Cars 3: Driven to Win | Xbox One

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The once-prominent film tie-in has been on the decline for a number of years now, which is largely considered a good thing, as shedding the often oppressive schedules has allowed licensed games to flourish. Cars 3: Driven to Win, however, is a rare exception; a good ol’ fashioned film tie-in that’s also legitimately fun.

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by Sam
​Sant

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​@SlamShotSam

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Developer: Avalanche
Software
Publisher: Warner Bros.
Interactive
Entertainment
Platforms: Xbox One,
Xbox 360, PS4, PS3,
Nintendo Switch, Wii U
Players: 1 ​- 4

Cars 3 doesn’t use its license as a crutch, in fact, if anything, it underutilises it. Besides a brief introduction, the iconic cast of characters and locales are relegated to mere vehicles and tracks, just as you’d see in a conventional racer. The sparse opening framework sees Lightning McQueen and company poised to participate in a series of simulated races as part of TV show Chick’s Picks, with host Chick Hicks. The simulation angle allows Driven to Win to draw from the entire Cars franchise, which caters to fans, but the lack of any overarching narrative doesn’t.

We were initially disappointed to discover what lay before us was a series of single events and cup tournaments, rather than an explorative adventure, but after sampling the latter in the unlockable Thomasville Playground mode, it became clear that Avalanche Software and Warner Bros. took the game in the right direction. Navigating the elaborate, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater-inspired area is nothing short of a cumbersome pain in the rear bumper.

Track events are altogether more entertaining, thanks in equal parts to their engaging variety and surprising nuance. Whether engaging in a standard Race, Best Lap Challenge, Stunt Showcase, Takedown event or Battle Race - both of which incorporate Mario Kart-style weapon pickups - the core gameplay is fun for players both young and old.

Customisable difficulty and drift assist settings play a part in accommodating everyone, as does the arcade handling’s pick-up-and-play design. While you can simply hold the accelerator down and turn to take first place at the easier end of the spectrum, ramping the difficulty up encourages a level of tacticality that can be quite rewarding.

To be competitive at a higher level you’ll need to memorise the location of sneaky shortcuts and on-track obstacles, perform aerial acrobatics and Stunt Drive (that’s driving in reverse, on two-wheels, or drifting) for prolonged periods to earn more speed-boosting Turbo, decide whether or not to hoard that Turbo in order to enter an invulnerable state, and, while those are the fundamentals, there’s even more to consider. Mastering these mechanics is simple enough, but stringing the manoeuvres together into flawless combos takes a bit of practice, making it super satisfying when you eventually get it down.

There’s a decent amount of content here to boot, with 23 cars (which are purely an aesthetic choice) and 21 tracks (some of which are rehashes) playable across the 5 event types to keep your 20 or so hour journey towards the Hall of Fame mostly engaging.

When you also take into consideration the pleasant visuals and fun local multiplayer, available in cooperative and competitive varieties, Cars 3: Driven to Win is a surprisingly comprehensive game. It doesn’t do anything particularly innovative, and falls short in some areas, but is still a very solid example of its genre, which is far more than most film tie-ins can boast.

Pros

• Fun arcade racing for all ages
• Accessible with a degree of depth
• Event variety maintains interest
• Lots of content to keep you busy
• A film tie-in that doesn’t rest on its license...

Cons

• … But doesn’t offer much fan service as a result
• Thomasville Playground mode is poor
• Recycled tracks

7/10