Chrysler Classic Racing (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

DSi Games are well known in the budget game industry, releasing titles across a wide range of genres for those wanting to game but are having to do so one a budget. And so they return to have another turn at the racing genre, after the appalling effort that was Jeep Thrills, but this time they've opted to forgo creating a viable racing title and instead leave only a commercial voice through which Chrysler can show their work.

Gameplay

The game starts you off by letting you select from 4 premade caricatures, all designed to look like your stereotypical 'nerd'. Once you've done that you are faced with a going through either the story mode or playing in the Re-race mode, where you'll race on the tracks you've qualified for in the story mode but with the option of playing with a friend. The story mode has you trying to impress members of the Street King racing team who your caricature sees racing through the streets. What follows is your typical 'lets-try-and-be-like-them' routine as your character decides he should give the racing a go and so you buy your first car, which just so happens to be a classic Chrysler like all of the cars in the game. The game then has you participate in a series of races before hitting you with one of three interludes that break up the gameplay. These interludes are the Be my Baby, Gauntlet and King challenge where each will have you collecting a set number of teddy bears in a top down view, racing against your rivals for cash and cool points or racing against members of the Kings racing team to impress them, respectively. These add very little to the already shallow gameplay and detract from what is supposed to be a racing experience.

It would be nice to say that the racing at least makes up for the poor interludes that occur during the story mode but it doesn't. The game gives no sense of speed what so ever, even when using the boost power your car has. Racing titles are made or broken based on their ability to generate the thrill of racing at high speeds but this feels more like a lawnmower race because everything is happening so slowly. Tracks are littered with many items, such as money for use in buying ne w vehicles and repair kits for repairing your damaged car, but don't help improve the racing experience. To cap it all off, the AI seems to have been developed rather poorly, with one racer shooting off in front and being virtually uncatchable for the entirety of the race while you're left to physically brawl it out with the other 4 racers for a finishing place. This isn't a racing experience. It's a travesty of game design leaving you feeling downbeat and generally frustrated at how one sided the game is.

Controls

Luckily for gamers, DSi Games have forgone the motion steering found in their other racing titles and have stuck to the use of the analogue stick for steering, at least as the default setting as the motion controls are still in there. Yet, while it still doesn't provide anywhere near the depth of control necessary for a racing title, it's still much better than it would have been with motion controlled steering. What you get in terms of controls is half decent, although you'll feel like you're driving a tank with how unresponsive the cars react to your directions. The controls and the cars just feel heavy and you'll consistently find yourself driving into the barriers or the other cars. Acceleration, braking and boosting and done with the A, B and C buttons respectfully: a typical layout to the controls really.

Graphics

Car models look good and it seems that DSi Games has car modelling nailed down. Unfortunately, like most of the title's graphics, they don't look realistic and are instead plastered with a cartoony look that is completely unnecessary and detracts from what were some of the most beautiful cars of their time. The caricatures are wholly unnecessary yet fit in well with the design direction that DSi have taken. The tracks themselves don't look overly bad, showing a decent amount of variation in their locales, and show a distinct 50's look, fitting in with the cars on offer. Yet, they feel completely devoid of life when driving around them and even through there are 6 cars on tracks, yours included, you'll be wondering where everyone is and why there are no supporters out on the streets to cheer you on, although the likely reason is that they've been drafted to a better title.

Sound

The music accompanying the title has a slight Southern twang to it and mixing it with a collection of sounds supposedly representative of the time which the game is trying to capture seems strange as it just doesn't fit. While the racing isn't fast paced, there is still a tension visible in the way you have the fight off the competition and the music in no way conveys it. It's perfect, perhaps at least, for a Sunday drive where you wish to get rid of tension and just enjoy oneself but not here.

Final comments

DSi Games have, and will continue to, taken another stab at the racing genre and still continue to provide mixed results. Their design work on the vehicles is, like their other titles, of a good standard but everything else falls far short of even what a budget title should provide. While a budget title isn't going to compete with the Gran Turismos and Project Gotham Racings of the world, it should at least be able to provide a replicable experience mirroring that of what its real life counterpart would provide. But it does. Poor graphics, bad music choice, and unresponsive controls do not make a good racing title. Saying that, at least it's better than their other effort Jeep Thrills, although I still wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

Pro: Car models look good, if unnecessarily cartoony...
Con: Everything else just falls short of providing a half decent racing experience
Final score: 4

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