A solid racing game, most fun for those who can play it in online multiplayer mode. For the price it's worth checking out.

With hundreds of racing games out there, it is tough to make one that really sticks out. RC Cars unfortunately just does not have enough originality to stand out among similar titles. While it is fun to play, fans of the genre will find few reasons to sing its praises.

With ten different tracks, and three different types of cars, there is enough in RC Cars for a lot of gameplay time. The tracks and cars look very nice, and are very detailed. Tracks are so different in nature that no two will feel similar. With places like the beach or a mine, the environments look awesome and interesting to maneuver about.

There are two 1-player modes: championship mode and a practice mode.

In the former, players must rack up points in the specific course to buy new parts for the car as well as unlocking new courses. Championship mode will keep players busy for quite some time, mostly because there are ten courses, which get increasingly more difficult by way of the AI characters as well as the course’s overall route.

The controls are also easy to get used to, and function well. They are the standard controls for a racing game: accelerate, decelerate, jump, and turbo.

Anyone who has played any Micro Machines or Hot Wheels game will notice an immediate likeness in controls with regard to the size of the car and the environments. Since the cars in RC Cars are evidently smaller than ordinary cars, the perception can take some getting used to for anyone who has not played such a game.

There is a 2-player split-screen mode as well as an online mode. These modes add to the replayability of the game, but offer little in terms of new gameplay. It would have been nice to see some exclusive multiplayer modes, as there are in many racing games.

On the topic of different modes, there could have been some more for the 1-player game as well. There is a ghost mode, in which players race against ghosts of themselves, to try and better their records. Other than new courses and car upgrades, there is nothing to unlock.

New car types would have been useful, as well as a different multiplayer mode. Again, RC Cars is fine in this category – it just does not go above and beyond the call of duty.

As far as sound is concerned, RC Cars is neither great nor terrible. Some of the songs, which differ by course, are catchy, some are repetitive, and some are just plain forgetful. The sound effects of the car engines and environmental interaction are well done, but nothing amazing to report here.

In short, RC Cars is a solid racing game, and most fun for those who can play it with online multiplayer. Players who will only be playing by themselves will get a kick out of it for a while, but will get bored before too long. With a reasonable price tag, it’s worth it to check out. Those who have played similar games, however, will find nothing worthwhile here.


Review by Mark Raby.