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Cars cube Game Reviews
Cars
Critic Score
Metascore: 71 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.2 out of 10
based on 21 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 4 votes
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Rate this game

Race to the finish line as you live all the fun and excitement of the Walt Disney Pictures presentation of a Pixar Animation Studios film, "Cars." Play as all your favorite characters as you help Lightning McQueen capture the coveted Piston Cup Championship. The game is a story-based racing adventure game that relives all of the key moments of the movie. It features more than 10 playable characters from the film and an open world environment with more than 50 races. [THQ]

PUBLISHER: THQ
DEVELOPER: Rainbow Studios
GENRE(S): Action, Adventure
PLAYERS: 1
ESRB RATING: E (Everyone)
RELEASE DATE: June 6, 2006

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

85
Play Magazine
This is a real racer, and a really big racer developed by the reigning kings of the kind, Rainbow Studios, who worked closely with Pixar and all of the celebrity talent from the film...to create a companion game as high-performance as the movies it's based on. [July 2006, p.70]
85
PGNx Media
Cars is not the most complex racing game around, but it manages to capture the Pixar spirit very well. Aside from this, it’s an enjoyable game with solid gameplay and a great presentation.
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80
GameZone
This is a good game for families in that it really does offer a lot for many different ages. While hard-core racing gamers won’t get much out of it, everyone else will enjoy it.
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80
1UP
It's kind of like a junior sandbox approach that younger gamers will enjoy because they can just trundle around without crashing or waiting for loads and older kids will love because it allows them to explore a large area and find characters and items that they'll recognize from the movie.
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80
AceGamez
Although by no means perfect, Cars certainly raises the bar, and hopefully the public's expectations of what a video game tie-in should be. For this more than anything, Rainbow Studios should be applauded.
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76
GameSpot
It's hardly the next big thing in driving games, but it still manages to deliver the most authentic Pixar film experience to the video game medium of any previous attempt, and it's certainly one of the better kid-oriented games to come out this year.
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74
WHAM! Gaming
Besides some lazy moments where characters show up repeatedly and say the same things over and over, some clunky controls on the main map and some overly-long load times between races and minigames, Cars does the trick.
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71
Next Level Gaming
What happens when a game does all of the little things right, but doesn’t deliver much in the gameplay department? That’s exactly what happened with Cars.
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71
Worth Playing
It has some glaring visual flaws and technically deficient AI. While it captures the parts of the movie that captivated the kiddies, it disregards the heart of the film that made it enjoyable to adults.
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70
Game Informer
This certainly shouldn't beat "Burnout" or "Need for Speed" for your racing dollars, but it might if you're shopping for the family. [Aug 2006, p.81]
70
GameSpy
The best thing that can be said about Cars is that it lays down solid racing gameplay without feeling generic.
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70
Games Radar
Whichever version you play, Cars is a likable little racing adventure. The gameplay is nothing outstanding, but it's fun enough while it lasts, and overall it looks pretty slick.
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70
IGN
Cars really becomes a balancing act in the end, and it will be up to the individual players to decide if the sum is greater or weaker than its parts. It’s definitely worth a rental for fans of the movie, though we’d strongly encourage people to weigh their possibilities before dropping the full purchase amount.
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68
Cheat Code Central
If you attempt to unlock everything in this game you can expect it to last about 15 hours or so. The average gamer will probably get five to eight hours out of it before they've seen most of it and start to get bored. I would definitely recommend renting this for a weekend before committing to a purchase.
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65
Nintendo Power
It looks nice, it plays nice, and it has plenty of unlockables, quality cut-scenes, and a decent multiplayer mode. Still, frustrations lie around every corner. [Aug 2006, p.84]
65
Deeko
As I said before, I'm a sucker for this type of game and Cars does satisfy some of my tie-in hunger pangs, but after all the dust settles I'm still hungry. I think THQ was on the right track here, but possibly are guilty of a false start.
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60
eToychest
The racing in Cars is fun and accessible for children, and the story is appropriate for all ages, but frustrating mini-games and lack of direction at key points in a children’s game are both unforgivable oversights.
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60
Sydney Morning Herald
Many youngsters will simply enjoy hooning around Radiator Springs, although some might get frustrated not knowing where to go next.
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60
G4 TV
There’s little variation among the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox versions of Cars, and each hits the mark in terms of racing game basics such as framerate and sense of speed. Rainbow Studios has performed admirably here.
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60
Pro-G
The racing is by no means terrible, and will serve its purpose for those interested in a Cars video game, but had that aspect been nailed, the whole experience would have been elevated a notch or two.
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50
Detroit Free Press
The movie's a lot more fun than the game.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this game is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Karl N. gave it a3:
While this game has good kid-friendly controls for driving around, it is broken in a number of serious ways. Personally, I don't like the mushy controls but I can understand it for a kid's game. My low rating based on other issues. Some of the events are way too hard (i.e. the stealth mini-games) given that the rest of the events are ridiculously easy. The profile and save system is so confusing that it's hard *not* to delete your profile. The save system is extremely counter-intuitive and stupid. I don't know how a menu system this bad could be created. Kids will enjoy puttering around town but there isn't much to this game. I wouldn't bother getting it. As far as kid games go, MarioKart is vastly better.

u658 tyty7f gave it a10:
I think this game is awesome! you guys don't know anything about video games!

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