Review - Speed Racer

Developer/Publisher: Virtuos Ltd. / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Release Date: May 6, 2008
Rating: Everyone – Mild Cartoon Violence
Available On: PS2 ; Wii ; Nintendo DS
Genre: Racing
Number of Players : 1 player; 2-6 (local multi-card)
Strong Points: Fast racer with a stable framerate; good controls; graphics are done well for the DS; unlockables; enjoyable trick and stunt system
Weak Points: Not that much replay value, underwhelming presentation outside of racing; no online play; no story mode
Technical Score: C+
Artistic Score: B
Final Score (not an average): B-
Moral Warnings: Art for some female drivers accentuates cleavage; you can attack other racers with your car

When it comes to movie tie-in games, most gamers would agree that the majority of them are bad. Many would feel rushed, unpolished, use clunky controls and would be a waste of our cash. I was surprised to learn that Speed Racer was a game that doesn’t follow that pattern.

Speed Racer: The Videogame takes place one year after the movie. And that’s about as much story as you’ll get. The main gameplay consists of completing the World Racing League mode in varying difficulties to unlock further modes. The WRL mode allows you to win cups that grant you fans that go towards unlockable content. When completing cups, you will also unlock several game modes (time trial, Car-Fu, and Stunt-Combat) that you can play in Arcade and multiplayer mode once unlocked. Many of the racers you saw in the movie are back, albeit in cartoon form. Every racer has stats that affect their performance, like handling, speed, acceleration, etc. They all feel unique and balanced. I switched back and forth between three of them, and I didn’t feel outclassed if I didn’t get the fastest car.

The WRL mode pits you against other racers in a futuristic setting, something akin to Wipeout or F-Zero. All the tracks have splitting paths, sometimes many, are loaded with half-pipes to trick off of, and there’s a nice mix of corkscrews, vertical loops, and massive jumps. There are no weapons in the game other than your vehicle. When in range of other racers, a B icon appears and when the button is pressed, you initiate Car-Fu. Like the movie, your car springs into the air and you are required to input either an X or a Y in a timed event to make a successful attack. If you are too slow or fast, the attack will fail, leaving you worse off than before. But if you time it right, your opponent spins out and you speed away with more turbo. Tricks, stunts, and successful Car-Fu attacks all add to your turbo gauge. When you reach 90% or more of that gauge, you can enter “The Zone” and your vehicle is automatically guided down the track accompanied by blue tunnel vision. Racers in your way are knocked away, filling your gauge more. If you have used the Bullet Bill in Mario Kart DS, you’ll get the idea. It’s quite a thrill to plow into enemy cars in a short span, thrusting you to first place on the last lap before your turbo runs out.

Stunts come in the form of flips, spins, and drifting. When speeding along, you can press the jump button and hold any direction to flip, scoring some points (which count towards unlockables), all while looking good. Drifting around tight corners grant you points and turbo as well. After a good amount spinning and flips in the air, you can get even more points by landing correctly. You can land perfectly on all fours, on two, or even one, which is always enjoyable. If you botch your landing though, you’ll spin out and get nil.

So you may be saying that all sounds fun… now how is it on the eyes? When racing, the graphics rock. It has a great cel-shaded look, bright colors, and stylized effects all at blazing speeds. I was surprised the game didn’t chug along with all the detail that was flying past when racing. Expect detailed night time cityscapes, a jungle complete with waterfalls and volcano, and vibrant deserts all at a good clip. Outside of racing, it was underwhelming. The menus felt stale and uninspired. Even some of the racers from the movie look different in-game. With the level of detail when speeding over 350MPH though, it’s a small complaint.


The sound in Speed Racer is average. It has good vehicle sounds like screeching tires and the appropriate sound when tricking and using the turbo, but the music is drowned out. When I changed the sound levels, the music seemed rather poor. I would’ve liked there to be some kind voice over for the drivers or better sound tracks, but the overall package is adequate.

There is no online multiplayer, which I believe would’ve been a great addition. There is local multi-card play for 2-6 people though, but I had no one to race so I can’t comment much on that. Single-card play would’ve been another great addition, but it was passed up for whatever reason. The Arcade mode is there for those with little time to play, but it still gives you the same amount of speed on the same great tracks like the WRL mode.

One thing I should mention about the moral content would be that some of the female racer profiles show cleavage and accentuate that with large breasts. Besides that and the mild car combat, there is nothing else that needs mentioning.

At the end of the day, Speed Racer is a good effort that racing fans should consider picking up for the DS. It runs at a great frame rate, the racing is solid, the AI is good, albeit with some rubber banding, and it’s never sluggish. There are no obstacles to slow you down, no frustrating Blue Shells that will stop you from getting first (yes, I’m looking at you, Mario Kart) and everything feels streamlined. It’s good fun when you get that racing itch, but don’t expect a lot of depth when you give this game a spin.

-Jonathan Andrews (jonathan@revolve21.com)