GENRE
	Racing
	DEVELOPER
	Climax Studios
	PUBLISHER
	Destination Software
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1
	CONNECTIVITY
	Yes
	BUY NOW AT

Based on a toy property older than many of our readers, Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Challenge and World Race, the latest in a series of 2-for-1 titles for Game Boy Advance, reprises ideas for racing games that have been around since the days of Super Nintendo.

Surprisingly, Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Challenge and World Race are two different games with two different graphical styles, both of which are on par with (if not largely derivative of) other classic racing titles.

Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Challenge reuses the style made famous by the classic Super Nintendo racer Stunt Race FX. Big, simplistic schemes of polygons come together to make gigantic, La Brea Tar Pit evocative Tyrannosaurus Rex sculptures and beastly spiders that look over the race track.

The frame rate does dip frequently, with a hefty amount of 3D objects being pumped out by GBA’s bite-sized processor. It’s mild when your car is in the lead and no other racers are in front of you, but when your sucking on Number Three’s tailpipe or plummeting into a steep canyon filled with trees, you’ll feel some stutters that may just throw your game off.

World Race is something else altogether. The game is F-Zero to the core. The cars and tracks are original models, sure, but visually, this game is an exact replica of the mega-popular Game Boy Advance installments of F-Zero.

Crunchy faux-guitar riffs are the norm here. Though I felt like I was in the Dire Straits video for “Money For Nothing” while playing through the blocky, early polygonal tracks of Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Challenge, the soundtrack brought me into Deep Purple-land with trodding, heavy riffage.

Your feelings on the gameplay will most likely be subject to discrimination in that, though the gameplay is virtually the same as other like racing titles, neither game features the charming icons players so often look for in licensed racers. With names like Vesuvius, Finn Serpa and Banjee Castillo, don’t expect to see these characters gracing any lunchboxes.

Besides that, these are fairly solid, if unoriginal, racing titles. For Game Boy Advance, the graphics are nice, and the gameplay is surprisingly beefy in both titles. The biggest issue with this game, though, is that neither one features a save option, opting instead for a password system that has no place in a portable racing title, much less the 21st century. At this point in time, developers should not expect gamers to copy down lines of bibble-babble to resume play in a game that is simplistic to begin with.

N/A

If you want all the pleasure of playing with toy cars without getting dirt under your fingernails, or perhaps are just looking for a solid racer for the Game Boy Advance (let’s face it: there aren’t many), than Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Challenge and World Race might be a good choice for you. But be warned: without a save feature, don’t expect much of an immersive experience.

6.5/10