Pap the
Disney Gamer's Highlights: Disney and Pixar's Cars:
The Video Game
System:
PlayStation 2,
GameCube,
Xbox,
Xbox 360,
Wii, DS,
Game Boy Advance,, PC
Developed by: Rainbow
Studios, Pacific
Disney and
Pixar's Cars was released in the
summer of 2006. Inspired by a
summer trip
John Lasseter took with
his family around the country,
Cars told the story of Lightning
McQueen, a confident racing car
who wishes to win the Piston Cup
more than anything. After an
incident which lands him in the
town of Radiator Springs,
Lightning realizes that there is
more to life than just racing,
that there is beauty waiting to
be explored and plenty of
friends to make. Despite
receiving mixed reactions from
fans and
film critics, Cars was a
very successful film, creating a
strong franchise for Disney and
Pixar. Soon, Disney and
Pixar would create short films
based on the universe in the
form of Cars Toons, release toys and merchandise, a
sequel will be released later
this year, and Disney California
Adventure will receive a section based
on the movie. Of course, a video
game adaptation soon followed.

Released at the
same time as the movie, Cars:
The Video Game is actually a
continuation of the film's
storyline. In it, you will play
as Lightning McQueen, as well as
other characters from the movie.
The title is a mix between
racing and exploration as you
drive around Radiator Springs,
meeting old and new friends
(such as Mater's cousin),
accepting missions and
completing racing challenges.
The first time I played it I was
surprised by how polished it
was.
Movie tie-in games are
notorious for being rushed and
poorly developed just to cash in
on the hype of the movie. Cars:
The Video Game isn't a perfect
game, but it is a really solid
representation of the Cars
universe.

The design of
Radiator Springs is just like in
the movie. All of the locales,
like Luigi's Tire Shop and
Mater's place, can be visited
and explored. The characters
look and animate just like they
did in the movie, and while the
plot may be original it does
feel like a genuine Cars story.
Heck, you can crash onto the
other characters and hear then
scream and complain! Very mean
spirited, I know, but it is
amazing that the development
team went as far as to include
character reactions to your
actions. In other words, people
that want to be in Radiator
Springs can do so with this
game.

And the game play
ain't half bad, either! Cars: The
Video Game is primarily a
racing game, though you
will partake in missions such as
collecting postcards for Lizzie
and going tractor tipping with
Mater. Speaking of which, you
can play as the rest of the
cast, such as the Sheriff, Sarge,
Flo and, of course, Mater. Each
character has his or her own
stats, and will handle
differently according to their
car model and design. Finally,
you can participate in the famed
Piston Cup and finally obtain
the desired trophy.

Driving controls
are a little bit loose, but
handles well enough. On the Wii
version you use the controller
as a
steering wheel, and the
Xbox 360 version has online
play. All versions feature the
basic gameplay (save for the
handheld versions since due to
limitations not every aspect
will be presented), so whichever
version you go , you will be
obtaining the same, solid
gameplay.

Cars: The Video
Game was so successful that many
more games were released even
after the movie left theaters:
Cars Mater-National,
Cars: Race-O-Rama and Cars:
Mater's
Tall Tales, based on the
short films starring the beloved
tow truck. All followed the
basic concept of the first game,
so they were fun and very
accessible for gamers and fans of
the movie. This is a rarity in
the licensed
game world as usually
once the game is released they
don't go back to the license,
unless the license is very
successful beyond its original
release.

That isn't
surprising as Cars:
The Video Game was a very
solid game that created a
believable game universe with
some very lovable characters and
gameplay that anyone can enjoy.
You can bet I will be paying
attention when the game based on
Cars 2 later this year.