Cruis'n Review - 7/10
When I first heard the news a few months ago that Midway would be releasing a sequel to the Cruis'n series, I was so excited. I have been a big fan of this series since I was a young boy, running into the arcades just to have a go of Cruis'n USA. Still, to this day, I always make it a point to have a go of this game at Timezone when I can.
Story Behind The Game
For those who aren't familiar with this particular racing series, it's basically an Arcade racer, with exaggerated physics, crazy driving courses, and multiple types of vehicles - from normal road cars to buses and trucks.
Cruis'n USA
Cruis'n World
Cruis'n Exotica (Not released in Australia)
Cruis'n USA/World/Exotica fans will not be disappointed with Midway's latest installment on the Wii. The Wii version has the look and feel of the other games, but with polished graphics. The infamous Motion Capture of real people makes a pretty big comeback in this game as well.
Gameplay
Cruis'n is quite a simple game. There aren't too many options for racing, which is pretty much like the other games in the series. Single player, Multiplayer and Options are what you are greeted with when you load up the game. Single player, 2 options, either Circuit or Single Race.
There are 12 tracks to choose, 5 available from the start. As you progress through the Circuit mode, you will manage to unlock all of the tracks. There are many cars to choose from on first play, and more are unlocked as you win races and make more money. The cars are actual licensed cars, from Toyota, Nissan, and some famous American muscle cars. These cars can be upgraded each time you race, for free. You only chose one upgrade at a time.
The actual gameplay, as i mentioned before, has the look and feel of the original games in the series. I found that there was quite a long loading time between tracks. The start of the race has a slightly different look to it. There are now live motion captured people, who are standing between the cars, cheering you on. It was a very interesting use for motion capture, but very well done. The flag lady is standing near your car. She turns around to face you, "Read, Set, GO!"
I found the initial start of the track, from the starting animation and taking off the line, there were constant loading issues, with the animation skipping a bit. Once the race is on, these problems seem to disappear, until you decide to change the music. Everytime you change songs, the game skips a frame. These appear to be loading problems with the game. Once you get over these issues, it's all smooth sailing throught the race.
The actual design of tracks have you jumping off high jumps, being able to jump off trucks which are there for you. There are some short cuts as well, which you have to hunt for. The racing is a checkpoint to checkpoint system, with a time limit. Cars have multiple views to choose from, to suit everybody's needs.
There are no difficulty levels to choose from. I actually found this game to be quite difficult, initially, as you are trying to keep the car on the road, as well as trying to avoid traffic and other competitors. It took me about 6 races before I managed to come first. This aspect is very unforgiving, unlike the other games in the series. I found I would be coming first, stack it into a building, then I would be coming 6th place. All in a split second.
Graphics
The graphics in this game aren't too bad. The motion captured people are, pretty much, 2D cardboard cut outs, which you only notice when you take off from the start line, as you pass them. There were, however, loading problems at the start line, where it would skip frames as the Wii is loading the relevant data. Once you passed the finish line, the game does get a lot smoother, with some slow-downs through out the race, but doesn't affect the gameplay experience. Stages are quite detailed, with many destructable items. Buildings and general stage details are quite good. Car details are pretty average, with some nice reflections.
Sound
This game has quite a generic sound track, with quite a few songs to choose from. I did notice, however, everytime you changed songs, the game did skip. The real world sounds, engine noises, and commentary weren't very clear. It did sound good, but it just sounded like the sounds were all melted together, with the engine sounds occasionally being able to be heard. Unfortunately, the options only have one sound option, which is basically volume, which is useless.
Controls
The controls for this game are quite standard for Wii Racers. You only need the Wiimote. The default option for the controls has you tilting the Wiimote left and right to steer, while pressing "2" to accelerate, "1" to brake. View change is "-", and to change songs "B". There are options to slightly change the controller style, basically from tilting the Wiimote to using the D-Pad to steer, which I preferred. You are also given the option for how sensitive the steering is, which I found was identical to each other ("Loose", "Tight"). Sometimes, during the game, it can be quite hard to keep control of the car, especially if you are going over jumps.
Final Word
This game has the potential to be so much better. Loading times and problems with disc loading and sound really pulled this game back from being a great racer for the Wii. As a Cruis'n series fan, I am still quite happy with this game. It is definately a pickup and play game, with Circuit mode prolonging gameplay time. Ultimately, it is a fairly short game. I would recommend this game to fans of the series and people who like a good, simple arcade racer.
Trailer
Release date is unknown for Australia. Nintendo Australia's website has it being "Out Now" from September:
games.nintendo.com.au/
Submitted by phatbass82
06/12/2007
630
15
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