Playing Speed Racer: The Videogame, based on the upcoming Speed Racer film, reminds us of how bad we want a new F-Zero. That's because it lacks the robust career mode and diverse tracks from Nintendo's arcade series. On its own, however, this is a competent racing game that serves as a decent companion to the eye-popping film, offering several hours of fun despite its faults.

Most movie-based video games try too hard to follow plots, often sacrificing gameplay for awful cut scenes and wooden voice acting. Speed Racer ditches the film's narrative in exchange for white-knuckle arcade racing, and in this respect, it succeeds. You select from 19 different racers (including Speed Racer and Trixie, voiced by Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci, respectively) and then race a series of multicolored tracks, each of which features impressive loops and winding turns. Bathed in a neon orgasm, you'll guide your T-180 muscle machine alongside 19 other competitors, hitting Speed-Up Squares and activating boost power for added speed. And in a nice twist, you can't fall off the tracks, which lets you focus more on the car combat.

In order to succeed, you must master the art of Car-Fu, a vehicular martial art that lets you beat up your opponents' rides. The simplest move is your standard issue crash, with you ramming your car into your adversary to reduce their energy. Moves that are more complex include the Tail Toss, where you drive behind your foe and flip them, and the Round House, which performs a 360 spin, damaging anyone within range. In addition, there's the Torpedo (launches you forward), the Boost Bash (does more damage than normal crashing) and the Smack Down (where you land on top of someone). Performing a move is as easy as jumping (bring remote upward) or shunting (move remote left or right) and hitting a direction on the remote's d-pad.

Car-Fu is fun, but you also need to keep in mind that the other drivers will use it against you. What often happens is 20 cars mash together and unleash a barrage of moves, and the challenge comes from making sure that you cross the finish line without getting your butt kicked. It's similar to Mario Kart Wii in that you must always be aware of the weapons the other riders have. At least it's a lot easier to win without that pesky blue turtle shell.

If you find the game too difficult, you can always make alliances. The game lets you team up with various characters. Once you create a pact, your newfound friends won't perform Car-Fu on you. Turn on them, however, and they'll make you pay.

Much like Mario Kart Wii, Speed Racer is easy to control. You maneuver your T-180 using either the remote (held horizontally) or the remote and Wii Wheel. Steering occurs in real time, and you'll enjoy careening around turns and smashing into your opponents.

With that said, the game just doesn't have enough features to warrant a $49.99 purchase. After blowing through its Championship Mode in a few hours, you'll find that Speed Racer has very little to come back to, aside from Single Race and your standard issue two-player split screen mode. Just don't expect lots of tracks and even online play. There's just not enough things to do.

Furthermore, Speed Racer's graphics don't do the film's special effects justice. It's an attractive game, no question, but the outdated Wii quality visuals won't impress anyone that's seen the film. To that end, it makes us yearn for an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version, just to gawk at what would have been superior HD graphics.

Speed Racer succeeds where most movie-based games fail; it's actually enjoyable. But the lackluster modes and missing online play makes it an ideal rental or bargain purchase. However, until Nintendo debuts its newest F-Zero, this is the best futuristic racing game on Wii. Go see the movie on May 9 and then take a few laps with this bad boy if you simply can't resist.

Related Links

Speed Racer Game Guide