Hot Wheels
has been a surprisingly good source for entertainment in more than one medium.
Very few of us have gone through childhood without playing with at least one
toy car. Even little girls play with them – Barbie drives them, and I believe
she once had a tie-in with Hot Wheels. Toy cars are universally entertaining,
and when it comes to miniatures, Hot Wheels are the best.
Racing games
have that same universal appeal. What better way to combine two universally
appealing forms of entertainment than to make Hot Wheels racing games? It’s
worked well so far. Let’s take a look at the latest edition to see if more
great things can come of this property.
Stunt Track
Challenge appears to have the right formula for success: vehicle
customization, airborne stunts, and online play via the Network Adaptor
(broadband Internet access required).
This
may look exciting, but you know what they say about judging a book by its
cover…
These
elements are great on their own when executed properly, but they do nothing
for the player when executed poorly, whether they’re all featured in the same
game or not.
Sad but
true, Hot Wheels Stunt Track Challenge is a below-average racer with few
stunts and a weak challenge. It could be argued that the challenge is weak in
order to accommodate a younger audience. Okay, I’ll buy that. What I won’t buy
is the poor racing mechanics. The vehicles’ movements are far less fluid than
you’ll desire. The tracks are filled with wide turns that make it impossible
to screw up. It’s almost like the game is saying, "Go ahead and defeat me
already! I know you’re better than me – just go ahead and finish me off!"
Power-sliding isn’t necessary. Speed boosts are handy, but fail to boost the
car as much as they should. You go faster, your speedometer makes that clear,
as do your opponents, which seem to sit there and let you pass them by. (They
can use speed boosts too, but it’s rare that they do.)
Corkscrews
were placed on some of the tracks to make the game seem more extreme.
Five-year-olds might be amused, but everyone else will wonder why the track
fills the screen. You don’t feel like you’re upside down when all you see is a
curved track. The effect would have been so much more immersive if they
narrowed the track and placed tall buildings, a pretty sky, and other
real-world (or make believe) objects in the background. These objects would
flip upside down as you enter the corkscrew, giving the illusion that you’re
driving upside down.
More than
50% of this game is dedicated to performing stunts. Not the death-defying
stunts of Wave Race 64 (a seven-year-old Nintendo 64 game) or the outrageous
stunts of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. You get stunts that include the following:
