Cars

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Game Information
Name: Disney Pixar: Cars
Genre: Racing, Adventure
Release Date: June 6, 2006
Developers: Rainbow Studios
Publishers: THQ
Age rating: 3+
Modes: Single-player, Multi-player
Console(s):


Synopsis
Race to the finish line as you live all the fun and excitement of the Walt Disney Pictures presentation of a Pixar Animation Studios film, "Cars."

Plot
This game loosely follows the plot of the movie and mainly consists of time spent in the small, forgotten town of Radiator Springs. The game starts with Lighting McQueen racing, and winning the Piston cup, however this is only a dream. He then competes in races around the town to become a better racer and which allows him to compete in different track races to work his way up to the Piston cup. After Lightening wins several races, Chick who lost to him, hires some crooks to jeopardise Lightening McQueens chances of winning, however, McQueen manages to bring the crooks to justice and continue racing as he should. In the end, Lightening McQueen wins to Piston Cup, just like in the movie and after a short cut scene, the game ends.

Gameplay
Cars is an open world game where the player can explore the environment and partake in different challenges, mini-games and races at his own leisure. Different levels of the game are set at different difficulty levels depending on the original difficultly setting selected at the beginning of the game. Single-player allows the player to play through Lightening McQueens story which follows the plot and eventually win the Piston Cup. During the single-player story the player can play mini-games, complete challenges to unlock new features and of course, race different characters. Challenges can consist of collecting envelopes over the whole time period of the game or simply collecting a set number of items in a set period of time. Multi-player allows the player to race other humans on-line as well as racing a friend using the split-screen feature. Both races and mini-games can be competed in by more than one player. Racing features include power-sliding, jumping, and driving backward which can be done to earn points and complete specific races.

Graphics
Since this game was released in 2006 the graphics are definitely not up to par with modern expectations, but seven years ago, these animated graphics looked very clean and smooth to most gamers. The graphics were by no means exceptional but they were good enough for an open-world childrens game. It is worth noting that the colours are very bright and have a high contrast which can tiring on the eyes. Overall there are no problems with the graphics and the game runs fine.



Controls
The controls are very simple to pick up and are designed for young children to play the game without any additional help needed. The controls are very similar to most racing games and even tricks like driving backwards and boosting are easy enough for most gamers to enjoy. Overall the controls are extremely useful which is very good considering the game is designed for children and young teens.

Ratings (Personal)
Plot: 7/10
Game play: 7/10
Graphics: 7/10
Controls: 8/10
Overall: 7/10