Cars 2 Review (PSP)

Based on the Disney/Pixar Cars 2 animated feature film, this game is all about racing cars, using gadgets and training to be a world-class spy. This sounded like perfect child-gaming fodder to me.

With that in mind I handed it to my brother, Marcus and his 6-year old son, Flynn to see what they thought of it.

Flynn’s Review:

There are loads and loads of levels that need unlocking and you play spy games, battle games and racing games. You can choose from lots of different cars like Finn McMissile, Francesco, Mater, Holly and more.

In the races I was quite good and in the battle races you got to shoot bullets. The one with the ramp is a really good one but that’s not a battle race.

Finn McMissile could jump in one of the spy games and he had a turbo engine and fire came out the back and made you go super fast.

I think Cars 2 is awesome, fantastic and brill.

Marcus’s Review:

Flynn was so eager to play this game that he managed to damage the slider button which opens the UMD on his PSP. So there I was at 7:30am on a Saturday morning surfing the net trying to find out how to fix it. Luckily it was a fairly simple fix and we were soon able to get the door open and insert the disc. Once we’d gone through the software update process Flynn was finally able to start playing.

He’s an avid Cars fan so was really pleased with it and loved being able to play as Finn McMissile and also as Francesco, his two favourite characters from Cars 2. He got so engrossed in it that it was difficult to get a review out of him, which says a lot in itself.

One week on and he’s still playing. Reviewing it as an adult you’d comment on the relatively simple graphics and the strange grandstand camera view you seem to be stuck with. The gameplay is fairly basic too but then this game isn’t aimed at adults.

It successfully couples the premise of car racing with the notion of developing spy car skills, although you can still play some more straightforward races. You also win badges for attaining different skills, unlocking levels and characters from the film along the way.

Try to imagine Austin Powers aimed at kids in the guise of an anthropomorphic cartoon car honing their spy skills and you’ve about got it.

Summary:

It’s kept Flynn interested and it is still in the PSP a week later. What more could you ask for?

CARS 2 is out now on PSP, Wii, DS, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.