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Lego Racers - Kids games aren't
that bad
(by Gamespot.UK - 08/24/99)
PC CD-ROM, PlayStation; Sept. 1999) and LEGOLAND (PC CD-ROM, Oct. 1999).
The best kids games aren't so lame that they insult their target audience and
are sophisticated enough to engage pre-teens and adults. And this is definitely
the case with LEGO Racers, which is not only one of the best games for the young'uns,
but one of the more entertaining arcade race games of recent vintage period.
It's a typical by-the-numbers arcade racing game, featuring the usual complement of
tracks (that are unlocked via winning), multiple environments and secret areas. It
follows the Wipeout-style of collecting a single-use power-up, but enhances the
model somewhat by allowing you to pick up power up modifiers that change their
properties. This adds a little bit of strategy to the usual reflex-oriented racing.
And what challenging racing it is. Perhaps to the detriment to the extreme bottom-end
of the age scale (the game is for folks 6 and up), the game is surprisingly tough.
Until you tune your LEGO-mobile, it's unlikely you'll make it to the last race. Yes,
you get to build your own cars (or modify existing ones), and there's actually enough
physics modeling going on for it to make some difference (lighter cards handle better
and accelerate more quickly while heavier cars have a higher top speed and slower
acceleration).
Whether or not it was wise to make a mass-market game requiring 3D hardware will be
answered by the sales figures, but the game is quite attractive in all of its Direct3D
glory. It's blocky, but that's actually a complement-the artists do a fantastic job
at making the environments look LEGO-y. And the music is feel-good to the extreme,
and manages it without being annoying. You'll be humming the theme song for hours,
much to the chagrin of friends and co-workers.
If all "kids" software was as good as this, we wouldn't even need to make fun of
the category. Folks, if your kids like LEGOs, you still have your own residual
LEGO-fetish (go ahead, it's OK to admit it) or are a fan of race games, this is
a superb addition to your software collection.
by GameSpot.UK
Visit the GameSpot.UK site
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