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| The cutesy, child-oriented games on the PlayStation are few and far between. While no one can deny that games like Twisted Metal and Resident Evil have their interesting points, games such as Motor Toon Grand Prix can entirely lose the focus of sci-fi realism and instead immerse the player in a world that exists only in fantasy. In these games, we accept the notion that the line between reality and the imagination's universe is imperceivable. As well, we abandon our search for a convincing atmosphere in order to embrace one in which anything can happen. This fantasy game quality is one of the things which makes Motor Toon Grand Prix so successful. The lush graphics are comprised of (what else?) texture-mapped polygons which wind around the track as you zoom along. Evidently, much attention was paid to the aesthetics of the game which, consequently, are of extraordinarily high quality. The graphics have a fine crispness to them, which is reinforced by the stark use of contrasting hues and varied tonal values. Clearly, this is a children's world, and the oversized objects and bright colors emphasize the simplicity with which the graphics beg for association. Besides the purely technical excellence of the graphics, the objects which they represent are fresh and, for the most part, imaginative. Although the typical happy-go-lucky sunny beach track is included in the game, so is a track which is reminiscent of a 'Jack in the Beanstalk' scenario in which you race a vehicle the size of a matchbox car in a house where you dodge billiard balls, circle a roulette wheel, and drive along the keys of a piano. I only wish that more developers would be so imaginative and venture out of the secure ground of traditional realism. The soundtrack of Motor Toon Grand Prix is by no means a revolution in its time, but is sufficient for providing a suitable atmosphere for the game. The music is CD quality (duh), and offers little innovation but hey, how often do musical revolutions come along? The...ahem...announcer is a bit on the psycho side, as he completely abandons the established standards of vocals in favor of what sounds like screaming with a major mucous bubble. While I appreciate the effort of this new approach, I don't think it was entirely successful and believe that it would have been better left on the drawing board and out of the finished product. As stellar as the presentation of the game is, it doesn't make up for the gameplay which, in comparison to some of the game's finer points, isn't so great. The game tries hard to be a good battle-racer, but fails to offer an enjoyable battle or racing experience, let alone the battle-racing thrill which it should have provided. This is unmistakably a game that tries to emulate Super Mario Kart, and offer much more. Well, it offers about as much as the original Super Mario Kart, but in a way that's not as fun to play as it is to watch. The vehicles seem slow and their constantly shifting shape and feel make them seem unbalanced and loosely controlled. Because the AI is fairly simple, the racing isn't very enjoyable. The weapons, for the most part, are of little use, and appear to have been added to the game to keep it on par with other games of the same genre, not because they offer anything significant to the gameplay. Do not assume that the control is terrible, it just isn't much fun. Instead of the palm-sweating excitement which the game should include, you are given a game that is about as much fun with opponents as without (which is a situation which shouldn't occur in a battle racer). The seven tracks are amusing the first time around, but offer little to keep you coming back for more. Making matter worse, the simplicity of the game almost assures a first place ranking on every track in just the first sitting. Such faults make me assume that the playtesters were not as well paid as the artists. Unfortunately, this is one of those 32-bit games that tries to fit fun gameplay around an established graphics engine, which is a "no-no" in this industry. While this game is mildly enjoyable, it won't keep you up nights and most likely won't keep many players coming back for more. This game is undoubtedly worth a rent, but not a purchase. |
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