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[IMG News]

IMG has posted a review of THQ's Cars: The Video Game. Here's a clip from the review:

Borrowing ideas from popular racing titles like Crazy Taxi and Need For Speed, Cars is a cartoonish-looking, sandbox-style racing game targeted to the six-and-up crowd who can’t get enough of the movie by the same name. This objective is not easy to achieve, judging by the dubious titles of yesteryear. Something about the idea of making a fun game, without patronizing or frustrating the younger generation is a surprisingly difficult task, but interestingly, Cars avoids both pitfalls—not only does Cars feature a boatload of fun racing action, but it does so in the context of a fun and captivating storyline that may even appeal to older teenagers and parents.

To check out the entire review, please follow the link below.

Return to Full Article - InsideMacGames News

[Janichsan]

"During the last few years, a disturbing new category of games has been inching its way into the world of mainstream video gaming..." refering to licensed games?

Man, Bryan. You haven't been around very long, have you? Mediocre games to movie licenses pester the market as long as 1984...

[Eric5h5]

Heh, I was going to say something like that.  Licensed games have always been "let's make some quick bucks" crud, and will always be so.  Well, maybe not always...Aliens on the C64 way back when was actually fairly decent.  (Also I make an exception for various Star Wars games, but that seems like a separate category.  The vector graphics arcade game was pretty good though....)

--Eric

[Quicksilver]

Well, I must bow to Janichsan, who (apparently) was playing games the year I was born.  While it's true that there have always been quick "get rich" schemes on the part of developers, it seems that the number of licensed games has exploded in the last few years.  Perhaps this trend is due to the fact that it's easier to find studios looking for work (now that gaming is becoming bigger and bigger), but that analysis should be saved for another article.  Any takers?  

[Batcat]

Not here, but as one of IMG's Elders , I can both confirm the long-running history of tie-ins, and my impression of a recent large upswing in them. You practically can't go down a games aisle at a mass-market outlet like Wal-Mart without tripping over the various movie (and even TV) tie-in games; it seems second as a category only to the 'Tycoon' genre (anyone for a rousing game of Prison Tycoon 2: Maximum Security? )

'Synergy'... fear it.

[Janichsan]

Quote

Well, I must bow to Janichsan, who (apparently) was playing games the year I was born.

Well, being 32 has some... advantages.

I think it's true that the absolute number of licensed games is in fact increasing, but not necessarily in percentage of the overall released titles.

I guess it's more or less due to the general growth of the gaming market.

[StopDropBurn]

Mediocre isn't the word for it, "crap" is about right.

[Janichsan]

Askilfeasd, on September 12th 2006, 03:50 PM, said:

Mediocre isn't the word for it, "crap" is about right.

Naa, I wouldn't go so far to call each and every movie tie-in "crap". There a some pretty decent ones, like the LotR-action RPGs for GBA, some ancient Disney jump'n'runs based on Aladdin and The Lion King and especially "The Terminator".

That's a 3D shooter, released in 1991 or so, where you could play either Reese and protect Sarah Connor or the Terminator and snuff her. What made this so fun was that you could move around freely in the town, steal cars and weapons, rob banks and stores, terminate every cop you met, and so on. With modern terms you could call this a first-person-shootery sandbox game. It's a pity hardly anyone knows this.

[Batcat]

Janichsan, on September 14th 2006, 01:41 AM, said:

...and especially "The Terminator".

That's a 3D shooter, released in 1991 or so, where you could play either Reese and protect Sarah Connor or the Terminator and snuff her. What made this so fun was that you could move around freely in the town, steal cars and weapons, rob banks and stores, terminate every cop you met, and so on. With modern terms you could call this a first-person-shootery sandbox game. It's a pity hardly anyone knows this.

It's the first thing to come to my mind, but I'm probably an exception. I did nearly mention it.

I recall it advertised in print media for MS-DOS, tho. Did it get to other platforms?

Are you hiding something?

[Janichsan]

Batcat, on September 14th 2006, 11:18 AM, said:

I recall it advertised in print media for MS-DOS, tho. Did it get to other platforms?

Are you hiding something?

Unluckily, no. I played it on a friend's IBM-PC that time. I, personally, was a proud Amiga owner these days.

But, coming to think of it, it would probably run great in the DosBox... hmmm...