by Adrienne Brunner

Created on: August 28, 2008   Last Updated: August 30, 2008

Ami Ami Kart
Amigo Games
3.5/5

Ami Ami Kart is a fun little game for players of nearly any age. It is very similar to the popular Mario Kart, out for the Wii console.

The controls are fairly easy and intuitive, with gas, brake, left and right, as well as a change weapons and fire weapons button, but I kept wishing the brake button was located near my left hand. The gas, brake, left and right buttons are the arrow keys on the keyboard, so it was tough to hit the brake without taking my fingers off the accelerator button.

The basic premise is a racing game, with different tracks and drivers to choose from. The trial version contains several different drivers to choose from, each with varying acceleration, braking, control, weight, etc. Racetracks range from a cold, snowy track to Mcdonald's farm and others. Each track has special powerups, such as Nos, which boosts the speed for a short time. There are also rockets and other things that can be fired at opponents. Instructions for how to control racecars and fire weapons are given at the beginning, but there are no real instructions for what the goals of the game are (besides winning the races) and what the rockets actually do to the opponents.

Players can choose championship, quick race, time attack or bonus games, which are only available with the full version. The trial version has easy and advance racing. In advance racing, the other drivers are much faster and also better drivers, so it is more challenging. However, the turns are difficult to manage even in the easy mode, so it was sometimes frustrating.

My seven-year-old did attempt to play it, and I believe with some practice, he would enjoy the game, but it was tough to manage the controls and he easily lost interest. This would be a fun game for young children to watch, and older children and adults to play. The cell-shaded graphics are cute and consist of everything from snowy scenes to pig racecars to cows in the field, but they are nothing special.

The music is fun and upbeat, fitting the speed and type of game, and there is a volume control for music and sound effects. I found that I could hear when other drivers were hitting the walls or each other, and it seemed slightly distracting to me, making me think I was hitting the wall when I really was not.

Although this is a fun game, it is not super creative. There are many racing games out there. If you own a Wii, it's worth paying the extra to get Mario Kart on the Wii. Then you can play with others instead of just the computer, the graphics are better and there are more options, including the steering wheel. However, even with the brake key in a poor location and difficulty controlling the car through the corners, this game is a 3.5/5 because it is fun and fairly easy.

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