LEGO Racers
Encyclopedia
Lego Racers is a racing
video game developed by High Voltage Software
and published by Lego Media
, released for Microsoft Windows
, Nintendo 64
, Game Boy Color
, and PlayStation. The player races various characters made of Lego
in custom-built go-karts
based on the Lego Racers product line
in an attempt to become "the greatest Lego racing champion of all-time". The sequel of the game was Lego Racers 2
, which was released in 2001.
In Lego Racers, the player assumes the role of either one of several pre-built Lego characters or a custom-built driver. The camera is positioned behind the car, as in most racing games, and the player may make use of a variety of power-ups such as weapons and speed-boosters to increase their chances of winning.
The game supports keyboard and gamepad control, both of which can be fully customized in the game settings.
and the car are built from scratch using a wide selection of Lego bricks and parts. This selection is limited when the player starts the game, but expands each time the player completes a circuit. The player may also use the Quick Build feature to play with a pre-made car. Customization is purely aesthetic and has no effect on the performance of the car.
The circuits are not themed, though the individual tracks are. For instance, the third circuit features a horror-themed track complete with witches and bats, a pirate-themed
track, a jungle-themed track with magical temple
and an alien planet
. Each circuit has a special driver, a "circuit champion", who performs better than the other NPC
racers and may have a small gameplay gimmick, for instance the first champion has a tendency to use the cannonball powerup.
The first six circuits consist of four tracks each, and the last three circuits are simply mirror-images of the first three, a practice also used in the Mario Kart
franchise. The seventh circuit comprises one track, where the circuit champion is Rocket Racer, the primary antagonist. Virtually every track in the game also features one or more hidden short-cuts which can give the player a significant advantage of the NPC racers.
The second single-player mode is the time race. The player races a single opponent, Veronica Voltage, who is the granddaughter of Professor Voltage, a character in the game Legoland. Veronica drives a ghost
car that cannot crash into the player's car in any way. If the player wins races in every track of the first three circuits, they are awarded Veronica Voltage's car set.
display.
gave the PC version 7.0 out of 10 describing the game as "a simple, colourful, and fun high-speed romp". However when they reviewed the Nintendo 64 version they scored it 4.5 out of 10 and said "With bland gameplay, boring racing and a frustrating Lego construction system, Lego Racers just translates into an incomplete package", while IGN
said "The Nintendo 64 has seen many racing games, though none are quite like LEGO RACERS. The game, which is inspired by the building block toys, lets players build cars from one of 12 included sets of Legos" and gave it a 7.5 out of 10.
Racing game
A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...
video game developed by High Voltage Software
High Voltage Software
High Voltage Software is an independent game development company located at Illinois' Hoffman Estates. Established in 1993, it now employs approximately 95 staff members. Red Eye Studios, a motion capture facility, is a wholly owned subsidiary of HVS...
and published by Lego Media
Lego Group
The LEGO Group is a family-owned company based in Billund, Denmark, and best known for the manufacture of Lego-brand toys.The company was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen...
, released for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
, Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
, and PlayStation. The player races various characters made of Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
in custom-built go-karts
Kart racing
Kart racing or karting is a variant of open-wheel motorsport with small, open, four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits...
based on the Lego Racers product line
Lego Racers (toys)
Lego Racers is a product line of the construction toy Lego. The range was first introduced in 1975 with a Formula 1 car model. However, the brand only really started to become a core theme in 2001, with the release of a series of mini racecars...
in an attempt to become "the greatest Lego racing champion of all-time". The sequel of the game was Lego Racers 2
Lego Racers 2
Lego Racers 2 is the sequel to Lego Racers, released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance in 2001.There are five large worlds, starting with the hometown, Sandy Bay. The player then moves along to Dino Island, Mars, Arctic, and finally Xalax...
, which was released in 2001.
Plot
Rocket Racer become bored with the opponents he has, and decides to hold a challenge. He and his friend, Veronica Voltage, travel through time and space to collect the best racers in the galaxy. A determined racer (customized by the player) takes on other racers and bosses in an attempt to become a champion. The bosses are Captain Redbeard, King Kahuka, Basil the Batlord, Johnny Thunder, Baron Von Barron, Gypsy Moth, and the final boss being the champion and most challenging competitor, Rocket Racer. At the end of the game, the player wins his/her championship.Gameplay
The game supports keyboard and gamepad control, both of which can be fully customized in the game settings.
