Hot Wheels Interactive Stunt Track Driver

Description:

Zoom into action with Hot Wheels Interactive Stunt Track Driver! At the Hot Wheels Main Menu you have three choices: The Hot Wheels Trophy icon will take you to the World Championship. There are six race courses, each must be mastered in order to progress to the next track. Reach the end of the course before the clock zeros out to proceed onto the next. If you fail to master a course you will be returned to the first course to start over. Two courses are hidden so you won't be able to see them until you've mastered the courses in front of them.

The Build-A-Track icon leads you to a work room where you can build your own courses and race on them. The Checkered Flags allows the driver to race on whichever World Championship course he/she chooses in any order. The only tracks missing will be the hidden tracks; until you master them at the World Championship they're not up for practice. The main menu also includes a Door icon in the left bottom corner of the screen for exiting.

Throughout the game the driver will click on the Green Light to proceed, he/she will then choose a Hot Wheels Car to drive down the 3-D track. Just like some race tracks are hidden so are some cars. As the driver progresses more cars will become available to choose from. If before or after a race the driver chooses to make changes, the Red Light may be clicked on to return to the previous screen. When you're ready to race, click on the Checkered Flags.

With Hot Wheel Track pieces put together throughout a virtual 3-D home there are staircases to race down, tables to fly over, and major corners to hang onto. As you race through the living room, bedroom, or maybe even the attic you'll find family pets that need to be avoided, toys that need to be swirved around, and sometimes Hot Wheel Cars coming from the other direction! Take numerous jumps and gain extra points, by making your car roll, flip and spin through them to a perfect landing. Pleanty of traps await for cars that spin out of control: fish tanks, sand pits, a window or two may even get broken if you're not careful.

In the end it comes down to a score calculated by "Time", "Stunts" and "Crashes"!

Features:

• 12 Hot Wheels Cars to choose from.
• 3-D race track.
• Driver controLled acceleration, braking and turns.
• Six different track environments.
• Hidden levels.
• Visible clock and speed gauge.

Technical Aspects:

Report and Conclusions:

Cole sat down and was a bit frustrated at first trying to figure out how to get the "Driving Groove", but I encouraged him to go build some simple tracks to practice on, gave him a few "Mouse and Arrow" tips and within 15 minutes he was flying! I asked Cole what he though of

Hot Wheels Interactive Stunt Track Driver, when he was forced to exit two hours later by the dinner bell, he said, "It's soooooo COOL, I love it! Can I come play again soon? I want to get this one for sure"!

I was impressed by the fact that he didn't get discouraged when he didn't "win." We talked about how he would get better and better as he practiced and he did. Thankfully, the tracks don't change with every game. The driver has an opportunity to become familiar with it and eventually learns to anticipate and remember what's coming next. With a variety of levels to master and personal bests to conquer the game never gets boring.

If I were to complain about anything with this program it would be the lack of a Parent Option Button. I would have loved to turn off the music, which I did by turning off my speakers, but then I couldn't hear the whir of the engine, pin balls flying, the cat meowing, glass breaking, you get the picture. Even Cole preferred to have the speakers on the lowest setting so he could "concentrate".

A voice prompt option for younger kids letting them know when to speed up, slow down, etc. with encouraging phrases that could later be switched off would have been great, but an encouraging parent with time works even better. My almost 4 year old son absolutely loves driving from his "Daddy Seat". This package also includes a Hot Wheels Car. All in all,

Hot Wheels Interactive Stunt Track Driver is a thumbs up for any Hot Wheelin' race car lover!