Speed Racer – The Videogame – WII – Review

Whatever your opinion of the new
Speed Racer movie is, you can admit that it makes lots of noise and many
bright flashes that are reminiscent of a video game, which made the transition
to the video-game medium a smooth one. And, for all the pandering and
goings-on of how movie tie-in video games are always stinkers, we have a rare
title here that manages to capture the frenetic pacing of an otherwise silly
movie (with cool visuals) and the flashy excitement of racing a car in
physics-defying situations.

Like other racing games for the
Wii, Speed Racer has you looking from a fixed third-person perspective that
has you rocketing around a series of really, really (really!) fast moving and
incredibly dangerous tracks. Loops, corkscrews, ramps and speed boosts are par
for the course as you race one of the many vehicles featured in the movie
through a series of tournaments and part of a larger points system. Racing
through these courses takes more than skill behind the wheel; the game has
incorporated an ally system where you can assist and be assisted by other
drivers for the greater good. Allies will run interference and engage in the
aptly titled "car-fu" a series of attacks and jumps designed to attack and
defend other cars.

"Oh, and watch that speed bump on the
turn…"

What the game does here is
sucessfully removes any of the silliness and otherwise "stupid" aspects of and
focuses solely on the action. I don’t think there is any question that the
game has flash and style, the graphics do a fine job of capturing the look and
feel of the movie. Bright colors, 300+ mph racing, lighting effects and some
serious course design all surprised me when I first started playing because,
quite frankly, I did not have high hopes for this title. As you move up
through the racing standings and the courses become larger and more
treacherous, you understand that the game has come to play for
real. Additionally once four speed boosts (you collect them on the tracks) are
activated simultaneously, the screen becomes lit up in a mixture of lights and
hyperspace graphics straight out of Star Wars.

The soundtrack has a certain beat
to it that fits the game nicely but could be ramped up a tad. Sound effects
and character voices complement the in-game noises of cars smashing and
engines humming. The only thing missing is the high octane "Speed Racer" theme
that I can’t recall ever hearing. Regardless, the game sounds pretty darn good
and I couldn’t help but think that the Wii needs to figure out a way to get a
digital-out cable so we can start hearing these games in 5.1 surround sound.
Up until now, I was Ok with it on all other Wii games (except Zelda) and now I
really think the game system needs to be outfitted with surround capabilities.

"The last thing that goes through
a bug’s mind when it hits the windshield is its feet."

Interestingly enough, the game
seems to find itself in a different place with all the high-octane action
racing, I think that the game handles the A.I. issues both well and not so
well. Sadly, there is an auto catch-up function that makes all races closer
then they should be. Often times, you may smack the first place racer and put
him into the wall in a spin and then hit several boosts concurrently only to
finish the game .092 seconds faster than that same racer. In that sense, you
wish real-world physics would occur and you whup all racers massively, but as
soon as you think that the game is suffering, you find yourself in a
neck-and-neck situation where you take the lead in the last 20 feet of the
race and only doing so by cunning driving and some luck. The game is funny
that way.

Thanks to some clever level
design, and the way you hold the Wii-mote (with or without the steering-wheel
attachment) you find yourself leaning with the turns and banks, the race
courses are clearly designed to handle the 349 mph you sometimes find yourself
racing at. I was reminded of the racing game XG III where the
motorcycles break the sound barrier; you never quite reach that speed, but the
thought is the same because the courses are designed for extreme speeds and
they provide a certain feel to racing games that sometimes are lacking in
spirit and feel.

Gameplay: 7.5
Pretty well dialed in, jerking the
controller around makes the car hop and ram; it’s pretty slick the way
everything works together.

Graphics: 7.3
Flashy lights, no slowdown,
somewhat tricky A.I.; the game does a good job of being a sharp-looking game.

Sound: 7.0
Good sound effects, ample music,
easy to listen to, but where’s my surround?

Difficulty: Medium
This is a title that is clearly
aimed at younger gamers but you older gamers will probably get some fun out of
it. Will provide some challenge.

Concept: 7.0
A game based on a movie based on a
30+ year-old anime, and it’s pretty good.

Multiplayer: 6.5
Two player split-screen provides
some VS action for you and a friend but this game really needed to be played
online.

Overall: 7.2
I was pleasantly surprised and
then challenged at how well a game based on a movie was playing; good controls
and level design make this a good find.