Red Fork Hippie Chick here, reporting in with a review of the new Cars video game, which we bought this evening.
The game, called "Cars Radiator Springs Adventures," is a kid-friendly piece of software that actually contains 11 games. The main game is the Legends Race, which you cannot hope to win without unlocking the "secret" of each legend. The secret is a meter on your screen that tells you when to shift gears. If you don't have the secret, you can still race, but you have to watch your rpms and kind of guess when to shift. Said shifting bears no resemblance to reality, so forget about applying your stick-shift driving prowess to the game. You really have to get the secret meter to have any luck in the races.
You acquire the secret meters by playing 10 different games in Radiator Springs. The games include:
"Hip-Hop It Up" — Ramone teaches Lightning McQueen to dance. A set of arrows pointing in four directions appears above Ramone's head. They light up in varying patterns, which you then have to repeat to mimic Ramone's dance moves. It's basically a dumbed-down version of the old electronic Simon game, which any self-respecting child of the '80s will surely remember playing.
"Fill 'Er Up" — In this game, the object is to serve customers at Flo's V8 Cafe by remembering their orders. It's similar to Ramone's game, except you have six choices that light up, and it goes faster and requires more effort to remember.
"Doc's Tune-Up" — You have to help Doc Hudson extract pieces of hardware from various cars' tailpipes, which — in the higher levels — start to resemble the highway from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. It's like Operation, except in addition to avoiding the sides of the tailpipe, you have to dodge moving bolts and squirting oil.
"Sarge's Boot Camp" — A pretty straightforward obstacle course.
"Drive-In and Out" — You're stuck in a drive-in parking lot. You have to move the other cars around to clear a path so you can leave. Reminiscent of those old sliding tile games where you have to put a picture back together or put a set of numbers in order.
"Luigi's Fantastico Fun" — You make Guido the forklift run back and forth on the ground, catching the tires that his boss, Luigi, is tossing to him from a shelf high above him. Occasionally, Luigi will chuck a lug wrench, a toolbox, or an anvil at Guido.
"Radiator Springs Curios" — You have to help Lizzie put souvenirs in their proper places on the wall. Kind of a combination memory/shape-sorting game.
"Tow the Line" — Mater practices towing by rounding up cars in the impound lot. He runs around picking up cars, tow hooks, and extra fuel while trying to avoid bumping into the walls or running over his own tail. Vaguely reminiscent of Centipede. (CAUTION: Link has loud video game sounds, so don't click on it if your boss thinks you're doing something productive.)
"Tractor Roundup" — You drive around a field, clicking on tractors to make them fall over, in a manner reminiscent of the tractor-tipping scene from the movie.
"Speed Trap" — You're the Sheriff, and you have to chase speeders while dodging various road hazards and picking up extra fuel along the way. A classic racing-type game in the tradition of Pole Position and the like.
The games all stand on their own, so you can just pick and choose your favorites if you want, but the CD includes special features that encourage you to master all the games. For instance, you can give Lightning McQueen a new paint job by beating your best score on various games. Different colors correspond to different games.
More elaborate win combinations unlock movie clips and image files.
Each game is preceded by a little video clip showing Lightning McQueen and one of the characters discussing the object of the game. The clips are pretty funny and are voiced by the actors from the film.
The game lets you see more of the scenery and more details of various Radiator Springs businesses, which is fun. I'm not sure why they didn't include a Sally-themed game, though. I would have liked to have seen more of the Cozy Cone.
If you're a video-game junkie looking for a challenge … well, this ain't exactly Tomb Raider. But it's a nice nostalgia trip for thirtysomething grownups, and it would make a great birthday present for your favorite rugrat. It's available in a wide array of formats, including Mac and PC versions. We bought our copy for about $20 at Toys R Us. It came with a free coupon to see a matinee of the movie.