mysims-frontAt one point during this month I actually got a little bit worried. Why? Because I had not received the latest title from EA’s MySims series. I wondered if PrattP had finally decided to stop sending me games or if EA had finally thrown in the towel and given up, but once again they both managed to prove me wrong.

My thoughts aside, MySims Racing is a kart-racing game that features characters and themes from all of the previous MySims games. EA has divided the game up into three segments, giving the players the choice of story, quick race and multiplayer.

The story mode is where the majority of the game’s content is located. In this particular mode players are on a mission to restore some hick town to its former glory by racing around in a custom made go-kart. Sure, it isn’t the greatest of storylines, but I haven’t seen this kind of idea implemented into a kart-racing game since Diddy Kong Racing on the Nintendo 64. The story mode is supported by a map feature similar to the one in Super Mario World. On this map players guide themselves with the Wii Remote, Game Cube controller, cheese stick or whatever it may be to a destination of their choice. The main locations players can visit are the garages and various race courses, all of which can be accessed by talking to the somewhat child-like MySims characters. The disappointing thing about the story mode is that its objectives become tiresome very quickly. Players will participate in cups, one-on-one races, gate challenges and also retrieve items that certain characters have lost, but, unfortunately, that’s about it. On a positive note, the character and kart customisation outshines some of the past competition (I’m looking at you, Diddy Kong Racing DS) and allows players to be as boring or as creative as they like.

In-game characters need to eat healthy too! Always remember kids, an apple a day keeps the doctor away!

The quick race and multiplayer modes in MySims Racing are pretty straightforward. In quick race, players select a character from one of the previous MySims titles and then they choose a track they wish to race on against the computer opponents. The multiplayer is the exact same experience as quick race, except two to four human players are involved instead of computer controlled opponents. The slightly impressive part of multiplayer is that it allows players who have saved their MySims character and kart data on their Wii Remote to take it around to a friend’s house and use it on their console. Although we’ve seen this feature used by Nintendo many times before, not many third party companies have bothered to utilise this handy feature.

The actual racing in MySims Racing is a mixture of good and bad elements. The good parts of the racing are the boost meter and the controls. The boost meter can be used whenever needed and is regularly refilled by the crystals on each track. The controls are responsive and EA allows every control type to be used in the game, showing they’ve attempted to put some extra effort into this title. However, the bad parts of the racing in this title are that there isn’t enough tracks included, the items are copies of *cough* Mario Kart *cough*, the recovery system absolutely sucks, the drift function barely exists and there is no option to change the computer opponents’ difficulty setting. Sadly the negatives outweigh all the positives about this game, and the worst thing is that the racing is the most important aspect of this title.

I don't even know where to start with this menu. Get out while I still can?

Unfortunately, the music, sound and graphics don’t redeem the game either. The music will no doubt entertain the kiddies, but any sane man/woman will want to shoot themselves after hearing the same MySims Racing music for the 400th time. The sound effects in this title are like the ones from the previous MySims games, which is good because it adds to the theme of the game, but bad because it could possibly mean EA are just being lazy and recycling game sounds. I really couldn’t decide which one it was in the end.

In terms of graphics this game rivals an early Game Cube title, and that’s being nice about things. Although the characters and environments are colourful, the game still looks just as bad as all of the previous MySims titles, which doesn’t help EA’s reputation or the Wii’s image.

MySims Racing is a letdown. The title certainly had potential, but it failed miserably due to its poor in-game mechanics, sound and graphics. Then on top of all this there just isn’t enough tracks to keep players interested. For the ultimate kart-racing experience I recommend you download the VC versions of Mario Kart or rush out now and buy the Wii game if you don’t already own it.

By Liam Doolan

Graphics: D+

Seriously, it is 2009 now. Graphics that rival an early GC title just don’t cut it anymore.

Sound: C

Bearable.

Gameplay: D+

Nothing new here, just some slightly different ideas.

Overall: D+

This game may possibly entertain a bunch of kids, but if you are a veteran gamer it will be hard to overlook its many flaws. As said previously, I recommend either the VC versions of Mario Kart or the Wii version for a racing kart game fix.