#Cars 2 the video game review plus
#Cars 2 the video game review series

Interactive was partnering with Disney and its in-house developer, Avalanche ( Disney Infinity, plus the aforementioned Toy Story 3 and Cars 2 video game adaptations), to bring Cars 3 to consoles. It’s for the above reasons that my interest piqued when I heard that Warner Bros. Then again, I guess that’s to be expected given their status as tie-ins for movies that were primarily aimed at a younger audience. Unfortunately, both games failed to receive the recognition they deserved from the wider gaming community. Going further, Disney’s Toy Story 3 video game is easily one of the best licensed games I’ve ever played, thanks to a solid story campaign and a very good, open world toy box mode. In fact, the first couple of (numbered) Cars adaptations were both quite good, with the second one being very impressive overall. Hell, it did well enough to spawn a spin-off ( Planes), though everyone seems to have forgotten about it.Įven though kids games (and tie-in games in general) have received a lot of deserved flack over the years, I still find myself drawn to some of them and haven’t always come away disappointed.

#Cars 2 the video game review series

This would have been cool for us older gamers, but I can understand where Disney is coming from in leaving it out.The Lightning-led Cars franchise may not be one of Pixar’s most beloved, but that hasn’t stopped the series from becoming a box office hit and an animated juggernaut in its own right. It's not surprising with Disney's kid-friendly focus that Cars 2 doesn't feature online play. With the exception of Lightning and Finn McMissile, pretty much all of the other characters have their true voices, and each character has a collection of unique comments and taunts that help add to the atmosphere. This is helped along by the fact that many of the actors who voiced the characters on the big screen also voice the characters in the game. Another nice touch is that during all of the modes, you can see your car's face in the upper left corner, so even though you're staring at their backside most of the time, you still get the feeling that you're playing as one of the characters from the film. You can tell that Avalanche works closely with Pixar in the little details, like how the cars lift their tires to turn and move their entire bodies in expressions. You're told what place you're currently in, but it would have been nice to have a mini-map of sorts that showed you just how far behind or ahead you are. Another minor flaw is the lack of knowledge you have of your position in a race relative to the finish line and other players. Thankfully, the game supports multiplayer in all modes, meaning you can unlock all the characters and tracks (of which there are many) by playing multiplayer. Racing by yourself just isn't as fun as with others. But that also brings me to the game's biggest fault. I had a blast racing against some of my fellow editors or blowing them to bits in the deathmatch-style arena mode. These tricks include in-air flips and spins, driving on two wheels, and driving backwards (with the controls reversed appropriately.)You can also forcefully side-swipe opponents to force them off the track. Besides using weapons, you can also perform tricks in Cars 2 to build up your turbo boost meter. If you can look past the kiddie license, you'll find a racer that's super easy to pick up and play, but a bit more complicated to master. With easy drop-in and drop-out local multiplayer for up to four players, Cars 2 should have many a family having fun together. Different modes have you hunting down enemies in a vast arena, or competing in teams in a capture the flag-style set-up. You're also doing more than racing in Cars 2. But instead of turtle shells and banana peels, you're using real weapons like machine guns and rocket launchers. Cars 2 is a kart racer that takes more than a little inspiration from Mario Kart and is just as fun. agent by completing simulations of races and other driving tasks, and that's basically it. You're taken behind the scenes to be trained as a C.H.R.O.M.E. There really isn't a story in the Cars 2 game. The console versions of Cars 2 leave the story-telling to the masters at Pixar, and instead focus on making a game that's related to the story, but not bogged down by it. Play In Cars 2 (the film) Lightning McQueen travels around the globe to race in the World Grand Prix, while some agents from Command Headquarters for Recon Operations & Motorized Espionage (C.H.R.O.M.E) are trying to get to the bottom of an evil plot.