Looney Tunes: Space Race Review

Introduction
There are no two words that send chills as quickly down the spine of gamers, no matter what system they prefer, like that of the phrase: ‘Licensed Game’. While you would expect that most fans of whatever franchise that is being rendered into the polygonal world should be ecstatic, usually they are quaking in fear. No other genre of gaming has been so effectively mutilated by the gaming industry as those that are based on another company’s property. Only recently has the trend started to change, with a few examples like The Lord of the Rings and Spiderman being worthwhile endeavors that just happened to be based on a blockbuster movie. Each system, dating back to the Atari 2600, has had their share of royal stinkers, and most of these have been licensed material including: E.T. (Atari 2600), The Fantastic Four (PSOne), Superman 64 (N-64) and Enter the Matrix (PS2/Xbox).

The question that one should next ask would be, “Why did this happen, and why does it continue?” Most developers complain that they are too restricted by the licensing agreement, which ties their creative hands. Others quote the fact that most of the available funds go to purchasing the agreement, so not much is left over for the actual development of the game. No matter what the reason, the outcome is crystal clear and it stinks to high heaven. The truly sad part is that no matter how many times fans have been burned by horrible creations, they still continue to be drawn to them uncontrollably, like moths to a flame. If you are wondering why I am up on my soapbox ranting about these problems, it’s because I am one of these gamers also.

When the boss walked up to my desk a few days ago and slid a copy of Looney Tunes: Space Race (LT:SR) onto it, my first thoughts ran wild with ecstatic joy. These guys were my buddies growing up. I lived for each Saturday morning, when I could sit in front of the television, munch on a box of Fruit Loops and watch the Bugs Bunny and Friends Show. Now, I could have the chance to become part of their wackiness and secretly revisit my childhood. Then, in all this glory, my world came crashing down around me. This was a licensed game and I should expect nothing but a lonely trip to the innermost circle of Hell. How did this adventure turn out? Read on, brave warrior, and experience the trials and tribulations of my latest quest.

Gameplay
If you cut away all the fancy trimmings, Space Race has its genetic origins in the kart racing genre. Infogrames (known today by the moniker Atari) has replaced the wheeled variety, seen in most of these styles of games, for that of jet powered hovercraft. There are nine different craft available in the game, although some of them need to be purchased, and each one is reflective of the character doing the piloting duties. Most of the big-named characters make an appearance in the game, including: Porky, Bugs, Daffy and Wile E. Coyote. Although there are some additional non-playable cameo appearances by some characters, I was disappointed in the small character selection that Infogrames included.

Graphically, Space Race is nothing impressive. The framerate is steady, and all of the characters look like their Saturday Morning personas. All of the locales are well drawn, and the tracks are average at best. Nevertheless, there just isn’t the same feel that one gets from watching the reruns on television. You just don’t seem to fall into the grasp of nostalgia and become part of the experience.

All of the wacky vehicles handle almost exactly the same with only some very minor differences, which most players won’t even realize. Nevertheless, the control is loose enough to give you a cartoonish feel, but tight enough to keep your vehicle on the track. There is no power sliding around the turns (hovercraft do not power slide), however you do have the ability to slip sideways to miss obstructions that are placed directly in your path. Unlike a real driving experience, the brakes are hardly used and most turns can be navigated by simply letting off of the accelerator to coast through the variety of turns.

The control schemes come in four selectable, preset patterns, none of which I personally liked. Since I wanted to use the right analog stick to accelerate and brake, I was forced to have the L3 button as my turbo. This constantly resulted in accidental discharge of my turbo blast, usually when I was in a twisty section of the course, and shot right through a corner and dropped off of the elevated track. This is one option I really wish game developers would take into consideration. Every player has a unique comfort zone with the DualShock 2, and we all use it differently. Why not make the game user-friendly, so we can set up the controller to our liking? I’m sure it would result in a happier overall experience. The analog pressure ability of the dual shock is utilized, however it is very unnoticeable and unnecessary, since it’s a full acceleration race for most of the journey.

The game is broken down into five different racing modes. Most of these are self-explanatory and include the single race, tournament race, time trial, multiplayer and the ACME events. The ACME events are more of the standard single races, with some strange variables thrown in for good measure. There’s nothing too groundbreaking here at all. There are 14 unique tracks on eight different theme worlds. Track layouts are pretty standard and can usually be traversed with minimal effort. Like most kart racers, there is a wide selection of weaponry that can be acquired on the track, and all of it has that distinctive ACME feel to it. From the missile launchers, to the falling elephants and anvils, even the portable hole and earthquake tablets, everything has made an appearance somewhere in the Looney Tunes universe. The inclusion of these weapons are the only challenging aspect you have to deal with, as they can come from anywhere at anytime without any advanced warning, and getting hit when leading the pack certainly will put you back in last place. Luckily the other racers all will be giving each other the full treatment also, so usually you can regain the lead in mere moments.

All of the voice acting sounds as close to the original characters as humanly possible, since Mel Blanc has passed on to his reward and the voice talents have switched to a new diverse group of imitators. All of the important sound factors have their own volume control, and you have the standard choice of mono or stereo output. The background music is exactly what you would expect, and fits the motif perfectly. I would have liked to experience some of the classic musical selections that were heard in the cartoons, but I’m sure that classical music is not the theme of choice for a kart racer.

Extras
There are the previously mentioned ACME races and the multiplayer races, which support up to four players via the multitap. Coins can be earned in all of the events to unlock extra racers, tracks, and even the ending movie. However, some of these can be rather steep (1 Million coins just for the movie) and it will take quite a while to acquire enough of these to obtain all of the extras.

Conclusion
Looney Tunes: Space Race has a solid game engine, handling and works as a kart racer. The only real disappointment is the lack of innovation or in-depth use of the gaming license. From all of the available characters that could have been drawn upon, Infogrames really left a lot on the table with this title. Nothing really stands out for the player, and the game fails to distance itself from the plethora of others in the genre. This really is only for Looney Tune fanatics; others should stick with either Motor Toon Grand Prix or Crash Team Racing for the PSOne.

Final Score: 7.0