At some point, the concept of a “game based on a film” disappeared from everyday life, and now premieres in cinemas are no longer accompanied by the appearance of projects of the same name on PC and consoles. If previously publishers wanted to quickly and easily make money on games about Harry Potter or superheroes, now they either do nothing or offer shareware crafts for mobile devices. But Warner Bros. decided to remember the long tradition and released it on consoles Cars 3: Driven to Win almost at the same time as the release of the cartoon "Cars 3".
There is no story mode as such in the game. Instead, they added a “Hall of Fame” with 136 challenges, for completing which new modes, tracks and characters are gradually unlocked. This includes access to the so-called “Master Level Races”, where Lightning McQueen (although you can take any hero) competes one-on-one with the strongest opponents. First it’s Miss Tiny, then the Grand Master and Chico Hicks, and it all ends with a race against Jackson Storm. Defeating him and watching the final video can be considered the completion of the passage, although even after that there is a lot of work left to do.
Thanks to the way the progression system is designed, interest in the game does not disappear. Initially, you can only start regular races, where over the course of three laps you try to gain the lead in the fight against seven opponents. Then a combat race opens — the same thing, but a variety of weapons are scattered along the track, from missiles to mines and barrels of fuel. All this is also available in knockout races, only there no one fights for first place, since it is necessary to destroy exploding cards as quickly as possible. Well, after a detailed study of all the tracks, you can try the “Best Lap” test and set records there.
Another mode is called “Dashing Ride” and requires performing tricks at every opportunity. Due to the fact that the trampolines are placed after each turn, and all the cars can jump after pressing the X button, this is not difficult to do. It is enough to move the right stick on the gamepad in any direction when the car is in the air, and also release it in time and land successfully. To earn the most points, just jumping and spinning is not enough — it is advisable to also ride on two wheels or backwards.
Although this is true for https://royal-valley-casino.co.uk/ all modes, since these actions fill the turbo scale located at the bottom of the screen. Understanding how to use it correctly turns out to be very important for winning gold medals. And thanks to this feature, you never get bored during the races, even if at first glance the laps seem drawn out. The tracks are full of shortcuts (which your opponents also take advantage of, so you can spot them quickly), there are always drift zones where the nitrous system fills up much faster, and there are also small hills for performing tricks.
Races take place in two dozen locations, including on the beach, in the canyon, in the mines of Thomasville, on the Radiator Springs Speedway — and all of them are unique in their own way. Appropriate music sounds at the ranch and corn crops fly by every now and then. Driving through the outback of Thunder Gully, you find yourself on another ring track, where completely different cars are competing, and you try not to crash into them. And in the mines you encounter bulldozers working non-stop, periodically getting in the way. There are also a lot of characters, but they are no different from each other at all — be it Lightning McQueen, Mater, Natalie Digest, Mack or Doctor Rattle, on the road they behave absolutely the same. Perhaps for a younger audience this will only be a plus — you can take whoever you want and not worry about any extra parameters.
For the whole family
And children from Cars 3 They will certainly have a lot of fun, since in all races you can set the difficulty level to a low level and not worry about strong opponents. In some cases, opponents may even slow down before the finish line to allow the player to win. If such “cheating” is not to your liking, medium difficulty is available, where everyone, without exception, more or less tries. Well, at high levels the game turns almost into WipEout — you need to use almost all the opportunities on the track, earn as much nitro as possible, do tricks and drive backwards, otherwise your enemies will overtake you in three counts.
It’s not limited to racing alone — in the third "Cars" there is the so-called "Thomasville Playground". This is a spacious location where the selected car drives alone and can look for all sorts of challenges: either in a certain time you will have to burst as many balls as possible, or you need to grab the cannonball and throw it into boxes, earning medals for excellent results. There are also missions that can only be started if you have at least one partner (local co-op for four players is supported). There is no online here at all, except that Share Play can be launched on PS4.
And this is one of the main disadvantages Cars 3 — multiplayer was not added to any mode. Whatever one may say, riding around the site with friends or participating together in regular races or championships is much more fun. The game is bright and colorful, the animators tried to give each character their own characteristics, the ride is not boring. But still, in all races you have to meet only computer opponents, if you have no one to race with on the same screen. The logic of the developers is easy to understand — no one can guarantee that after a couple of months online will be popular. But it was still possible to try and offer at least one mode.
But also alone from Cars 3 It’s hard to put down, even though this is the notorious “game based on a movie”. She’s certainly not beautiful Mario Kart 8 (if there is a console Nintendo, it’s better to pay attention to it), but it’s still a fun arcade ride with a clear and simple progression system. You can get many of the 136 challenges mentioned above just like that, without thinking about it — by the time I tried all the modes, I had already received about seventy medals. After that, the grind began on some of the easier tasks, like riding on two wheels for twenty minutes to earn nine dozen medals and defeat the final “boss.”. But you have to skip the tests that require local co-op, but even without them you will be able to open all the heroes and all modes with tracks.
The only thing that really annoys me during the races is the acting: they didn’t invite actors who voiced the cartoon. It’s hard to say how many actors gave voices to two dozen characters, but some of them deliver lines so boringly that all the fun from racing instantly disappears. In addition, they do not stop commenting on their every action, which is why over time the phrases begin to repeat themselves and become boring. Wrecked cars complain about their age and are surprised at successfully performed stunts; Lightning McQueen sarcastically greets his opponents trailing behind him while driving backwards. At first the remarks are amusing, but listening to them for the tenth, hundredth, thousandth time is painful.
Find other flaws Cars 3: Driven to Win it’s difficult, and I don’t even want to — the developers clearly tried to make a worthy project that brings pleasure regardless of watching the cartoon. You can complain about the graphics (the game was also released on last generation consoles and even Wii U), but for modern platforms it was still embellished with better textures. Of course, it’s hardly worth purchasing the game at full price, but you probably won’t regret buying it at a discount, especially if someone in the family is a Cars fan and you can have fun with him in local co-op.
Pros: a large number of modes, tracks and characters; exciting races; the perfectly conveyed atmosphere of the “Piston Cup”; local co-op support.
Cons: lack of multiplayer; some actors were very bored voicing characters; characters often repeat the same phrases.