Mike Bantick
Friday, 13 June 2008 10:14
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 3
Each track is predominantly elevated above the landscape, very much like the Beam Melbourne House classic DethCarz from many years ago, though the driving model in Speed Racer is very forgiving by not allowing players to drive over the edge.
Speed is the key, using the speed-pad boosts in conjunction with boosts earned by clean driving; players can accelerate ahead of the pack. Though no one racer tends to get too far ahead or behind during any particular race. Given the expanse of the tracks – they are huge – this is a good thing and keeps the intense pack racing part of the entire game.
Finishing high in the rankings is good, but a true Speed Racer also needs to master the art of Car-Fu to truly succeed.
Yep, Car-Fu. Combining d-pad buttons and jerking the Wii-Mote controller will result in the T180 race car launching into the air to crash down on rivals or similar acts of automobile violence to shunt Car-fu damage points from the opposition.
At the end of the race these Car-Fu points are used for even more championship points to elevate you up the rankings.
Take too many damage points of your own (and forget to hit the auto heal button) and boom! An explosion of iris destroying effects will mean a short delay before you can rejoin the race in a shiny new T180.
Then it is time to make use of speed boosts to get back into contention. Combining four will result in the reverse neon display of ‘The Zone’ racing. Here you move into ‘ludicrous’ speed levels and cannot be harmed by opponents.
Car-Fu is fun, at the start of each race, you can see who your rivals are, and make alliances with other drivers to help protect you from rivals. The alliance system is simple with your only consideration being, how many allies do you want to have in a particular race? The answer is not easy, more allies greater protection, but during the frenetic jumping, flipping and bumping of a race you need to be carful of penalties imposed for harming allied cars.
Opposition players will dart in from time to time with personality driven comments of their own. Though the art work here is close, it could have been even more manga or anime inspired in keeping with the source.
