Speed Racer Sped Right Out!
Gamecore takes pride in what we do. As such there are occasions where we post reviews on products that might've already hit the market. This is one such review. Kent Lee, our Gamecore contributor, was a bit torn up on the latest "Speed Racer" install for the Wii which is based off of the Wachowski brothers' latest production of, "Speed Racer" the movie.
Every once in a while, a game comes along that makes you say, "Wow!" Unfortunately, "Speed Racer: The Videogame" (SR) is not one of them. Perhaps the Wachowski brothers can reproduce the 'wow-effect' from The Matrix trilogy into their new piece-de-resistance, but I don't think any of it translates into this game.
Don't get me wrong, this is not a horrible game. In fact, the game is very stylish in its own right. Thanks to Sidhe Interactive, the team behind the cool PSN title, GripShift, SR escapes the bad omens of movie-to-videogame titles. But being released within the same month as the latest incarnation of "Mario Kart" or the much anticipated "Wii Fit: Balance Board" tends to leave this movie adaptation lurking in the shadows. Perhaps I'm just not hyped up enough about it because I have not seen the movie, or perhaps I'm just not a big enough 'Mach 5' fan like my cousin is, but it seems to me that this title is simply meant to only appeal to either of those categories.
I recall my cousin constantly reminiscing about the gizmos that the 'Mach 5' has but, thus far, I have not seen any indication of any such abilities in this game. In all fairness, perhaps removing the coolness of having weaponry that puts James Bond rides to shame and making this title more focused on the racing aspect was the right idea. The movie does a great job at showing you high speed racing and its translated equally well in the game.
Speaking of speed, SR allows you to choose from over 20 different driver/race car combo which also includes Speed Racer's Mach 6 and Racer X's Shooting Star. Of course each combination allows for different types of attributes matching your driving style. Controlling your vehicle is done using the full features offered by the Wii Remote. Holding the controller on its side adjusting it left and right controls the direction in which your car moves. All the mechanics needed for thrashing your opponent is handled by making specific quick jerk motions with the Wii Remote.
However controlling your vehicle is slightly better done using Nintendo's recently released Wii Wheel. This is a clear indication that the developer thought ahead when building out this title.
The highlight of "Speed Racer: The Videogame" is a feature commonly referred to as "car-fu", which is the ability to flip your car in each of the 4 directions, thus enabling you to flip your opponents' cars as well if they are within proximity. After drafting another racer (or, more accurately, tailgating like a NYC taxi) and pulling off a "car-fu" stunt, I get rewarded by a slow-motion scene of my maneuver --- now I'm left wondering if this is supposed to be "Disney's Cars" meets "The Matrix", and that is the crux of the problem. Each successful "car-fu" stunt increases your boost of which there are 4 levels. In any racing game having extra boost is certainly helpful to completing the race in first place so hats off to SR for handling that well.
When I play each iteration of "Mario Kart", I am usually feeling disappointed about features they have removed from previous versions while excited about new features that they've added in the latest version. The biggest problem I have with SR is that, upon seeing each of the cool features come to life, I'm left reminiscing about a previous unrelated game. For instance, the entire layout and color scheme feels like another incarnation of the "F-Zero" or the "Extreme-G Racing" series. The "car-fu" cut-scenes remind me too much of the "Burnout: Takedown" takedown cut-scenes (but, somehow, not as cool).
All in all, the game is not designed poorly and is actually fun, if high speed racing with a kung-fu twist on an enclosed track is your sort of thing. SR also features the voices of Emile Hirsch (Speed Racer), Mathew Fox (Racer X) and Christina Ricci (Trixie: whose T180 race car is designed exclusively for the game by SR filmmakers).
Despite that I feel that this game would have been more fun a few years back (or perhaps sold as WiiWare). After all, "The Matrix" would not be as cool in 2008 as it was in 1999. But, since the Wii is designed for both aggressive interaction as well as nostalgic gameplay, perhaps this title will find its fan base on the Wii.
Speed Racer is rated E for Everyone and is classified as a arcade action racing game currently available on the Nintendo Wii console. Soon to come though, will be a PlayStation2 console version of the game scheduled to be released with the Speed Racer movie DVD in the fall of 2008.
By Kent Lee