Speed Racer: The Video Game, the new racer based on the recently released film, does a pretty damn good job of capturing the feel of the movie, at least as far as speed and visual entertainment is concerned. You'll pilot a variety of racers (notably Speed, Racer X, Trixie) thru three different championship set ups that feature a decent variety of courses. There's a lot to unlock for the OCD gamers out there, and while the game looks a bit silly and simple on the surface, it's actually a lot of fun to play.

People have been making comparisons to the popular Gamecube racer F-Zero GX, and they're not too far off the mark. Speed Racer is definitely all about speed, with cars rocketing along the psychedelic tracks at speeds upwards of 300mph. You might think it'd be a bit hard to control, especially considering the motion controls of the Wii, but Sidhe Interactive (Gripshift), have done a pretty solid job of creating tracks that cater to keeping the speed and momentum of your racer going right along, with little to no slow down outside of impact with other racers and the occasional wall grind.

The controls play out in a similar style to Mario Kart or any other racer that has appeared on the Wii thus far. You turn the controller sideways and simply steer by tilting up or down, and you can even use the Wii wheel with Speed Racer if you so choose. Everything is very responsive, and the game has no problem picking up on whatever movement you're trying to perform. Outside of your standard racing controls, you can also perform various moves designed to attack other racers, labeled Car Fu, and these are also done by simple, quick motions on the Wii remote such as jerking the remote upwards to perform a jump, or a quick move to the side to bash in to other racers.

The game is not without some issues though. There's some serious "rubber banding" going on, especially when you've maxed out your boost meter and you're performing an "in the zone" ability that propels you along at max speed without much need for steering. Coming out of this you would think that you'd have a pretty good lead on the other racers, but they always manage to be just one step behind you, regardless of how well you're actually racing. The other major annoyance is the lack of a rearview, especially when other racers are trying to sabotage you from behind. There's a lot of luck involved, and not much skill, when it comes to avoiding the attacks of your opponents. It'd also be nice to see the framerate be a bit more stable, especially considering how fast paced this racer is supposed to be.

Outside of those complaints, Speed Racer marks one of the better movie-to-videogame translations out there. They've avoided tying the game too closely to a plot, and instead Sidhe has managed to focus on the racing aspect, which proves to be a wise decision. Definitely worth picking up, especially if you felt Mario Kart was a bit of a letdown and you'd like something else to play with that brand new Wii Wheel you have sitting around the house. So whether you're a fan of the film, or arcade racers in general, check this one out.

The DS version:

Surprisingly, the DS version is just as enjoyable as the console version, but obviously it's been simplified a bit. The controls are mapped to face buttons, and instead of 4 separate boost meters to fill, there's only the one. Your Car Fu abilities are performed by just getting close to another racer and waiting for the on screen prompt asking you to press the B button. Drifting feels a lot harder to pull of in the DS version, since a lot of the courses feel a bit too skinny. You're better off filling up your meter thru trick moves you can perform in mid-air, or simply using the Car Fu more often.

Not a bad portable racer by any means, but there has been better. I'd suggest this one more for the younger crowd, due to the simplified controls if for no other reason.