GameSpot editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Mediocre
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 10/07/2003
- Released on: 09/26/2003
- Originally published on GameSpot: Grooverider Slot Car Thunder (Xbox) Review
Though slot car racing was once a popular hobby, its relevance has all but disappeared in this day and age. Sure, occasional businesses can be found that still cater to the slot car audience, but the level of popularity once achieved by slot car racing has sunk well below the general population's collective radar. Still, there are those who continue to cling to slot cars as a diehard hobby; and this is where Grooverider: Slot Car Thunder comes into the picture. Slot Car Thunder is actually one of the few games to try to re-create slot car racing into video game form, and it does so at a budget price tag. You'll find a number of different game modes available in Slot Car Thunder, as well as more than 20 different types of cars and tracks. What you won't find, however, is much in the way of fun or production value.
Grooverider: Slot Car Thunder doesn't emulate its subject matter very well.
Slot Car Thunder features a few different single- and multiplayer modes, including arcade, time trial, championship, and special. Championship is the meat of the single-player mode, and playing through it is the only way to unlock new cars and courses. Additionally, taking first place in certain races will allow you to unlock special games, which include such offerings as cop challenge, mine madness, and GT sports. Unfortunately, while there is a nice variety of races in the game, and some of the special games are conceptually amusing, the problematic gameplay prevents any possibility of fun in any of the game's modes.
Slot Car Thunder is just about as pick-up-and-play as any game you'll ever find. To control your car, you simply press forward to accelerate, use the right and left triggers to change lanes on the track, and press the A button to enact generic power-ups, such as laser bursts, shields, and speed boosts. The in-game action isn't much more complex either. In any given race, you'll be up against three other opponents. You basically try to navigate the various obstacles in each course (like barriers, for instance) that can pop up or go down via switches, negotiate rough curves that can send your car flying off the track, and avoid gaps in the track. These hindrances are pretty easy to figure out once you've played each track a few times. The biggest challenge you'll face in Slot Car Thunder comes from its own sloppy gameplay design.
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Grooverider Slot Car Thunder (Xbox):
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