Chocobo Racing

$75.94

SKU: 662248999036 Category: Tag:

Description

Brand: Square Enix

Edition: Standard

Details: Amazon.com Combining the action/adventure and racing genres, Chocobo Racing follows in the footsteps of popular “car-toon” titles Crash Team Racing and Mario Kart. While the cutesy bird character Chocobo lacks the mainstream notoriety of Mario or Crash, the kooky creature will likely appeal to fans of the popular Final Fantasy series. Chocobo makes a successful flight from sidekick to star in this quirky racer, which features seven competing cartoon characters including White Mage, Mog, and Golem. All of the racing characters possess special powers and unique tracks designed around their personas. Chocobo Racing contains five challenging racing modes, including grand prix (four-track tournament), time attack, versus (two-player racing), relay race, and story mode. We were particularly intrigued by the story mode, which places Chocobo in an old-fashioned pop-up storybook as he aims to collect several scattered blue crystals. We also liked the high replay value of this game. For example, a racing victory may reward players with the ability to customize a character. Chocobo Racing is far from a sophisticated racer–and, in fact, that is part of the appeal. This is an easy game to learn, so younger players can pick up a controller and play with little trouble. Still, plenty of challenges hide in the detailed tracks, which are filled with time-zapping traps and treacherous curves. –Carrie BellPros:Diverse tracks and charactersWill appeal to fans of Crash Team Racing and Mario KartCons:Weak steering and vehicle controlCartoon theme may not appeal to die-hard racing fansNot compatible with multiplayer adapter, so simultaneous racing is limited to 2 players Product description disk only tested and work Review In an increasingly unwelcome trend, mascot-based racing games seem to be popping up almost as frequently as snowboarding games, and with about as much success. Sure, the original Mario Kart was a enough of a blast that Nintendo decided to make a graphically superior, gameplay-inferior version in MK64. Then came Diddy Kong Racing (boring), Sonic R (OK, but at least it was in full 3D), Rockman Battle & Chase (yawn), Bomberman Fantasy Race (ick), and now, Chocobo Racing for the PlayStation. Apparently, there is no stone that Square is willing to leave unturned, because this game is nothing more than a tired rehash of almost everything that’s come before it. Perhaps encouraged by the Chocobo mini-racing game found in Final Fantasy VII, Square decided to go the full monty by developing a full-on racing game featuring the eponymous Chocobo and his Final Fantasy cohorts (Mog and a slew of monsters and wizards anyone familiar with Final Fantasy will recognize). Nothing like the oft-rumored Chocobo de Battle, Chocobo Racing features a strong lineup of gameplay features that will certainly give gamers fair value. GP mode, story mode, relay mode, time attack, etc. flesh out the available options. You start the game (any mode will do) by picking your character. Then, from a preset list, you must pick a skill (speed burst, angel wings, fireballs, etc.), which you can use in the race when the appropriate meter fills up. During the course of the race, power-ups lie in rows across the track, much like the power-ups found in Mario Kart 64. If you choose not to use them immediately, you can scoop up more than one and carry them in a chain behind you as you race. Other track elements like ice patches will impede your progress should you run across one. While all of this sounds like good clean fun, it should be noted that Chocobo Racing is as boring as it gets. At no point during this game do you really feel compelled to keep racing. You’ve done all this before, and usually you’ve done it better than this. The graphics are a second-generation blend of 3D backgrounds and 2D sprites, and the characters are not nearly as well-animated or good-looking as those in Mario Kart 64. The track suffers from some pretty serious draw-

UPC: 662248999036