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IGN Review of Cocoto Kart Racer
Let's be honest: the Wii already has the original, undefeated kart racer. With Mario Kart available, its competitors are irrelevant. The good news is, as rip-offs go, Cocoto Kart Racer is one of the good ones. This budget title plays well and doesn't look half bad, but it's not going to pull you away from Nintendo's own effort.
Mercifully, Cocoto Kart Racer does not use tilt controls, unlike most other budget Wii racers. The nunchuk's analog stick handles steering while the B button accelerates. Items are activated with the A button. A quick lift of the remote will cause you to hop. Drivers have the ability to drift, although it's simplified from Mario Kart -- just tilt the nunchuk on a turn to power slide. The controls are actually quite responsive.
The tracks are fun, but a lot of elements have been borrowed from Mario Kart. There's one that is very reminiscent of Rainbow Road, an ice track with skating creatures that get in your way, and a lava level that reminds us of Bowser's Castle. Hey, if you're going to steal, steal from the best. There's some impressive scenery whizzing by, like a large Cerberus (two-headed demon dog) spitting fire at us in the lava level.
Drivers are from other Cocoto games like Magic Circus and Fishing Master. They're pretty generic fantasy creatures, but each has their own kart that handles differently. Eight are available at the beginning, and an additional four can be unlocked by winning championships. The designers try to justify the game with a story about these imps needing to win races in order to regain their powers, but a premise is completely unnecessary. We've come to race and Cocoto actually delivers the goods.
You've got your usual championship, single race, time trial, and battle modes. Championship is a series of races that awards points after each leg based on your placement. The racer with the most points at the end of the championship is the winner. The presentation stumbles if you lose, though, and you're kicked back to the title screen with no fanfare or post-race event.
Up to four players can get in on all races except the time trials. Locally, that is -- there is no online component. The problem is too much real estate is lost in split screen so that it's hard to get a good view of the road ahead. Instead of pulling the camera back in multiplayer, the developers crop out most of your play field.
©2008-07-03, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Mercifully, Cocoto Kart Racer does not use tilt controls, unlike most other budget Wii racers. The nunchuk's analog stick handles steering while the B button accelerates. Items are activated with the A button. A quick lift of the remote will cause you to hop. Drivers have the ability to drift, although it's simplified from Mario Kart -- just tilt the nunchuk on a turn to power slide. The controls are actually quite responsive.
The tracks are fun, but a lot of elements have been borrowed from Mario Kart. There's one that is very reminiscent of Rainbow Road, an ice track with skating creatures that get in your way, and a lava level that reminds us of Bowser's Castle. Hey, if you're going to steal, steal from the best. There's some impressive scenery whizzing by, like a large Cerberus (two-headed demon dog) spitting fire at us in the lava level.
Drivers are from other Cocoto games like Magic Circus and Fishing Master. They're pretty generic fantasy creatures, but each has their own kart that handles differently. Eight are available at the beginning, and an additional four can be unlocked by winning championships. The designers try to justify the game with a story about these imps needing to win races in order to regain their powers, but a premise is completely unnecessary. We've come to race and Cocoto actually delivers the goods.
You've got your usual championship, single race, time trial, and battle modes. Championship is a series of races that awards points after each leg based on your placement. The racer with the most points at the end of the championship is the winner. The presentation stumbles if you lose, though, and you're kicked back to the title screen with no fanfare or post-race event.
Up to four players can get in on all races except the time trials. Locally, that is -- there is no online component. The problem is too much real estate is lost in split screen so that it's hard to get a good view of the road ahead. Instead of pulling the camera back in multiplayer, the developers crop out most of your play field.
©2008-07-03, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved