Racers' Islands: Crazy Racers Demo

Games like Re-Volt and FlatOut are perfect examples of how fun and entertainment can trump realism in racing games, especially when the idea is to play them with your friends. Laying down traps out on the track, bumping into each other and generally making tremendous efforts to ruin the race for the other competitors is tons of fun, even if the suspension doesn’t react like it would in real life and there is no clutch.

Racers' Islands: Crazy Racers is exactly that kind of game, except for the fact that it brings everything down to a much more childish level. The environments are very colorful, the racers are akin to cartoon characters, while the gameplay has been greatly simplified, especially when it comes to the controls. Despite that, anyone can still enjoy it and have a few fun races against the A.I., or other human opponents.

Before each race, you get to choose one of the available characters, each one of which comes with a different vehicle as well. Whether you want to play with the foxy, yet dangerous-looking Russian girl, the speed-nut old lady, or the British chap with the glorious moustache, the experience is guaranteed to keep you smiling. Moreover, their respective vehicles go along with their personalities.

Although it’s an arcade game and it is only normal that the controls are exaggerated in order to make it difficult for the racers to stay on course even when they are not bothered by someone, the handling is way too sensible in this case. Every little nudge can cause you to spin out and lose the advantage, and you will have to swerve on a regular basis, given the large number of obstacles the tracks are riddled with.

The graphics are about as colorful and cartoonish as you would expect, but they are in no way distracting. A variety of interesting landmarks and objects are scattered around the environment, including famous buildings and many other such attractions. The vehicles are nicely modeled and quite different from each other, as are the drivers sitting behind the wheel.

All things considered, Racers' Islands: Crazy Racers is the type of game you get to enjoy every once in a while, especially when your friends come over. However, it gets pretty boring in singleplayer after a while, mostly due to the annoying handling problems and the lack of a proper career mode.