Looney Toons Racing (PSOne)
It seems like any and every cartoon character can or soon will have their own kart racing game. That wouldn't be a problem if all of the games were fun or interesting, but so far that hasn't been the case (Chocobo racing, Woody Woodpecker Racing... The list goes on). It's not getting any better either. By the looks of it, Batman: Gotham City Racer (Ubisoft) and Antz Racing (Acclaim), a game based on the animated movie, Antz, aren't showing any promise in their licensing. So what are we left with? The Looney Toons characters, I think are the most deserving of a game in this genre. They've been amusing us for years with their violent antics without all of the political correctness that weighs down newer cartoons. With the Looney Toons license, and gameplay that would make Warner Bros. proud, this game can hold its own against the likes of even Crash Team Racing.
Aptly titled, LTR, Looney Toons Racing borrow a lot of elements from Playstation's best kart racer. Gameplay revolves around ample use of gas, a sparing use of the brakes interspersed between copious amounts of power sliding. Last but not least, the race wouldn't be complete without the obligatory weapon fire, which is brought to you by the ACME corporation in the form of 6 weapons of various strengths. These include the pie, homing pie, thunder cloud, bomb, and, of course, the omnipresent anvil. Life is good.
Featured are all of your favorites from the cartoons, and also includes some unlikely additions like Lola Bunny and Gossamer, the huge hairy orange monster that torments Bugs every-so-often.
"What up Doc?" This classic, along with several other classic and clever sound bites are included in the game. All are performed by Warner Bros. Voice actors who do a relatively good job in recreating the original character voice. Each character has 3 different randomly chosen sound bites on the selection screen and also has 2 in game quips. Aside from sound bites, the sound effects are true to the cartoon. The music is also excellent, but tracks are a bit short and end up looping every once and again.
The toon's one dimensional deviousness wouldn't be complete without a good array of cartoonishly violent weaponry to accompany them in battle. LTR's designers realized this, and as a result developed a unique system of weapon collection. There are six weapons available, each of added strength. Randomly dispersed throughout the tracks a red green and blue balloons. Each balloon has a number on it (red 1, green 2, and blue 3 respectively), and when you collect a balloon you get a balloon you automatically switch to the weapon of that strength. Get two blue balloons and you switch to the strongest weapon, get one red balloon and you switch to the weakest weapon.
The Bottom Line: LTR is good enough be the next CTR, but it will never achieve the same status or sell as many copies. If you're will to throw another $40 down for a kart racing game go for this one (unless you don't have CTR. You won't be dissapointed).
SOUND: 7/10
- Good soundtrack that adds intensity to the levels. The songs are too short so they repeat again and again.
GRAPHICS: 8.5/10
- The graphic are smooth and colorful, but the majority of the polygons are jagged and sharp.
CONTROL: 8/10
- Powerslide, gas brake? There's not much to choose from, but at least the controls aren't sticky.
REPLAY VALUE: 8/10
- There are a lot of secrets to work for, two solid game modes, and one more not so solid one.
FUN: 8.5/10
- Anvil fall on rabbit head? Funny.
OVERALL: 8/10
