PSP World

Cars

If you're old enough you'll recall the media frenzy around the first computer animated movie: Toy Story. Unbelievably this was over a decade ago now but it was clear that PIXAR's mix of incredible visuals and strong traditional storytelling was a winning formula and the studio (in partnership with Disney) went on to produce some of the highest grossing 'kids' movies of the last 10 years. They're not the only studio, of course and this year alone will see around a dozen computer animated movies reach our cinemas most of which will also reach our consoles. Cars is one such movie but this latest effort from PIXAR has been a pet project of John Lasseter (the director of the first Toy Story) for some time and with this Oscar winning animator at the helm we should expect top class entertainment. As far as the game is concerned it was always clear what type it would be but we’re more interested in how it plays?

Don't think that just because you own a console version of this game that the PSP version is simply a watered down version of its more powerful cousins, because developers Locomotive Games have developed an entirely original game. Loosely based around the movie, Cars offers you a number of modes to tackle the driving action although Story Mode is probably your best bet initially as this unlocks other sections of the game. This puts you in the role of the movie’s hero (Lightning McQueen) and you, along with your friends, must beat the 'evil' cars in a series of races across Radiator Springs. Most of these are group races but you'll also go head to head with opposing cars and success allows you to select the car in other competitions. Grand Prix is just as you'd expect with a series of races, each one ending with competitors awarded points, depending on their position. The winner is obviously the driver with the most points at the competition’s end. Other modes include Time Trials and Practice events and there's even a 'Postcard Rally' where you must collect various pieces of a postcard, which can be displayed later in the gallery. Finally there's a multiplayer mode although given that this is a racing game this is rather pointless really, offering only a few options and the developers have clearly focused on the single player experience and our advice is, you should too.

Visually the game is pleasing without being outstanding although this style of visuals seems perfectly suited to the PSP screen resolution. Most importantly the cars are well modelled and match their big-screen counterparts perfectly and even move in an organic fashion as opposed to being pressed from sheet metal. Problems arise though with the tracks and while the scenery is perfectly pleasant to look at some of the roads and terrain are a little too similar in colour meaning the occasional 90 degree bend is far more challenging that it need be, not because you haven't anticipated its arrival but simply because you can't see what's going on.

To help you on your journey to the racing hall of fame there's a pretty good soundtrack although the developers have clearly gone for quality over quantity. The music is perfectly suited to the driving action though and includes offerings from Stray Cats and Los Lobos among others. The sound effects are also good although you may want to decide what you want to hear most as the car engine versus the music can often simply cancel both out. Surprisingly there's even a little voice over work although this is kept to a minimum and uses sound-alikes as opposed to the 'real' actors.

The control has been kept as simple as possible but it's also surprisingly responsive for a game of this nature. You'll only really need to speed up or brake although more advanced drivers will also want to take advantage of your car’s other handy controls. The first of these is the power slide, which has not only been radically improved from that available on the console versions, but it's also essential to winning races on the more challenging tracks. Your other control is the ability to jump and while this first appears to simply be a cartoon gimmick it's necessary for jumping over boggy ground to avoid slowing down. It's also handy for dodging the odd inappropriately placed turbo boost that can catapult you into a canyon wall at high speed. On the down side there are some problems with collision detection and even some minor 'fender benders' can cause competitors to spin out of control rather than simply losing control momentarily.

The biggest surprise about Cars on the PSP is the fact that it's good, really good. Just when you thought every licensed game was complete rubbish one comes along to completely change your mind. As I mentioned earlier, it was always clear that this was going to be a racer but, rather than just fit the Cars franchise into an existing gaming engine, you get the impression that the whole package has had significant care and attention laboured upon it. It's not without its problems and some of the tracks can be incredibly difficult, with the odd bug in the collision department not exactly helping matters. This is easily ignored though when placed against the overall fun factor and PIXAR's latest offering is pure entertainment from the starting grid. Don't forget to check out the trailer for their next movie, Ratatouille, which looks fantastic and proof if it were needed, that the world’s best-known computer animation company have a few more tricks up their sleeve yet. I wonder what type of game that will be?

By Andrew Blanchard