by Andrew Hockenbroch

Created on: December 11, 2008   Last Updated: July 20, 2011

MiniOne Racing is a racing game with a few twists: you control radio controlled vehicles and there are a few power up items on the track. These vehicles also come in multiple shapes depending on the theme of the course.

GAME PLAY 2/5

Game play was sluggish at best. If there is one word usually associated with the racing genre it is speed. Even with a boost power up the cars felt like they were barely moving. Along the same lines, even at the lowest difficulty settings actually winning a race against the AI with 4 cars can be excessively difficult. It is not too hard, with good use of power ups, to finish third and almost second, but when you are in first it almost seems that the AI is a little too accurate in shooting you. On the other hand it is also possible to get the AI controlled vehicles stuck in a corner for the entire race with careful use of one of the power ups. Shooting, however, is a high point in the game play of MiniOne Racing. Instead of making cars explode the shooting simply knocks a car of course. It can be used to knock a car into a wall around a corner or into the "power up" that limits your vision.

Though they do not have a large impact on game play there are also a large number of spelling mistakes in some of the dialogue boxes reflecting the overall lack of polish in MiniOne Racing.

GRAPHICS 5/5

The graphics for MiniOne Racing were simply beautiful. The beach had a colorful array of sand and sea creatures while the space maps included brilliant, colorful crystals and aliens.

SOUND 3/5

The audio effects and music of MiniOne Racing are not memorable, but the music does provide a pleasant, relaxing atmosphere.

CREATIVITY 4/5

Not enough can be said for the colorful tracks themselves. They are a treat for the eyes. Also, while radio controlled vehicle racing is far from a new concept it is not one that has been over done.

INNOVATION 4/5

While radio controlled car racing has been done before MiniOne Racing does it just a bit differently. Some of the power ups, such as the die that makes one player chosen at random the master who then messes up nearby cars with electricity, are unique and interesting.

OVERALL 3/5

MiniOne Racing is an entertaining diversion when you have a few minutes to kill. It is a graphical treat, but falls short in actual game play. Unless you have a young child, who may thoroughly enjoy MiniOne Racing, feel free to try the small downloadable demo, but you will probably find there are far better uses for the $19.95 required for the full version.

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