Hot Wheels Crash CD-ROM

Reviewed by Carol Welch
Published by Mattel Media

Age Group: Age 4 to 8, Age 8 and Up
Type: More Fun
Price: $35

Description:

In Hot Wheels Crash, the player becomes the stunt director for a high-budget movie and is charged with creating the greatest crash stunts imaginable. A variety of movie sets are available with all of the props in place. The player's job is to position the stunt car just right and set the launch speed to hit as many props as possible, thus making the most spectacular crash. A set can be played repeatedly until mastered. Scores are given based upon the amount of destruction the crash caused.

Features:

  • 25 levels
  • 14 set locations
  • 12 different vehicles
  • 3 difficulty levels
  • Download additional levels from the Internet (requires Internet access)
  • Includes a special Hot Wheels car

Technical Aspects:

This title loaded easily on a Celeron 400 with 32 MB RAM. A choice is given between minimum installation and full installation. I first tried the minimum (to save valuable disk space), and found that the program loaded sets very slowly and the crash replays were quite choppy. So, I uninstalled the game and reinstalled the full version, even though it uses much more disk space. With the full installation, the crash replays were much smoother, but the loading time did not improve enough to note.

There are no verbal or onscreen instructions at all; however, there is a user manual in the jewel case that explains the interface thoroughly (yes, you will probably need it - I did). Once you've learned how to maneuver through the game, it's quite easy - even for younger children.

The audio is clear with some background music and sound effects, but not particularly impressive. In fact, the same could be said for the graphics - good, but not outstanding.

Report and Conclusions:

Hot Wheels Crash is quite aptly named! The purpose of the game is to crash your vehicle into as many props as possible, creating mass destruction and fiery explosions. I'm sure that kids (especially boys) will find this game appealing, but my overall concern is that crashing is all there is to this game. Players cannot choose or customize their own car (certain cars come with certain sets), nor can they arrange the props to create their own sets. The player simply must take what is given him/her and figure out the best angle and speed to create the best crash. Sure, this offers some problem solving challenges, but not much else. Not even the crash replays (which were brief with less-than-spectacular graphics and audio) could intrigue us into continued play.

Granted, there are several sets and more can be downloaded from the Internet, but in my opinion that still leaves very limited game replay. And considering the price, I just don't see this title being a very good value.




Warning: main(kidsdomain.inc) [function.main]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /data/sites/network/public_html/omniture/omnitureTag.inc on line 20

Warning: main() [function.include]: Failed opening 'kidsdomain.inc' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/local/lib/php:/www/sites/kaboose/php:/www/sites/kaboose/php/include') in /data/sites/network/public_html/omniture/omnitureTag.inc on line 20