Pap the Disney Gamer's Highlights: Disney Super Speedway

Developed by: Disney Digital Media Team

System: Browser, Apple iOS systems

Disney and racing has always shared a great deal of harmony for many, many years. At the parks people can race other on Tomorrowland's tracks, WDW guests can test the latest car models on Test Track, while at Disneyland they can go through the world of Pixar's Cars in Radiator Springs Racers. Even films like The Love Bug and Wreck-It Ralph feature racing segments extensively. Disney video games are no exception as Mickey and the gang have raced through the United States of America in Mickey's Speedway USA, while the very first game ever covered here on Gamer Tuesday was a racing game all about Walt Disney World! Today's article continues the Disney racing tradition, while also making it the first time a browser and Apple iOS game has been featured here on Gamer Tuesday: Disney's Super Speedway!

Whereas past Disney racing games relied on the timeless legacy of the classic Disney characters and films, Disney Super Speedway is a game fueled by the current mass appeal of today's modern day characters, specifically those that appear on the Disney Channel and sister channel Disney XD. The massively popular characters from Phineas and Ferb headline the game, along with locales and characters from Fish Hooks, Kick Buttowski, Gravity Falls, Motorcity, and Randy Cunningham: 9^th Grade Ninja. The likeability of these characters really depends on your enjoyability of these modern day shows, but it does serve for a racing roster that is unique and varied.

Like many other kart racing games, Disney Super Speedway borrows a lot from the Mario Kart formula, specifically its cup and tournament presentation. There are three cups of varying degrees of difficult, each featuring three race tracks for a total of nine tracks, all locales pulled directly from the shows featured here. In terms of characters, you only start out with three: Phineas, Milo, and Kick. As you progress, win races and earn coins, you can buy the rest of the cast. And it wouldn't be a kart racer without weapons and power ups! Each one has also been suited to fit the personality of the character. As it has become a tradition in modern day gaming, players can also unlock different achievements as they complete various requirements throughout the game. In total there are 38 achievements to obtain.

As has been stated at the start of this article, Disney Super Speedway can be played as a browser game at the Disney XD site, but unfortunately it won't allow you to save the progress. The Apple iOS version, however, features a fuller gameplay experience that not only lets you save your progress, it allows you to buy in-game tokens that help you unlock characters and other features. The sound and graphical fidelity is also much higher when played on an iPad. So the best way to see it is that the browser version serves a demo of the game that introduces players to the basics before they are ready to get into the full game.

The main drawback is that it being an iPad/browser game, it isn't as robust as a standard console/handheld racing game. But it does allow for a fun diversion if you are really invested in the recent Disney TV animated series output. It certainly will be a great chance to see the Perry the Platypus race against Kick Buttowski in the Fish Hooks world!