Wacky Wheels

The Good
Another game were Apogee does what it does best: publish a low-profile, simple game that is FUN. Something not every commercial game remembered to do when it got lost on over-pretentious and grandiose game designs.

Wacky Wheels essentially takes the same premise behind Mario Kart, that is: assemble a cute-n-friendly cast of characters, that race against each other through equally cute courses on what must be 100 ccs karts. The racing aspect is obviously simple as hell, keeping it all arcadey, and with several power-ups that add different angles to the gameplay, such as weapons, turbo boosts, etc.

In other words, it's the perfect cute little game that doesn't go overboard on the cuteness, and delivers great gameplay and lots of fun. The graphics aren't drop-dead gorgeus, neither are the sounds. But the game plays fast & smooth, and never lets down.

Furthermore, you have a real winner with the addition of great multiplayer options, including different game modes, and the chance to play through serial/modem connections as well as on the same computer via split-screen (a feature that I really milked out at it's time).

The Bad
Only things I can think of is that the courses were all flat, (something that bugged me at the time).... and the fact that it is a sort of copy of Mario Kart.

The Bottom Line
Perfect game for kids of all ages. I see no better thing to introduce your kid to the wonders of pc gaming. And rest assured, there is no Mario in sight. Nor anything over marketized that will have your kids asking you to buy them a super-limited-edition action figure.