-game you have to beat, and it's set up much the same way as the rest of them. Calling it a race is disingenuous, though, because you're really just avoiding Hicks the entire time. He ignores the other cars and constantly slams into you, which can eventually knock out all of your tires and make you lose the race. Your damaged tires are replaced periodically in the pit stop sub-mini-game, which just involves tapping on the screen a few times. Like most other mini-games in Cars, the Piston Cup event is a neat idea, looks great, and overstays its welcome. The multi-card two-player mode is based on this event, which means it's not really worth playing.
The real problem of Cars for DS is that it relies entirely on the mini-games, of which there are too few and definitely not enough that are fun and replayable. The only mini-game I wanted to go back and play into the advanced rounds is the sliding puzzle game, which has no time limit and actually requires some cognitive thought. Most of the mini-games are at least initially amusing, but the game already forces you to play them repeatedly and beyond entertainment just to progress. And lest we forget, there are only twelve mini-games here (plus the Piston Cup); it takes a couple of hours at the most to get them all, and then the game abruptly stops. Unless you really, really like replaying a few of these events, this game doesn't offer much substance.
Where I can give the game props, big props, is in the graphics department. All of the characters from the movie appear in 3D, with highly detailed models and bold colors. The car animations are excellent, with the bouncy, cartoonish physics seen in the movie; the roving eyes and mouth complete the anthropomorphic magic. The impressive 3D engine often spans both screens of the DS, or even shows the same scene from two different angles. The only visual disappointment is in the mini-game intro scenes, which use static art from the movie and textual dialogue at the bottom. For no reason, these still images are covered in a grainy film effect. The intros would have looked much better by using the already great graphics engine built into the game.
Cars for DS is not a terrible licensed game; in fact, it is beautifully presented and even includes some clever mini-game ideas. But it never surmounts the feeling that these mini-games should have been a side offering to a real, main game that just doesn't exist.
Pros:
Fantastic visuals A couple of mini-games are truly fun and worth replaying
Cons:
Lacks quantity and quality of mini-games to do without a main game Frustrating progression of difficulty Too short and repetitive
Graphics: 9.0
The 3D models actually look like the movie characters. When your DS game can be positively compared with a Pixar movie, that's very high praise.
Sound: 7.0
Guitar rock music loops frequently but sounds good on some mini-games. It's hard not to smile at the George Thorogood riff that plays when you finally pass a mini-game. Some voice-acting for the intro scenes would have been nice, considering the console game has all the real movie actors doing voice work.
Control: 8.0
Generally responsive, but some mini-games use the touch screen when traditional controls would have made more sense and probably would have worked better.
Gameplay: 6.0
The mini-games are uneven at best, and that's all there is to the game. The random distribution of very hard events is a major problem since most mini-games are initially locked; less dexterous players may get stuck right off the bat.
Lastability: 4.0
Having only thirteen total mini-games might have worked if they were less repetitive and added more interesting variations in the later rounds. And come on, this is a licensed game…a bit of unlockable art or something might have provided just a bit of replay incentive. Most of the games aren't fun enough to trudge through again for their own sakes.
Final: 6.0
Cars may attract young fans of the movie with its all-star cast of characters and fancy graphics, but they won't find much of a game underneath the wrapper. This is not the best way to do a mini-game collection, even though some of the individual games are interesting enough.
Topic: REVIEWS: Cars (Read 2067 times)
