Hot Wheels World Race - PS2 Video Game Review

Hot Wheels World Race is a lot of fun even though the way it is setup doesn't really make a lot of sense. The graphics are nice, as well as the controls and the gameplay. This game is a lot of fun, but it is very unrealistic (though, that may be the point).

The game is unrealistic because of the way it is set up. Though it is supposed to be a bit unrealistic, its lack of realism makes the game very sluggish and difficult to play. First of all, the tracks are so elaborate that the game skips occasionally at the beginning of a lap. This is because the track is reloaded after each lap. A skip in the game could mean the difference between a win and a loss. Another reason the game is poorly setup is that there is no drift. This may be to make the game easier, but in my opinion it makes the game a lot harder. The have to take turns without any drift makes it very difficult to make sharp turns. There are a lot of sharp turns in this game, and instead of drifting, you have to compromise by breaking before turns, which, of course the CPUs are experts at. You will lose many of your first races because of the difficulty turning.

Other than that the game is pretty well made. The graphics (when they don' skip) are phenomenal. The gameplay is nice, and the car you drive has a sleek yet sturdy feel to it. You never feel like you are going to just roll the car over. The control scheme is simple. X button to go, control Stick to change direction. I really like this game and the way it is put together is both simple and elegant.

Now let us move on to the story line. A scientist build a track called Highway 95 (because that is where it beings). He drafted the best racers in the world to race on it. The track moves between many different worlds. There are worlds like the water world, the sky world, and jungle works, and the cube world (where everything is square (even the tracks don't have any rounded edges). The prize for the winner is 1,000,000 dollars. You choose who you want to be, and then pick your car. You then race on over 25, different tracks.

This game is a lot of fun. The graphics are pretty well done, the controls are simple, yet they give you enough control to fly an airplane. You have to be able to get by without drifting to be able to play this game, but if your do that, you will do fine. This game costs around $10 on eBay, and you can get it for about $15 on Amazon or Wal-Mart. I would rate this game a 5 out of l0. It would have scored at least a 7 if it hadn't lacked the ability to drift.