MySims Racing is a go-kart/car racing video game developed by Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...

 as a spin-off from its trademark The Sims

The Sims (series)

The Sims is a video game series developed by Maxis and later by The Sims Studio, and published by Electronic Arts. It is one of the most successful video games series of all time...

 series of simulation games. The title is developed and it was released on June 9, 2009 for the Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS

The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

 and Wii

Wii

The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...

.

Though similar to 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...

, the game offers some unique gameplay features, such as a Story Mode (similar to the rebooted Need for Speed

Need for Speed

Need for Speed is a series of racing video games published by Electronic Arts and developed by several studios including Canadian-based company EA Black Box and British-based Criterion Games...

series), basic car and character customization, and the ability to transfer cars to and from Wii Remotes.

Base Vehicle Types

• Compacted - The compact class is zippier, handles great and accelerates nicely too. The downside is they are very light therefore against a bumping opponent they will tend to get pushed around a little more on the tracks.
• Mid-Size - The mid size vehicles are a step up in performance, weight and handling when compared to the compact class.
• Large - The large class consists of trucks, SUV’s and a van. The obvious differences are that these vehicles are very heavy and tend to bully opponents off the tracks. Their downsides are they tend to accelerate very slow and do not handle as well as the compact karts.
• Advice - Heavier cars tend to drift more while lighter cars handle well.

Customization categories

• Performance Upgrades – There are four categories in which you can upgrade the karts performance attributes including Engine, which affects top speed and acceleration; Frame, which affects weight and acceleration; Handling; and Special. Special upgrades are given to a player when they win Gold Medals in any given challenge. They can affect all of the above.
• Styling Upgrades – Choose from different Body Types, Front Bumpers, Front Headlights and Grill Assembly, Front Hood Ornaments, Side View Mirrors, Rear Accessories, Rear Tail Lights, Rear Bumpers, Wheels and Horns.
• Paint Shop – Choose from dozens of colors and then add a door decal such as a Skull, Star, Lightning Bolt, Paw, Flames, Checkered, #8, Kitten, Bowtie, Butterfly, Heart, Flower, Wings, Octopus, Ninja Star, Snail, Bunny Luv, Radio Active, Hawaiian Flower and Soccer Ball.
• Create A Sim – There are multiple MySim Attribute categories to customize including Hair Style, Hair Color, Eyes, Voice, Name Your Sim, Skin Color, Mouth, Goggles (Eyewear) and Outfits.

Power-ups

The game features a large array of Power-ups (similar to the "items" of Mario Kart) which can be used during races to hinder rivals. Here is the list of Power-ups that appear in the game, along with their effects:

• Melon Accelerator - Wipes out other racer.
• Pumpkin Catapult - Creates slippery puddle and or obscures vision of other player.
• Beehive Trail - Honey trail to slow down other players.
• Soccer Balls - This allows you to shoot up to three bouncing Soccer Balls. Any opponent hit by one of them will go into a wipeout.
• Bubble Dropper - Momentary traps victims.
• Seed Thrower - Forms tree in road.
• Force Field - The Force Field surrounds your car with sturdy shields that keep you safe from most items for a short time. The Force Field can also be used as a battering ram, which will send the opponent in to a wipeout upon impact.
• Tornado Inverter - This will turn the view of opponents ahead of you upside-down for a limited time, making it harder for them to maneuver their vehicles.
• Bunny Luv - This power-up summons a cupid-like bunny to shower opponents' windshield ahead of you with love, temporarily blocking their field of vision with a multitude of hearts.
• UFO - Using the UFO will allow you to get a free ride as it zooms along the race track.
• F-Energy Zap - This will send out a burst of F-Energy, overloading the engines of opponents ahead of you to temporarily reduce their speed and prevent them from boosting.
• F-Energy Storm - Your boost meter fills with large amounts of F-Energy for a limited amount of time. Use it while you have it!
• Bottle of Soda - Sends you flying for a limited amount of time.

Characters

The following are characters featured in the Nintendo Wii version of MySims Racing.

Racers

• Brandi
• Chaz McFreely
• DJ Candy "Supergroove"
• Dr F
• Fire Chief Ginny
• King Roland
• Makoto
• Mel the Mummy
• Morcubus
• Ol' Gabby
• Sir Charles
• Star
• T.O.B.O.R.
• Violet Nightshade
• Your custom made racer

Business owners

• Chef Gino Deplicioso
• Chef Watanabe/Sachiko Watanabe
• Dolly Dearheart
• Goth Boy
• Madame Zoey
• Master Arand
• Agent Poppy Flowers
• Professor Nova
• Agent Marshall

Others

• Esma (MorcuCorp Employee)
• Gonk (Islander)
• Luis (MorcuCorp Employee)
• Roger (MorcuCorp Employee)
• Sir Vincent Skullfinder (MorcuCorp Employee)
• Summer (Starter Girl)
• Grandma Ruthie (Resident)

Reception

The game recivied positive reviews among critics. GameSpot gave the Wii version 7.5, praising the games customization and new style of kart racing, however was let down by the game having no online multiplayer. The DS version recivied 7.0 from GameSpot. It was praised for its fun customization options, story mode mixes up the standard kart-racing formula and its crisp, vibrant visuals both in and out of races. However felt the games 'Story mode' was too long.

External links

• MySims Racing Official Website