What if you could combine Crazy Taxi, a kart-racing game, MySims, a mechanic shop, and then made it all cute? You’d get MySims Racing. And it’s not just a Mario-Kart rip-off. The work that EA games put into this game almost makes me forgive them for making Harry Potter and the Half made DS Game. In this world you’ve just moved into the MySims driving world. The Mayor needs you to help get the town driving again. Rev your engines and let’s race.
Lucky for you, he isn’t your driving instructor.
After a character creation and a starting kart design, you are handed the keys and get choose from Quick Race, Multiplayer, and Story Mode. Quick Race is exactly what it sounds like, you get to choose from tracks you’ve played or beaten, and set the challenge level. Multiplayer is the same, but you get to challenge your buddies. And a wise choice is the choice of Multi-Card, Single Card and Wi-Fi Connection Multiplayer. But as with all MySims games, Story Mode is where you’ll get the most out of the game. The storyline isn’t really directed. You are helping citizens and trying to defeat the malevolent Morcubus. But the Crazy Taxi-esk quest driving for points and racing for free Kart upgrades is a nice new twist to the usual “just go race” kart style.
Hey bunnygirl, Need a lift?
The racetracks and characters are fun and nicely thought out, each with their own unique personality. There are even secret paths in the races. You get a variety of power-ups to attack other players when racing, like planting trees, and soccer balls. Occasionally you’ll get hit by power-ups out of now where. That can get annoying. Besides racing there are stunt tracks that you can challenge the Mayor for upgrades. Imagine a cute car-based skateboard park. When you win races or complete certain tasks for people you get blueprints and points. These can be used at the garage to customized and upgrade your racer.
Pimp my ride!
The controls are pretty standard. You steer with the directional pad. A for gas, B for breaking, X for boosting, and L fires off your power-ups. The car handling is very well done, The R button bunny hops you into drifting, but there is a kind of strange slowing of speed when you over power slide. The controls work well for the game, and aren’t overcomplicated.
I’m raceing against the towns fire departmet?
Graphically, MySims Racing is a lot like the other MySims games. There are a lot of cute and colorful characters and energetic animations. As a 3D racer the game shines, with vivid backgrounds and a strong visual sense of speed. Their 3D engine allows for a lot of little details in both the towns and racetracks. And there is no redraw slowing when things get complicated.
Something tells me I should go…here.
I really appreciate the audio work that was put into this game. The music is fun and that works for the game. They also added little details, such as driving over different terrains produces a different sound. The Sims yell at each other when they get passed or attacked. There are even effects for using power-ups. The voice over work is the usual Sims gibber-jabber, and that kind of gets tedious after a long game session. But it doesn’t directly detract from the game.
Good thing you have subtitles, I don’t speak Sim.
The quests and tasks may seem boring for those who just want to race. However, MySims Racing adds a lot of fun customization .> and additions to the DS racing genre. If you like variety and a nicely done kart-racer, this game is definitely worth breaking for.
