Sound in this game is also very good. The voiceovers are top notch and feature celebrity voice actors Larry the Cable Guy as Mater and Heroes star Masi Oka as the voice of a Japanese car. So needless to say, it's well worth listening to in that respect. However, the trouble with this game's sound lies in it's music. Although "Life is a Highway" as performed by Rascal Flatts was a great song in the movie, hearing it a million times during the course of the gameplay during Cars Mater-National is enough to make you go crazy. There are a few other tunes shuffled in there for good measure, but the continual recurrence of "Life is a Highway" on the track list is just really obnoxious and repetitive.

Controls for this game are your most basic racing-game controls. You use the A button to accelerate, the B button to brake or reverse, and the right trigger for your turbo boost. The good thing here is that these controls are literally the basis for most other automotive games out there, so if this is someone's first experience with an automotive type game, then it'll be easy for them to graduate up to more challenging titles if they so desire. Of course, the actual racing mechanics here are not that complex in relation to the controls, so there's no real worry about complicated turning maneuvers or shifting like there would be in an advanced automotive game. All this game will require from you are the basics, and those basics function extremely well here.

Although it's obvious from the very beginning that this is a game for children, it's a very fun experience that can give people of all ages a genuine racing experience. Although it won't be Grand Turismo or PGR, the racing engine is good enough, and the variability of racing events really makes this one very playable, not only for children, but for grown-ups who want to get in on the action too. It's open-world tournament-style race experience, combined with it's great looks and basic control scheme make this a must-have for any young gamer who wants experience in the automotive genre.

By Amanda L. Kondolojy
CCC Freelance Writer

Features:
racing action is captured in cinematic style and players are rewarded for showing off their skills a