Wacky Races
Crash and Dash is a very odd type of racing game. Based on
the Hanna-Barbera cartoon from years back, this
arcade racer sports many of our favorite characters. They all drive
their own unique vehicles, which have specific racing features and
powerups. It does look “wacky.” However, the total
package is pretty dull.
The racing is
mostly from a side-scrolling viewpoint, with some angles from the back or top.
It’s never “into the screen”. Because of this design and the fact that there
are tons of racers on the track at a time, the resulting viewpoint doesn’t let
racers see very far ahead. This also means that racers can’t fall too far
behind, as the screen will keep on scrolling regardless of the condition of
the racer.
There are no
racing controls to speak of, except for a “Mad Dash” move that requires a
frantic shaking of the remote, which will rapidly tire the player’s arm. No
backward acceleration, no brakes. The main point of the game, therefore,
appears to be the strange and weird powerups that
are literally lying all around the tracks for easy pickup. These
powerups will turn the racing vehicles into other
types of vehicles like rockets or blimps, allow them to bomb other racers, or
perform other deleterious acts against the other racers. These
powerups seem sort of fun at first, but as they
don’t really help racers win, the pointlessness soon begins to pall.
No matter how
badly or well the racer has performed during the race, everyone is all
together at the last stretch. Here, it’s the Mad Dash to the finish line, and
it’s always a close finish, because all the racers are together in the one
screen. So, no matter what happened previously, anyone can win if they can get
around the others and shake their wrists very fast. In order to
powerup the Mad Dash meter, it is necessary to
earn a few Mad Dash Cogs, but racers can do that easily by using just a few
powerups against the other racers and staying
fairly in the middle of the racing pack.
There are two
modes of play, one of which is a circuit mode, similar to a simple campaign
mode, and a wacky mode, which is customizable. In the wacky mode, players can
choose to play just against each other, with no computer opponents. This is
the only way to play this game with any enjoyment, as this will allow players
to clear the racing field a bit. It’s much more enjoyable racing in Wacky
Races with just a few racers.
Mini-games
can also be turned off in the Wacky mode. These mini-games are simple arcade
games that Dick Dastardly will pop on players now and then during the course
of the race. None of them are fun, and some are frustrating because of bad
control design. The worst is the river paddling one, where players are
supposed to simulate oars moving from side to side. This simply doesn’t work
as expected on the Wii.
All I can
really say positive about this game is that it is evident that the intention
was to be different from mainstream racing games. While innovation and
freshness is laudable, the bottom line is does it work, and is it fun. Many of
the features just don’t work together very well, as in the forced scrolling of
the screen and the crowded race track. Plus, the mad dash requirement at the
end negates most of what went on before. No racer can lap the others. It’s
also not very much fun. The easiness was probably designed that way for
children, but the crowded playing field makes it a little hard for kids to see
what is going on. The directions during gameplay
are also not very clear.
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Gameplay: 5.0
This
game just isn’t much fun. It’s too easy, and too dull.
Graphics: 6.0
The
graphics are the best feature of Wacky Races, and it’s neat for the first few
minutes to see all the characters from the cartoon.
Sound: 6.0
The
music is average and fits the them fairly well.
Difficulty:
Easy
The
racing is ridiculously easy.
Concept: 5.0
While
the design is somewhat different, the execution is not good.
Multiplayer: 5.0
Players can play either as a single player against the computer, or play with
friends. The essential gameplay remains the same, as the real players will
take the place of the characters, the number of which will remain the same in
Circuit mode. In Wacky Races mode, players can choose the number of computer
opponents if there is more than one real player. Playing with multiple people
doesn’t change the game mechanics or add anything new to the gameplay.
Overall: 5.0
This
game just isn’t very enjoyable. Families should go with Mario Kart; while it’s
more difficult, it’s also much more fun.
