Platform: PSP

Genre: Racing

Number of Players: 1 - 4

Racing games really have become a staple of the PSP library, though not quite to the same degree as what puzzle games or even retro games have. Still, while action games have a tendency to have a few issues with the controls, racing games are quite at home on the system and it seems as though every month, there is yet another new racer on the market.

The latest is Pocket Racers, a game that is going to remind quite a few people of Micro Machines to some extent. For whatever reason, there’s a story behind the idea here. You and your friends were in the midst of a huge bash, and apparently someone spiked the punch of something because everyone was blissfully unaware of the mysterious intruder that waltzed right through the front door. The sickly green glow apparently bothered no one and before anyone could bat an eye, you had been shrunk down and trapped in tiny cars. Now you’re literally in the race of your lives as your try and win back your souls before the Soul Stealer claims them as his very own.

So again, it’s Micro Machines, but a little different. Each stage finds you and your miniature car in some real world location, racing around the floor and avoiding hitting batteries or pizza boxes fro example, or maybe zipping around a table top or any of the other fifteen locations that are found in the game. In each of the stages there are also soul shards that can be collected to unlock other features in the game, but look out for nasty, sticky surfaces that can slow you down and definitely keep an eye peeled to get ahead of the rest of the racers.

In each stage there are also weapon that can be picked up and used against your opponents, and of course, they can use them as well. Fire, ice, and lightning are all yours for the taking. There are also shields that can temporarily protect you and nitros to give you a quick boost of speed when necessary. Winning is everything, and you’ll be awarded with Soul Gems to help free your friends from a life of being shrunk down, or perhaps even worse.

There isn’t much to the controls, but this actually makes it extremely easy to get right into the game and start playing. X is the acceleration just like with almost every racing game while square acts as the break and R the power break. The addition that I do like is using the circle button to recast your car. This essentially lets you respawn, something that can come in very handy when you’ve flipped over on your side, so instead of trying to hit just the right spot to get back into the race, simply press circle and you’re back in business. The L button activates your current power-up while holding it will remove it from your current stockpile.

Each of the stages offers other challenges besides simply the Soul Race itself. You can take on the time trial and see what you’re best time is for one lap around the track or you can practice the track so that you hopefully will be ready for every turn and possible pitfall that is found. There is also an online mode that features three different games. You can participate with three other players in a race, there is a soccer game where, just like the real deal, your goal is to get the ball into the goal, or there is a game of domination where you will tag objects and he (or she) with the most wins.

The graphics aren’t bad, though quite basic at times. The cars don’t really have a tremendous amount of detail and instead are presented as being quite basic, but for this game it actually works quite well. This isn’t Gran Turismo after all. The tracks also tend to be rather basic, but they are quite large for the most part and it’s easy to maintain high speeds while trying to get the checkered flag first. What I don’t care much for are the colors that are used, and the palette doesn’t really stick out too much, making Pocket Racers somewhat unimpressive.

While I can’t really recommend the title for those that are serious about their racing games, but I do think that younger players actually might find it rather enjoyable. When compared to the recently released Micro Machines, Pocket Racers is a bit more forgiving, and while it may not be the greatest game on the market, it’s going to at least give gamers that find other racing titles too far beyond their skill level a bit of enjoyment.
 

-mike-