Customization
A feature in the game allows the player to build cars and drivers of their own design. Both the driver's Lego minifigureMinifigure
A Lego minifigure is a small plastic articulated figurine available as part of the construction toy Lego, produced by Danish toy manufacturer the Lego Group. They were first produced in 1978, and have become hugely successful, with over 3.7 billion produced, and the figure appearing in a variety...
and the car are built from scratch using a wide selection of Lego bricks and parts. This selection is limited when the player starts the game, but expands each time the player completes a circuit. The player may also use the Quick Build feature to play with a pre-made car. Customization is purely aesthetic and has no effect on the performance of the car.
Single Player
In the circuit mode of Lego Racers, the player can race on one of seven "circuits", in which the player must gain the most points from among five competitors including one champion over the course of four races, each of which award the player points based on the order in which they finish in.The circuits are not themed, though the individual tracks are. For instance, the third circuit features a horror-themed track complete with witches and bats, a pirate-themed
Lego Pirates
Pirates is a Lego theme launched in 1989 featuring pirates, soldiers, islanders and sailing ships. The theme has been seen in minifigure scale, Duplo and the 4+ theme....
track, a jungle-themed track with magical temple
Lego Adventurers
Lego Adventures is a Lego theme based on an 'explorer' concept. The characters explore new areas, and go on adventures. Unlike other lego themes, which take place in a fictional "Lego Universe", most of the Adventurers sets takes places in real-world locations, such as Egypt, the Amazon...
and an alien planet
Lego Space
The Lego Space theme features astronauts and spaceships. It was introduced in 1978. Space was one of the most expansive themes in Lego history, and contained over 200 individual sets. It was marketed under the Legoland banner until 1991...
. Each circuit has a special driver, a "circuit champion", who performs better than the other NPC
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
racers and may have a small gameplay gimmick, for instance the first champion has a tendency to use the cannonball powerup.
The first six circuits consist of four tracks each, and the last three circuits are simply mirror-images of the first three, a practice also used in the Mario Kart
Mario Kart
is a series of go-kart-style racing video games developed by Nintendo as a series of spin-offs from its trademark Mario series of platformer adventure-style video games...
franchise. The seventh circuit comprises one track, where the circuit champion is Rocket Racer, the primary antagonist. Virtually every track in the game also features one or more hidden short-cuts which can give the player a significant advantage of the NPC racers.
The second single-player mode is the time race. The player races a single opponent, Veronica Voltage, who is the granddaughter of Professor Voltage, a character in the game Legoland. Veronica drives a ghost
Ghost (video games)
In video games, a ghost is a feature included in time attack or time trial modes allowing the player to review their previous rounds. In racing games, for example, a ghost car may follow the last or fastest path a player took around the track...
car that cannot crash into the player's car in any way. If the player wins races in every track of the first three circuits, they are awarded Veronica Voltage's car set.
Multiplayer
This game also supports a two-player multiplayer mode. If a second input device, such as a joystick or gamepad, is plugged in, two players can race against each other in split screenSplit screen (computer graphics)
Split screen is a display technique in computer graphics that consists of dividing graphics and/or text into non-movable adjacent parts, typically two or four rectangular areas. This is done in order to allow the simultaneous presentation of related graphical and textual information on a computer...
display.
Reception
Lego Racers received mixed reactions from reviewers. The PC version received generally positive scores averaging at 75.45% according to GameRankings, based on 11 reviews. However the releases on both the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 received less positive reactions from critics despite featuring no gameplay differences. GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
gave the PC version 7.0 out of 10 describing the game as "a simple, colourful, and fun high-speed romp". However when they reviewed the Nintendo 64 version they scored it 4.5 out of 10 and said "With bland gameplay, boring racing and a frustrating Lego construction system, Lego Racers just translates into an incomplete package", while IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
said "The Nintendo 64 has seen many racing games, though none are quite like LEGO RACERS. The game, which is inspired by the building block toys, lets players build cars from one of 12 included sets of Legos" and gave it a 7.5 out of 10.