Speed Racer: The Videogame

Speed Racer: The Videogame
Cover art
Developer(s)	Sidhe Interactive Virtuos (Nintendo DS)
Publisher(s)	WB Games
Producer(s)	Andy Satterhwaite Dean Hall Jeff Nachbaur
Composer(s)	Winifred Phillips
Platform(s)	Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2
Release	Wii'Nintendo DS'PlayStation 2
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer

Speed Racer: The Videogame is a racing video game developed by Sidhe Interactive for the PlayStation 2 and Wii consoles and by Virtuos for the Nintendo DS, and published by WB Games. It is a tie-in to the 2008 film adaptation of the same name. The actors from the movie reprise their role on the video game counterpart. The Wii and Nintendo DS versions of the game were released on May 6, 2008, while the PlayStation 2 version was released on September 16, 2008, alongside the DVD release.

Gameplay

The game is a racing game in the vein of the F-Zero series, including tracks full of odd twists, turns and loops impossible by realistic standards, set in five vibrant, exotic locations. The goal of the game is not only to win first place in each race, but also to have the most points by the end of the cup to win the competition. Points can be earned by placing high during races, but also by performing stunts and, most commonly, bashing into and destroying other racers with the use of car acrobatics, called "car-fu" in the game. Driving well (i.e., not hitting walls, avoiding other drivers) rewards the player with a boost. Four boosts may be collected this way, and if all four boosts are used at once, the car enters a "speed zone" in which the players travels more than twice as fast as their regular top speed, and any cars hit by players in this state are significantly damaged and/or destroyed. Boosts may alternatively be used to repair the car by refilling the health meter. A full boost will repair half of the health meter, while a partially filled boost meter will only repair a smaller amount of the meter. The player can distinguish the vehicle's health by the gauge, but also the colour of the jet at the rear of the vehicle: if it is bluish-white, the car is fine; if it is red and smoking, it is severely damaged; if the camera suddenly starts to zoom out, the car is going to explode. If this happens, the player must quickly repair their car, or else it will explode. If the player's car explodes, the player will re-spawn nearby; however, the brief delay between the car exploding and re-spawning allows other racers to pass the player.

Each version of the game has its own unique control method. The PS2 version uses a standard control setup, where the buttons are used for driving and attacking, while the DS uses the stylus in conjunction with the touchscreen. The Wii version can be controlled by holding the Wii Remote sideways, and also with the Wii Wheel peripheral, and is controlled by a combination of button input and motion controls, such as waving the Wii Remote to the left or right to make the vehicle quickly slide in that direction.

There are a total of 20 selectable characters from the film in the game, each with their own unique vehicle. Each character also has a specific rival, whom, should the player destroy or finish the race before, award bonus points. For example, Speed Racer's rival is Jack "Cannonball" Taylor. In certain gameplay modes, players can enter alliances with other racers, who will attempt to interfere with the player's rival. Performing "car-fu" on allies will penalize the player, however. Each character's car has different stats, of which there are 4 in total:

• Speed: Speed is the maximum speed their car can reach. A car with high speed can travel very fast; likewise, a car with low speed cannot travel very fast.
• Acceleration: Acceleration is how fast a car reaches its top speed. A car with high acceleration can reach its top speed very quickly; likewise, a car with very low acceleration will take longer to reach its top speed.
• Handling: Handling is how easy a car is to control, especially at high speeds. A car with high handling can be controlled with little to no difficulty; likewise, a car with low handling will require more effort from the player to control.
• Strength: Strength is how much damage a car can inflict on opponents. A car with high strength can inflict high amounts of damage on opponents; likewise, a car with low strength can inflict very little on opponents.

Characters

The characters from the film are as follows:

• Speed Racer
• Racer X
• Jack "Cannonball" Taylor
• Rosey Blaze
• Snake Oiler
• Grey Ghost
• Taejo Togokahn
• Sonic "Boom Boom" Renaldi
• Prince Kabala
• Kellie "Gearbox" Kalinkov
• Nitro Venderhoss
• Booster Mbube
• Pitter Pat
• Gothorm Danneskjold
• Delila
• Colonel Colon
• Mariana Zanja
• Denise Mobile
• Esther "Rev" Reddy
• Trixie

Events

There are six different events with three different tracks: a short one; a medium one; a long one. All three tracks can be raced clockwise or counter-clockwise, adding up to a total of 36 tracks. Each event has a different theme:

• Thunderhead: Thunderhead is a typical racing stadium with neon lights.
• Grand Prix: Grand Prix is also a typical racing stadium, like Thunderhead, albeit featuring more jumping ramps.
• Onuris: Onuris is an Egyptian-themed event featuring a sphinx*.
• Fuji: Fuji is a tropical island-themed event featuring a volcano*.
• Aurora: Aurora is an arctic-themed event.
• Skrosti: Skrosti is a PS2 exclusive event set in Russia.

* Not featured in the short tracks.

Race events

• Race
• Time Trial
• Championship

Voice Cast

• Emile Hirsch - Speed Racer
• Matthew Fox - Racer X
• Christina Ricci - Trixie
• E.G. Daily - Rosey Blaze
• Phil LaMarr - Snake Oiler
• Grey DeLisle - Esther 'Rev' Reddy
• Tia Texada - Denise Mobile
• James Arnold Taylor - Jack 'Cannonball' Taylor, Colonel Colon
• Debra Wilson - Booster Mbube
• Fred Tatasciore - Nitro Venderhoss
• Nicholas Guest - Gothorm Danneskjold
• Ron Yuan - Kakoii Teppodama
• Benjamin Diskin - Taejo Togokahn
• David Boat - Sonic 'Boom Boom' Renaldi
• Charity James - Sam 'Lightning' Storm
• Julie Nathanson - Kellie 'Gearbox' Kalinkov
• Julianne Buescher - Mariana Zanja
• Darryl Kurylo - Pitter Pat, Prince Kabala

Critical reception

The Wii version received an average score of 68% based on 7 reviews on the review aggregator Game Rankings, and an average score of 69 out of 100 based on 6 reviews on Metacritic — indicating mixed or average reviews.

The Nintendo DS version received an average score of 78% based on 2 reviews on the review aggregator Game Rankings and an average score of 75% based on 12 reviews on Metacritic.

Soundtrack

The original musical soundtrack of the Speed Racer video game was composed by Winifred Phillips and produced by Winnie Waldron. It has received positive reviews. Reviewer Sam Bishop of IGN wrote, "The music in the game happily bounces back and forth from vaguely tribal, ambient tracks to more driving, aggressive sounding electronica loops."

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Opening Cinema"	2:36
2.	"Zoom"	4:31
3.	"Thunderhead"	2:33
4.	"Onuris"	2:34
5.	"Chick-Chick-Chick-Ah!"	4:38
6.	"Fuji Helexicon"	2:35
7.	"Rev it Up"	4:34
8.	"Aurora Cryopticon"	2:34
9.	"Move It"	4:34
10.	"Cosmopolis Grand Prix"	2:32
11.	"Under the Hood"	4:36
12.	"End Credits"	3:39

External links

• Speed Racer: The Videogame at IMDb