Speed Racer: The Videogame, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, hits stores across North America today on Wii and Nintendo DS. Based on the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures film directed by the Wachowski brothers, Speed Racer: The Videogame features the voices of Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer, Matthew Fox as Racer X and Christina Ricci as Trixie, who reprise their film roles as playable characters.
Sidhe's Griffiths discusses in depth how the GripShift developer playtested, and then took that feedback to improve, their Wii version of the recent Speed Racer game, from Wiimote tweaks to difficulty changes.
With a slick 3D engine and a fluidity that stays locked to 60 frames per second, Speed proves an excellent substitute for F-Zero -- at least, that is, until Nintendo finally gets around to releasing the real thing.
Presentation - 5.0
Graphics - 7.5
Sound - 5.0
Gameplay - 8.0
Lasting Appeal - 6.0
Overall -
Many of you will remember playing racing games like Gran Turisimo, coming back time and time again to gain increasingly difficult licences. Speed Racer had potential to be a thrilling racing title but shoots itself in the foot with sloppy design and a cringe inducing game engine. The dated multiplayer options do little to rectify the situation, leaving this title gathering dust on my shelf.
Unless you're a massive Speed Racer fan, avoid.