Speed Racer - DS

Imagine playing Mario Kart 5 times faster and have no risk of falling off the edge.

3, 2, 1, Is the normal start to most racing games and Speed Racer is no different. What makes this game different is the high speed twist, turns and upside down driving action. Car battles are a lot more interesting than dropping banana skins out the back of your car.

Gameplay - 9/10
The object is obvious which is to come first but there is a side challenge of obtaining fans of your driving skills. Unlike most racing games which unlock cars and tracks based on your outcome position in a race, some of these things can be unlocked by doing stunts during jumps and big drifts thrilling the crowd into becoming one of your fans.

I found that the controls take a little getting used to as every button on the DS is used. With a bit of practice this is not an issue. Opponents are taken out in many ways. You can simply spin when they come up beside you, use a super turbo and slam them right off the track or play the car fu mini game which gives you a chance of performing a death from above maneuver.

The cars handled very different depending on which character you play. You have a choice of being fast, have good control or being an all rounder. Drifting was made harder by using a car that was rated as fast therefore having less control.

Graphics - 7/10
The DS is capable of displaying 260,000 colours and I think they have used them all in this game and sometimes on the same screen. Tracks a very detailed and the driving line is often marked in a brighter contrasting colour. Each vehicle is very different from the next in shape, colour and texture. There are no fog or weather effects but other cars can be seen in detail in the distance. The tracks surroundings are very busy with buildings lights and signs. Other details I liked were the car headlights which could be seen on the darker tracks or going through tunnels and spark effects when hitting objects.

Sound - 8/10
Music during the menu's is very inspiring super hero type music. Music during racing cannot really be heard over the revving of the engines, roar of the turbo and banging of the cars against each other and track objects.

Conclusion - 9/10
I really think that this game will be as big as Mario Kart. I was unable to try the Nintendo wireless as this had not been switched on as yet. The fast play action is addictive and the desire to earn fans to get unlockables gives this game real replay value.