GENRE
	Racing
	DEVELOPER
	Incinerator Games
	PUBLISHER
	THQ
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-2
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	No
	DS COMPATIBLE
	No
	BUY NOW AT

Nintendojo was provided a copy of this game for review by a third party, though that does not affect our recommendation. For every review, Nintendojo uses a standard scoring criteria.

The fact that THQ is pumping the third video game entry in the Cars franchise, even when the theatrical sequel is still a ways off, is truly a testament to the endearing legacy of the Pixar film. Cars Race-O-Rama, on the other hand, is a testament to the time honored tradition of cash hungry studios cranking out mediocre games based on profitable licenses. The game isn’t necessarily terrible, it is just bland and uninspired – just another inoffensive scoop of plain vanilla ice cream in the sundae that is THQ’s and Disney’s holiday product line-up.

It goes without saying that Cars Race-O-Rama is a racing game; the player takes control of Lightning McQueen and other characters as they race around in a world world filled with anthropomorphic automobiles. Like previous entries in the series, Race-O-Rama borrows a bit from open world titles by featuring larger over worlds that link together and host the various races found throughout the game. This set up gives the player the freedom to drive about like a madman and hunt down tokens used to unlock new characters, parts and paint jobs. While plenty of time can be spent exploring and just cruising, the meat of the game takes place in the races and other events spread throughout the worlds.

Once the player gets to the actual races disappointment won’t be far behind. Handling in Race-O-Rama, while solid, is terribly dull; most turns can be taken at full speed so most races end up lacking drama and excitement. The developers allow the player to choose between using the Wii Remote as a steering wheel or traditional controls, but neither proved more exciting than the other. Furthermore, winning ultimately boils down to using as much boost as possible which isn’t too hard because it constantly refills. With the act of driving being made so easy, the only real challenge comes from the capricious AI opposition, which might be overly aggressive one moment and seemingly trying to lose the next. What ultimately damages the experience the most is the frequently poor collision detection in the environments; a small obstacle the one might expect to be a minor bump could completely throw the player off course and a seemingly out of the way item could have a collision box quite a bit larger than its physical dimensions.

Race-O-Rama does try making up for the generally boring gameplay by throwing a constant stream of unlockables at the player. Unfortunately, none of these have any real impact on the game. New parts for Lightning don’t affect how he races, bonus characters handle almost identical to Lightning and are primarily available only in the ancillary arcade mode, and production art is only offering an inside look at a world and characters that most people who will play this game are already quite familiar with. Sure, gamers obsessed with finding everything will find plenty to do but nothing of any real significance will be accomplished.

One area where any licensed title can gain points is with its presentation but Race-O-Rama only puts in a half-hearted attempt at capturing the artistic and comedic styles of the movie. First of all, the visuals are a mixed bag that leans a bit more towards the nasty side of things. Most of the character models for the major cars are quite detailed and animated very much like in the movies. As for the environments, they are largely devoid of any noteworthy details and the larger levels suffer from some severe pop-in issues. The aural side of things turned out only slightly better. Some of the sound-alike voice actors do a good job while most others are at least bearable and there were more than a few lines worthy of chuckle or two. However, the actors apparently weren’t given enough material because each character has a handful of one-liners that get repeated ad nauseam throughout each and every race. The music proves less annoying simple because it is instantly forgettable.

Cars Race-O-Rama is a half-hearted effort throughout; all the pieces fit together but nothings stands out as particularly noteworthy and every facet of the game seems to be in need of a couple extra layers of polish. At its best, this game might be acceptably mind-numbing entertainment for youngsters who are fans of the franchise but no serious gamer will give it a second glance nor should they. Still, Race-O-Rama isn’t really worth recommending to kids simply because Wii owners can choose the eight hundred pound gorilla of family friendly racers, Mario Kart, and instantly have a much more enjoyable time.

6.0/10