Speed Racer
Proof that movie games aren't all born failures.
By Matt Kelly
If you've been following the previews and interviews we've run for Speed Racer then you'll already know what the core of the game is all about, racing at insanely high speeds on colorful tracks doing some seriously cool car-fu combat. For what the game is currently retailing at, it is pretty damn fun to play. Speed Racer basically discards a lot of what typical film tie in games try to do, you'll find no plot, no re-cut scenes from the movie, no heavily scripted scenes that force you to do something that happened in the movie. What you'll find is some pure arcade combat racing fun. Sure it's got a few polishing issues and a degree of depth issues, but it does what it does well, and that is be fun.
What makes Speed Racer more fun than anything else, and what initially really made us take a shine to the game, is it's controls. All your steering is done via motion control with absolutely no analog option what so ever. All your car-fu attacks are done with gestures along with some occasional button work. And all together it really makes for a pretty exciting action racing experience. The tracks designs also come into play here, as while precision drivers may be having a cringe at the lack of analogue options, they're really not needed as the track's curvy, roller coaster like design is built around faster paced racing with maximum allowance for car-fu combat. One additional thing though that is slightly more cringe worthy is that there is a small degree of auto steering in the game. For the most part it's not really noticeable with the exception of Cannon Ball X where it was less transparent, and won't really impact on the game. It does really payoff though as the games top speeds (especially when you're in the zone, a period of insane speeds and invincibility) are on the border line of insane. Well maybe not quite that much but unless you are seriously nimble with the controls you'll be hit hard racing at those speeds.
What it comes down to is Speed Racer actually has a really solid control scheme, the vast majority done through motion controls that make sense. Not only do the controls make sense and are a breeze to play with, the game responds in the way that make sense. We're not trying to over hype here but really, what's been done with the controls deserves some attention, especially in the field of the Wii where waggle seems more important than any kind of real logic behind the controls.
So of course there is more to a racing game than good controls. Are the tracks interesting and require skill? Is the racing field level and competitive? Is the combat element gimmicky or does it serve some real purpose in the game? All of these are a yes with a small but. Starting with tracks, Speed Racer takes the candy colored future of the movie and runs with it. The game (and the Wii) has no hope in hell of matching the sheer graphical complexity of a Hollywood flick but the tracks do manage to retain the feel from the film, if not the exact look. Track design is almost like a ribbon being laid out in interesting shapes, it may narrow from time to time, turn into a tunnel or a loop, or just plain drop out for a jump but it is literally like your travelling along a vehicular carnage ridden ribbon. There are obstacles on the track, such as energy pylons which when collided with will damage your car, and speed strips which will give you a temporary boost. The tracks biggest asset is how open it is for car-fu, but its biggest downfall is that it can be very easy to get locked into a dead heat with another driver, especially in multiplayer. If you're just out of car-fu attack range and both are hitting every single speed strip, it can be very hard to pass them. It's that kind of stuff that stops Speed Racer from being a killer game, all the core stuff is in there and done really really well, but beyond that you face depth issues. Don't let that talk you out of giving the game a shot though, as there is so much in there that you won't find in other games.
So onto car-fu, which is one of the funnest and most original car combat racing systems we've seen in a while. It doesn't revolve around a series of power ups, and it doesn't revolve mindlessly bashing other cars off the road. Instead it calls for skillful execution on moves, which is really easy to pick up and put into effect but with a great margin for skilling up in. The move range is pretty decent as well without demanding obscene amounts of button pressing or precise gestures. Side swiping shunts are performed with a quick jab to the left or right, flips are performed by jabbing upwards with the controller in with the D-pad button held down in the direction you want to fly. Boost attacks are just activating your boost right on the tale of the enemy. Then you've got a whole range of other moves like the round house which is pretty much the equivalent of a round kick to the face of a car. The thing that's really amazing about all of this is it actually works and is genuinely fun and satisfying especially when it goes into slow-mo-auto-carnage-awesome mode for a few seconds.
You get a slightly bad taste in your mouth about the games industry when you're getting excited about someone who's dared to be daring with their play style, but ultimately it is really refreshing to see something like this after the stream of Mario Kart titles and copy cats. Again though it does fall just short of the mark of being a pretty perfect system, as beyond the short range nature of car-fu there isn't a huge amount to do to your enemies. It's frustrating as hell to be locked in a dead heat just out of range. Another major fault of the car-fu isn't actually to do with the system itself, but rather the fact that you have half a dozen or so moves which are awesome for defending your position against those behind you, but no way of actually knowing whats going on back there. There is no rear view switch or mirror, and it's all just a matter of a guess work. Car-fu does have it's insanely cool recovery moments as well, where you can recover from a spin out by pulling a flip and taking out those who put you into the spin. Massively satisfying. On the topic if crazy ass driving, one big aspect of the film is the drifting element, which looks really cool in the game. Sadly aside from the rare occasion it'll end up with you losing places rather than any kind of awesome drifting cred. Drifting really isn't an emphasis in the game and you'll spend more time car-fuing, but it's mildly disappointing to see one area done so right and one not so much.
The single player campaign is pretty short and lacks variety, if you enjoy the insane nature of the tracks then you'll enjoy the new design of the tracks as the game goes on but they are literally built around the same half a dozen core looks. Track sections are swapped in and out in a StarWars: Pod Racer esque style and do bring variety to each race but it can suffer from everything being too familiar. On the multiplayer front you have a two player split screen mode with a full grid with no one on one options. Honestly one on one probably would have been pretty boring after all the above mentioned issues, but as a full grid race multiplayer can get pretty fun and intense. Again if you're looking for something different from the norm, Speed Racer is the one.
On the A/V front, as mentioned the tracks retain the feel if not the look of the films, and in a way is what the film would probably look like if you took away all the hard edged industrial side of the look and filled it with sugar. They are really good to look at and give a real sense of speed and scale, but just plain lack variety. If they'd got maybe two or three more in with some more track sections being switched in and out, it could have been much more extensive. Audio is a mix, sound effects are good, character dialogue blips are rather dull but occasionally hilarious, and the music is either totally awesome and suited to whats going on, or painfully slow, depending on what track it decided to pull out.
Summary:
Speed Racer is a really refreshing take on the combat racer genre and is in no way a broken game. Yeah it's got it's flaws but you'll be enjoying the cool combat system more than dealing with any major issues. The game doesn't waste any time bogging itself with film tie in rubbish and instead goes straight for the kill, a fast paced action racing game that is genuinely fun. There are balancing and depth issues, and it's a bit short, but do check this one out. You don't need to know the Speed Racer theme lyrics to enjoy this.
Gameplay 7.8
A really fun unexpected surprise.
Graphics 7.0
Speed Racer with more sugar poured on it than the movie and it's so good to look at. Lacks detail to a degree but certainly doesn't ruin it. Slow motion is very satisfying.
Sound 8.0
Really satisfying sound effects coupled with some cheesy dialogue. Music can be awesomely appropriate or painfully slow.
Replay 6.0
The car-fu combat system really unique and will probably get you back a good few times for the speed, however shortness and multiplayer are the biggest offenders here.
Overall 7.8
Proof that film games don't have to completely suck.
Submitted by Robtot
24/06/2008
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