disney super speedwayFormat: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch

Developer: Disney

US iTunes, App Store, iBookstore, and Mac App Store

As soon as my kids saw this on the iOS store they flipped right out and demanded that I download it right away. I am not kidding here either they demanded it. And I must be honest I was excited as well. I was and am a huge Mario Kart fan and this game certainly had the look of that, but with a nice Disney lick of paint.

I have been a gamer since the 80’s and Disney based games have always had a very high quality when it comes to the visuals. No mater who is developing them Disney translates into video games from a graphics point of view very well. But there is just something off about this game. The idea is that they are using characters from some of the most popular Disney XD shows. Gravity Falls, Phineas and Ferb, Kick Butowski, Motor City, Fish Hooks and Randy Cunningham. There are 13 characters from all these franchises, but only three to start off with.

One major problem I found was that Perry the Platypus needs to be bought in order to race as him. You can use in game currency to buy him, but my big issue with this is that he is the character they have on the app icon.

I like the roster of characters that I am sure will be expanded in future updates. Although I bet we will have to pay to play as them, but the tracks of which there is only nine are not that interesting to tell the truth. For some very odd reason out of the three tracks that you get to play first of all the very first on is actually really hard. Surely as this is a game aimed at kids it would have been much better to have a very simple track as that first one.

As far as the game play goes it follows a similar formula to many other kart racers on the iOS where your kart is always moving forward. You can turn by moving your device left or right and there of course is a drift button and a button to use weapons. The control is very similar to that of Sonic and Sega All Star Racing.

When you start a race the game is actually quite fun to play, but I do have one issue and that is the weapons. The weapons at your disposal are very fun, but the AI is really relentless with there use of the weapons. One good thing though is that if you get off to an early lead the game does not cheat and have the AI magically catch up to you like many other kart racers do. Instead you can really open up and dominate a race. AS well as winning the race you will want to collect coins so that you can make improvements to your kart.

I really wanted to love this game. The properties that its based on are great. I mean I think I love Gravity Falls more than my kids do, but there is just something off about it. Not the actual game play, but the presentation. Sure they have all these great characters, but it is lacking the personality of what makes these such fun characters. I would recommend downloading this, but be warned you will have to pay for the racers. And I made the mistake of getting caught up in the hype and as soon as I downloaded the free game I went and bought all the characters. Which as me and my kids lost interest in the game after a couple of days was a waste.

US iTunes, App Store, iBookstore, and Mac App Store

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