Based on Disney/Pixar's film of the same name, Cars happens to be a pretty good game. It captures the spirit of the film in its visuals and tone, there aren't any glaring technical issues, and it has thoughtful touches that make it an okay game to play. There are straightforward races, mini-games, and an easygoing story to follow. You can choose a Full-Size or Compact version of the story, with Compact offering a shorter and more forgiving experience geared towards younger gamers, or you can do the same activities with another player in Arcade mode. Even though the game is aimed at a younger audience, anyone interested in the movie will probably have a good time with it.

If you want to get to the good stuff, it's a good idea to dive right into the story mode. After an easy introductory race which turns out to be a dream, you're free to drive around Radiator Springs as the sporty, red Lightning McQueen, chatting up fellow talking automobiles and looking for events to enter and mini-games to play. The game gets off to a slow and simple start that might put off experienced gamers, but the gentle learning curve gradually ramps up, and you'll find yourself driving backwards, using turbo-boosts, leaning into corners, and having a bit of fun.


Being able to cruise freely around Radiator Springs on Route 66 reflects the popular open-ended structures of some of today's most successful console games, but you won't exactly feel like you're in the movie. Not much is going on until you drive into a cutscene. You can't really strike up a conversation with fellow cars, so you'll have to get your kicks ramming into them and driving around town randomly collecting bonus points. You'll occasionally get weird moments where you pass the same character on the road twice in the space of ten seconds. It can be fun to fool around for a while, but it's also pretty easy to get disoriented, and finding the event you're supposed to hit to get on with the story can be a bit annoying.

When you do happen onto a bulls-eye, you're able to transport yourself to an event. Short dialogue scenes before the action do a bit to lay down some personality and humor. It's not movie-quality stuff exactly, but there are a few lines that could be worth a chuckle. The most common events are Road Races, which have you running a set number of laps against a few opponents and trying to come out on top. From time to time you'll break for a mini-game. There are a few dull collection errands that make you look for postcards or hubcaps on the ground, though others mini-games are slightly more interesting. Sneaking around to tip over tractors is at least different, and chasing down speeders as Sheriff (a cop car, logically) or staging a highway heist as the bad cars on the other side of the law is a nice break from simply running races.