We as video game fans and critics have gotten used to playing bad video games that only come out to promote another product, like a movie. With the release of Cars 2 in movie theaters by Pixar, I very well knew that the video game release was as inevitable as the sun rising in the morning. I opened my package that contain the Cars 2 video game with trepidation, groaning loudly at the thought of spending hours being tortured by yet another bad movie related video game. Within the first hour of game play, I realized that my groan was way too premature and that Cars 2 was not your typical movie tie-in video game. Avalanche Software did a very good job in bringing a solid racing game with the Mario Kart feel to the Xbox 360, that just also happens to tie in nicely with the movie.
Story:
The story of Cars 2 the video game story line is based on the movie’s story line, but only in very broad terms. The tutorial levels are set at the secret agents headquarters, where Finn McMissile and Holly Shitwell train you in the maneuvers. You then set out into the racing world to face Professor Z through a series of races and events. Like most racing games, the story is all about you winning the event, and unlocking more events and cars to race as.
Racing games, like fighting games, have a tendency to be lighter in the story department. This is not Dragon Age; you do not have hours upon hours to develop characters and relationships during game play. I am ok with the story being light here, because it’s just not needed. You know that you are racing against Professor Z and his minions during the events, and there are little cut scenes that give you this throughout the game itself, but winning the event is really your main priority. You are also not forced to play as one of the main characters of the movie. You can play as Mater or Lightning if you so choose, but you can also play the game just as well as any of the other minor back up characters. This is one of those cases were the light storyline helps to give the races context, but also stays out of the way so the player can have fun.
Gameplay:
Cars 2 borrows heavily from the game play that made Mario Kart very popular, but also incorporates other mechanics to make it feel different from the monster that is Mario Kart. You race around in the event, using boost to help you speed up and collecting weapons that you can use on your opponents to help slow them down. Gaining boost in Cars 2 can be done through many different ways: you can drift through the corners, collect energy batteries, jump over obstacles doing tricks, or do some stunt driving on the ground. I thought it was a fun mechanic to allow the cars to drive on two wheels to get through tight spots, or to completely turn your car around and drive backwards. This last mechanic is fun to do in multiplayer, as you get to fire your missiles at the poor slob in second place.
Cars 2 also has a large array of events that one can play through. You have your standard battle races, where you fight with the other cars and the first one across the line wins, but you also have event types like Devastator and Hunter that helps break up the monotony of just racing all the time. Hunter game types pit you against wave after wave of Professor Z’s lemons, where you hunt them down as destroy as many as you can. The Devastator game mode, though, was my favorite. You collect the Devastator weapon and have to race it into your enemies’ base to set it off. This event sets up some nice local competitive game play between teams.
Bottom line here is that Cars 2 is just plain fun to play. The events are varied enough to give you want you want, the mechanics and controls feel just right, and the multiplayer is just a blast to play. This game really surprised me on how much fun it was to play.
Aesthetics:
Pixar has always given us beautiful worlds to enjoy, filled with interesting characters and gorgeous environments. Avalanche Software was successfully able to take this well designed aesthetic and bring it into the Cars 2 video game. The world that you race through is just plain neat to look at. From the dark urban sprawl of Tokyo at night, to the beautifully rendered streets of London, Cars 2 makes each track not only fun to race in, but enjoyable to stare at.
The cars themselves also come across in the video game very well. Each car looks just like it’s movie counterpart and is completed in the same design originally put down by Pixar. The only negative I have with the cars is their voice-overs. You will quickly get bored of the same two or three lines that each car repeats throughout the events. The characters’ voices are done well enough, but repeat way too much for my liking. I ended up switching out my cars after every fourth race, just so I didn’t have to listen to the same lines over and over again.
Overall, Cars 2 brings the well-designed world of the movie into the video game. The tracks are beautiful, the cars are well designed and neat to look at, but the voice-overs repeat way too much for me.
Final Thoughts:
Cars 2 by Avalanche Software is a fun game to play and is very nice to look at. It brings the game play of Mario Kart to the Xbox 360 while adding some nice game mechanics that makes Cars 2 unique. The multiplayer games are a blast to play and you have enough events to choose from to get a nice rotation going without getting bored. The game play itself is very solid, with nice controls and tracks that contain different routes you can take to the finish line. Cars 2 looks just like the movies, with the beautifully designed characters and world, but the voice-overs could be better and are way to repetitive.
Cars 2 is a great way to get that Mario Kart feel without owing a Wii. If you are in the market for a solid racer that adds weapon combat, then Cars 2 is a very solid choice.
