| Introduction
According to Mattel, "somewhere in the world two Hot Wheels cars are sold every second of the day".
Indeed, that is a lot of toy cars, and proves quite convincingly
that the Hot Wheels brand is fantastically popular.
As is the case these days, anything "popular"
inevitably ends up as video game, and thus we have Hot
Wheels - Velocity X, the second Hot Wheels brand racing
game to make an appearance on the GBA. The first game
utilized a clever mix of Mode 7 and static backgrounds
to produce a rather pleasing illusion of 3D. What it
did lack, however, were the incredible stunts that the
track sets is famed for. Hopefully this has been remedied
here...
GamePlay
Velocity X allows you to tackle the Hot Wheels universe
in three different ways - Story Mode, Race Mode
and Challenge, although the latter two aren't fully
available until you've completed the Story section.
The Story section offers a number
of challenges across five themed areas and if you are
successful, will unlock
extra cars, stunts and collectors cards. The challenges
themselves range from a simple race to destroying cars
or even disposing of bombs in the river. None of this
is as easy as it sounds of course, as you will be hindered
by opposition drivers and a timer. Some missions
also require you to perform stunts in order to gain
a pre-determined rating which can be quite tricky especially
when you must also come first in a race.
Race Mode allows you to hurtle around any of the
unlocked areas in order to gain pole position. The nice
thing about this option is that you have the ability
to edit the race as you wish, so you can alter the number
of competitors, laps and even the difficulty setting.
Finally, and best of all, is the Challenge Mode which
is split into Tag or Battle. The Tag section challenges
you to tag all challengers and avoid them tagging you
back for the duration of the game.
Destruction Derby
fans are catered for in the Battle section where the
last car standing is the winner. The password system
is refreshingly simple and is constructed of a mere
seven numbers. This is probably because all it records
is levels completed and bonuses unlocked; it doesn't
even attempt to deal with your remaining lives, etc.
thus avoiding those awful password saves
that often read like arcane computer code.
Controls
As with other Sapphire developed titles, the control
system allows you to choose one of two different driving
options - Beginner and Advance.
In some respects, the
Beginner option is actually more difficult as you have
to hover the D-Pad in the direction you wish the car
to go, so rather than steering it feels like you're
actually pushing your car.
The Advance control is more traditional. Pressing
left or right on the D-pad moves the car accordingly
while pressing 'A' accelerates.
Various weapons and pick up's are activated with the
'R' shoulder button which makes targeting the other cars
simple indeed.
Graphics
While the first game, Burning Rubber, employed a
first person perspective, the developers of Velocity
X have opted instead for an isometric environment. This works
reasonably well, although it does make the visuals seem
rather simplistic and gives it a comic book feel. Another
disappointment is the apparent lack of detail in the
cars, which make them all look the same and rarely resemble
their collectors cards.
Sad to say, the visuals in Velocity X is a far cry from Crawfish
Interactive's Driven, which is the closest example I
can think of to compare it with. In Driven, the animation
was slick and the movement of the
cars were well designed. In Velocity X, however, everything
is just minimal. Although this
title is undoubtedly aimed at younger players, you do
get the feeling that the developers have cut more than
a few corners,
which is unacceptable regardless of the game's intended audience.
Sound & Music
Like the visuals the audio is also minimal, and does
what it's supposed to do and that's all. There's a soundtrack
of course, and although it isn't bad, it won't have
you tapping your feet or donning your headphones.
Sound effects like engine revs, lasers and skidding
are also present, and while they pop up
in the required places they've clearly been used in a very economical
fashion.
Final Comments
While there is a lot to commend in Velocity
X, it's simply not as much fun as the first game. This
could be due to the fact that it's aimed at a much
younger audience, resulting in a driving experience
that's simple and minimal. What's good though are the
various options and gaming modes, which adds some much
needed spice and variety.
Sadly, replay value is minimal (that word again!?),
and once you've conquered the Story Mode
and played the Challenges a few times, there's little
chance that you'll be tempted back. What it does offer, however,
is a GameCube link up feature and if you're lucky enough
to own both a GameCube and the special cable, you'll be able
to play several new cars in both the GBA and GameCube
versions.
Overall, Velocity X is a definite "try before you buy" title
and that's only if you're a Hot Wheels fan to start
with.
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