Antz Extreme Racing

Xbox review by Matt Wadleigh - Friday 21st February 2003

Have you ever been in your video store and picked up a game to rent that looks absolutely abysmal? Or a game that you have absolutely no interest in what so ever yet you insist on trying it out? For me, that game is Antz Extreme Racing. Clerk Bob has rented me half the games in his store and it seems I've conquered his selection of hits already, so now I spend my days with obscure titles such as this. Oh, I pity the day when I have to play Hunter: The Reckoning...but for now, I shall discuss the misdeeds of Antz Extreme Racing.



For those unfamiliar with the Antz franchise, go rent the movie because I've never seen it and can't fill you in. Antz Extreme Racing (henceforth AER) though, that I can tell you about. AER is a basic kart racer taken to a new level. Instead of your standard gas-powered karts, different insects power these karts. Sometimes you will ride a spider, other times a fly and even sometimes you need to get your ass to work and run with your character. Other options include a variation of snowboarding and a slalom course that you must navigate your Ant through.

You first select your Ant for the challenges, either a male or female Ant. You then progress through 8 different levels in which you must get first place in each. Once you beat all of the challenges its then onto a final race between you and one other Ant up a twisty tree. Once you beat him, you unlock another Ant to use. The unlocked Ant then goes through the same challenges that the previous Ant went through except the levels are slightly varied while the computer-controlled characters get slightly better. Rinse, Lather, Repeat if desired.



While it is fairly fun, the games’ design definitely warranted more innovation, innovation that I was denied. Oh Bob will rue the day he rented me a game that actually almost made me throw up. Let me elaborate on that. I was riding a leaf down a grassy hill (the games take on snowboarding) and man, was a doing crummy. Now, I was in first but that was simply because the AI in the game is designed for small children to be able to easily beat, and I was crashing into walls. The camera is fixed to stick right behind the Ant you are using, and as he was being flung about, my tummy couldn't take it and the game had to be paused. I've never had a reaction like that before in my life.

Which leads me into another major complaint I have with the game. Definitely a children’s game. No doubt about it. I was able to dominate the game the whole way through with no more than a few tries on each of the games levels. I must say though, the level design was actually quite fun. My favorite was this termite-ridden tree that had little paths carved out in it that you had to foot-race through. My liking it though may have actually had something to do with the fact that it took my 5 tries to beat, as opposed to 2 like all the others.



What would a kart racer be though without power-ups and assorted goodies to aid you in your quest for victory? AER doesn't fail to deliver here. By running into different colored flowers you earn yourself a variety of different power-ups to help you out, such as a lightning bug that gives you a turbo boost and mosquitoes that you can shoot off at your foes (think Mario Kart's turtle shells). While none of them are too terribly original, they are pretty cool.

I was impressed with AER's track design. I liked that fact that everything seemed so big in comparison to my miniature Ant. One track had quarters scattered about it that I had to jump over, which actually made me aware of how tiny I actually was. This is a much better take than the standard paved tracks that you race on in other Kart racers. Racing through a tree is also a lot of fun as well.



The graphics are surprisingly good for a budget title aimed at children. The texturing of the tracks never grew repetitive and the character models were fairly well animated. Each Ant had a different kart to race in, and they were all animated as well. In certain levels rain fell from the sky and made some pretty cool splashes on the ground. All around, the graphics were pretty decent, though nothing really stood out.

What a conundrum: no voice-overs for the Antz. It's a pity. Wasn't this an uber-successful movie of epic proportions? The developers couldn't get someone who sounded remotely similar to some of the movie stars to do a half-assed job of doing voices for the game?



Ghetto...and so is the lack of music. Nope, not a bit of music here, making races pretty boring without a CD player playing nearby. The cars make some noises, but they're just bug sounds that actually borderline irritating.

A few fatal flaws killed this actually decent licensed kart racer. Had the developers not taken the easy way out and had added music and a few good voice-overs, this could have easily scored an 8. However, camera problems, complete lack of innovation and sparse sound options really killed a seemingly wonderful game. I think now I shall have to see the movie, just to see what it is like.

Thunderbolt score: six out of ten

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