The MySims games are abundant on the Nintendo consoles with party games and sim planning games to try out. The characters that populate these worlds have been around for a few years which means that its time to put them in a kart game. As with all of the MySims titles you have just arrived in a new town, this time it's Speedville. Speedville was once a bustling town full of people and racers but sadly no one races anymore and the town is derelict. You have been asked by the mayor to get everyone back into the racing spirit by taking part in numerous races dotted around the map and to help people out with your speedy motor.

 

The main game hub has been split into a few areas, the town, seaside and forest and a special area. Each of the areas have locals that require your assistance, most of the time it is a "please drive me to the ice cream parlour" affair but you will also occasionally have flag collecting against the clock. As you help each character they will offer you new blueprints and essence coins.

 

Just off from the main hub areas are the race tracks, the aim is to come first in each race, this will then progress the game and you will also be rewarded blueprints. Each race is based on three laps and has a total of six racers. The top screen is for the action and the bottom screen has a map showing the locations of the other racers, which is pointless as I can tell you where they will be, right on your tail. Even after upgrades and loads of boosting the race pack will be right with you, jostling for position and pulling out a last minute powerup to win the race, curse you Chaz McFreely, my current gaming nemesis.

 

Though not many tracks are available the variety of tracks on offer is impressive but at the same time not really offering anything new, you have the kart tracks, desert, coastal and even driving around a huge cruise liner, they probably could not drive inside the boat as a certain fruity princess had a private kart party. There are zip pads and even powerups littered around the tracks to use to your advantage. Power-ups come in a standard selection of projectiles like a football to stun enemies, a pumpkin to blind and a speed boost. There are a few cool additions including a bubble that launches players into the air and an acorn that you drop and it quickly grows into a huge oak tree, stopping all in it's path, dropping this in a bottle neck and watching all the little racer icons on the bottom screen spin around madly is very satisfying, take that Chaz McFreely.

 

Control is like any other kart game out there, accellerate and brake with the A and B buttons, a small hop on the R and L is your fire. These little motors also have a built in boost, if you powerslide for long enough your boost bar will charge up, allowing you a short burst of speed with the press of the Y button. There are also a few stunt tricks hidden away in the game, when you get air press the B button and spin the car on it's axis. If you drive around the towns you will also find a few stunt parks with huge halfpipes and ramps to use. There is a point to this as with every sucessful stunt you pull off you earn certain essence coins to use later. There are also stunt challenges requiring you to collect flags from increasingly difficult spots on the stunt course.

 

With all of the racing and helping people out you will soon stack up on blueprints and essence coins. If you drive down to Ol'Gabby's workshop he can make you new items and fit them to your kart. The customizing is fun and just like the other MySims games there is loads to do including altering the chassis, wheels, handling, weight, spoilers and colours from a large pallett and once happy with your design you can take it out onto the streets.

 

With all of the customizing options the game still manages to look great, with a very colourful and cartoon feel that the familiar MySims world offers. Sadly during racing the game does seem to suffer a frame rate issue, and with the speeds you go at later this can cause you to bounce off a lot of walls.

 

My Sims Racing is a fun kart game that may put younger gamers off due to the difficulty in winning races, older players will enjoy the challenge and the customisation, however it’s all over too quickly.