RC Cars is a fast and fun arcade style romp through insane tracks and features very realistic car physics. As long as you don’t expect too much of it, RC Cars will treat you very well, with an assortment of tracks, vehicles and online play modes. This is not Gran Turismo, so those looking for a detailed car simulator should look elsewhere. RC Cars is about the simple, down and dirty fun of playing with remote controlled racing cars. Whiptail has delivered yet another game that emphasizes gameplay over flashy visuals and frenzied action over slow boring circular track racing (Nascar, snore). This is a great product and it should be experienced by any racing fan looking for a good time.

 

RC Cars is all about the gameplay and from the very first menu, it will become shockingly clear. While the game may seem barebones at first, RC Cars features many interactive tracks and vehicles. The track design featured in this game is quite appealing and less conventional than most racing games. Filled with obstacles, pedestrians and birds, the courses are very fun to ride through as you try to reach the goal. The computer AI featured in RC Cars is very intelligent, especially for this type of game, where most of the time the computer would simply drive in a circle. While they do sometimes fall into the Nascar syndrome, for the most part they are aware. When you push ahead in the race you may learn to regret it as things become heated. RC Cars controls loose and insane, which is exactly how the real things would, so don’t expect to have a completely tight dominance over the track all the time, because these cars can pull fast ones on you. Crashes and turning are very faithful to the real remote cars as well. You will often flip out if you make a wrong move, which are often times hilarious to watch. The course obstacles don’t have too much of an effect on the gameplay but oftentimes, they are interesting diversions, like the sometimes agitated pedestrians and seagulls. You start out the game with practically nothing so don’t expect to have the best car in the beginning. This requirement to collect things helps lengthen the game and gives you a sense of pride when you are finally able to unlock something. As for the online play, I was only in a few matches due to the relatively low amount of people online at the time of this review, but from what I did play, the online game played smooth and fast with only a few instances of lag. The game wont take anyone that long to beat, but the challenge of getting better times is always a treat, so that may lengthen the game for some. All that matter is that this game was fun. I have rarely had so much fun with a racing game, and the gameplay is what truly drives RC Cars past the finish line.

 

Visually, RC Cars doesn’t do anything spectacular and it wont tax your hardware, so it’s a double edged sword for those who want a fast game, but also want it to look amazing. RC Cars is good enough looking for what it tried to convey, and that was an emphasis on speed and gameplay. The tracks and environments are very detailed and colorful with the only poor texture work being in the sometimes bland water effects. The RC Car models are amazing and are the true star of the graphics. They are highly detailed, they shine and they represent the most realistic depictions of real RC Cars to date, and that is highly commendable. In the audio department, it’s pretty much the same. The music tracks are nothing too extravagant, but they aren’t bad either. The tracks fit each track’s theme perfectly and make up for the poor lack of environmental ambience that dilutes the realism of the game in some points. The sound effects on the other hand are very well done and depict the real RC Cars perfectly. Anyone who has played with RC Cars before will instantly recognize the sounds of crashing and motor engine running. Both of these components are great backups to the excellent gameplay. Something that must be noted is that for a game not heavy on graphics and sound, RC Cars is simply the most faithful adaptation of the RC Car world to date and the visuals and audio only add icing to the cake.

 

RC Cars is a delightfully fun arcade style racing game that any fan of the genre should love, as long as they don’t expect so much of it. RC Cars is here for the gameplay and it succeeds in that respect while also allowing aspects of its other elements (graphics, sound) to shine. With great AI, tracks and vehicles, RC Cars is a wild and crazy ride through the world of one of the most celebrated children’s toy.