Wacky Races: Crash & Dash (DS)

CNET editors' rating: 1.5 stars Poor
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Overall score: 3.0 (1.5 stars)
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Gamespot editors' review

• Reviewed by: Tom Shea
• Reviewed on: 07/01/2008
• Released on: 06/17/2008

Performance-boosting items have been a staple in mascot racing games for some time, but these arcade experiences usually encompass some sort of racing structure as well. This is not true with Wacky Races. You won't find a button for acceleration or brakes here--and don't even think about powersliding. This game requires only slightly more interaction than the 40-year-old cartoon on which it's based. The presentation will give a nostalgic glow to anyone who remembers the Hanna-Barbera series, but the actual gameplay will only produce shortness of breath and elaborate yawns.

Instead of using skill or savvy to make your way to the front of the pack, you need only tap the stylus toward the finish line and watch your chosen hero cruise to victory. The majority of races are displayed from a side view, though the camera shifts to a vertical orientation when the track design demands it. If your car breaks down or falls off a bridge, you'll find yourself eating your competitor's exhaust. You won't stay behind long, though. The computer AI is very forgiving, making sure you stay close to your competitors no matter how poorly you perform.

Every race ends with a blowdown.

Though the track is littered with character-specific items, you won't need to actually use them. It's certainly more dramatic to call in help from a dragon or transform your vehicle into a rolling rock ball, but because the track design is so easy to navigate, you'll find it's possible to snatch the victory crown without ever getting help from the items. Like the rest of the gameplay, the items are exceptionally easy to use. Many of them simply make your character move faster, which means you fly to the front of the screen only to see your progress halted by the slowly scrolling screen.

If slowly navigating your way through poorly designed tracks doesn't excite you, you also have to compete in minigames during certain segments of the race. Dick Dastardly sets up roadblocks that can hinder your progress if you fall asleep midrace. These alternate between insultingly easy and completely unresponsive. On the easy side, you have to connect dots or swat at lethargic mosquitoes. On the unresponsive side, you have to slice up patches of poisonous fog. Oftentimes, the game will not recognize your frantic stylus swipes, so you end up with a mouthful of deadly toxin. The penalty for failing a minigame is slight, so there is almost no reason to take part in these mindless diversions.

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