Cars Race-O-Rama

Overview

Cars Race-O-Rama is a 2009 racing game published by THQ for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable. The game is the sequel to Cars Mater-National Championship (2007).

Cars Race-O-Rama is a racing adventure game in which the player controls Cars protagonist and three-time Piston Cup champion Lightning McQueen. The game features five nonlinear open worlds, including Radiator Springs. In each area, McQueen can participate in multiple race types, including circuit races, relay, and point-to-point. Some events allow the player to control other characters, such as the forklift Guido in events known as Guido Kart. During these events the player participates in combat racing similar to that found in the Mario Kart series.

Taking place after the events of the second game and before the events of the second film, three-time Piston Cup Champion Lightning McQueen and the Doc Hudson Racing Academy are in a race competing against a rival academy. At the end of the race, the members of the other academy crash the Doc Hudson Racing Academy members. Lightning witnesses this and they reveal that they are from Chick Hicks Racing Academy. Chick appears and tells Lightning that he plans to win the Race-O-Rama series to shut down the Doc Hudson Racing Academy, thus bringing more cars to his academy, and take over Radiator Springs, and Lightning will no longer be allowed there. Lightning accepts the challenge, before then immediately calling Chick "Thunder", "'cause thunder always comes after Lightning!"

Cars Race-O-Rama debuted at E3 2009. The primary version was developed by Incinerator Studios, and this version was released on PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 2. It was powered by Rainbow Studios' engine, which had been the technology behind the previous two Cars installments. The PSP and DS versions of the game were created by Tantalus Media in Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia. A toy line for the release was released in early 2009, as the name "Race O Rama" was used for the 3rd series of Mattel Die-Cast Disney Cars.

IGN noted that the game felt like a cash grab, saying that it felt like the "soulless husk of a great movie". Game Informer wrote, "It's not fun to explore, and aside from activating a few boring minigames, there's no reason to cruise around the levels," with regards to exploration. GamesRadar+ said that the game was fun for children and praised its characters and customization while criticizing the price tag, character designs, and lack of iteration.

Official trailer

Trailer. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Racing

Developer

Tantalus Interactive, Incinerator Studios

Publisher

THQ

Series

Cars

Platforms

PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2

Age rating

ESRB E

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

No

Co op

No

Age ratings

ESRB

E

PEGI

3

Release dates

Subscription history

Playable today

Playable offline todayYes

Single-player only, with no online features.

Online

Plays offlineYes

Credits

Region

US