MySims Racing

- Reviewed on 3DS -

MySims Racing released on June 12th, 2009.

Based on The Sims' spin off series of games, entitled, "MySims", that mainly released during the Nintendo Wii and DS era, MySims Racing was developed by Behaviour Interactive and is a fun, yet lackluster alternative to other great racing games on both platforms.

I had the opportunity to play the DS version of MySims Racing, but this title also released on the Wii as well.

This review WILL have Major Spoilers so keep that in mind before continuing...

With three game modes to choose from, after you create your Sim in true Sim's fashion, you can choose to play Story Mode, Quick Race, and / or Multiplayer.

Creating your Sim isn't all too in-depth in MySims Racing, but it gets the job done, in order for players to have personality driven (based on clothing and facial expressions) avatars behind the wheel.

Multiplayer in MySims Racing offers the same options as Mario Kart DS, with Multi-Card Play (for two people who do have the game) and Single-Card Play (for people, which, only one person owns the game).

Quick Race is short and simple. You can play any and all tracks you've unlocked in Story Mode so far.

All the tracks in MySims Racing are...

    - Cruise-Line Chase
    - Crystal Mines
    - Forest Bluffs
    - Fossil Fuel Mesa
    - Greenwoods Park
    - Lighthouse Beach
    - MySims Raceway
    - Oasis Canyon
    - Polar Pursuit
    - Space Hotel Sprint
    - Volcano Island

Each track has their own soundtrack and offers various shortcuts for the player(s) to utilize.

MySims Racing also has items (which are presents on the tracks) that you can acquire mid race to use and try to take the lead with.

These items (Power-Ups) include...

    - Pumpkins
    - Acorns
    - UFOs
    - Soccer Balls
    - Shields

All 11 tracks were quite fun, and each had their own theme going on, which I appreciated.

I know there is / were a lot of comparisons to Mario Kart at the time of this games' release, but from a perspective from someone who may not have played Mario Kart, and just MySims Racing, I'm afraid the lack of gameplay features might not help push this game to people's forefront. 

Onto the Story Mode of MySims Racing, the player(s) takes on the role of a new racing prospect, looking to become champion, in a town which's racing culture hasn't been what it used to be.

Interesting, yet simple story for this 10-hour (average) game. 

10 hours may also just be for completionists, because I played this game for only a handful of days and saw all the tracks and gameplay features MySims Racing had to offer. 

There aren't too many other NPC racers either, by my observation. 

There are tons of other NPCs in the over-world though, but NPCs for the actual races, only include...

    - Morcubus
    - Chaz McFreely
    - Dr. F
    - Goth Boy
    - DJ Candy
    - Fire Chief
    - Ginny
    - Roxie Road
    - Beebee

What tracks you can play on, and what locations you can visit in Story Mode, solely depends on your Star Ranking (out of five).

You level up your Star Ranking by achieving first place in all the 11 racetracks (progressively).

I had a little issue with this mechanic as some tracks in MySims Racing were tiresome.

After doing the first lap in most of these tracks, you pretty much seen it all. 

There are limited items in the game overall, and any moderate gamer can easily beat the NPC enemies. 

However, if you push through the hassle of these tiring tracks, and make one mistake, if you don't get first, you have to try all over again. You can't just go back to another track and get first there again.

Obviously, that makes MySims Racing an actual game, but this specific point I have about this, is mainly on the game's racing as a whole.

I did enjoy the other gameplay features in MySims Racing's Story Mode. One being the task of helping the citizens of Speedville, with their favors. 

The majority of these favors are you driving them to other locations (seen on the bottom screen of the DS), but other favors include finding specific character related items, and even other favors having a time limit. 

You can quit favors anytime in the Pause Menu.

Other gameplay features include Sir Charles' Stunt Challenges where you have to gather three rounds' worth of trophies by performing tricks on these skating (or driving in this case) grounds of sorts. 

After you win a race, you will get a blueprint that you can take to Gabby's Workshop and use your gathered currency to build, upgrade, and / or customize your vehicle. 

The currency in MySims Racing is Essence Coins. These are gathered by doing favors. Along with personalized blueprints too, as rewards for doing favors.

In the end, MySims Racing was a short-lived bit of racing fun. 

I enjoyed my initial time with each track and the favors mechanic was a fun, relaxing time. 

But the boredom quickly rose to the surface with this game. 

There's only so much drifting, tricks, favors, and Sim language I can take, in MySims Racing. 

If you own MySims Racing, I recommend playing it again for a little bit, but if you don't... maybe stick with Mario Kart DS?

Pros: 

    - Relaxing / Enjoyable Gameplay Features
    - Multiplayer
    - Good Music
    - Plethora of NPCs
    - Variety of Customization

Cons:

    - Racing can get Boring Quickly
    - Frame Rate Drops
    - Audio Glitches
    - Not the Best Create-A-Sim

My Rating for MySims Racing (on 3DS):

3 / 5


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All Reviews, Ratings, Pros, Cons, and Opinions Shared on this Blog (Press A Reviews) are my (Connor Butler) own Thoughts and Feelings.



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