About the game:
Think about R.C. Pro-Am, think of Diddy Kong Racing, think of micro machines and wind up cars - now mash those all together and throw it on a pool table for example and you have a good starting point for mad tracks. You drive mini cars on very interesting tracks covering a bunch of different game types, and an assortment of power ups and weapons, and the car is powered by a spring which refills when you let off the gas.
Single Player: 7/10
I am going to follow the same format I always follow for reviews, but the single player and multiplayer mode are really the exact same system - the only difference is obviously in single player you play against AI opponents and you have the ability to vary their difficulty levels. There are fifteen maps to play the various game types with a promise of 2 expansions coming soon to provide more maps to race on. Each map has a predefined game type that you will play for that map, they range from a variety of race types, some are your standard just race from point A to point be, some are knockout type races and there are a few really unique ones such as a game of pool in which you are the cue ball. Each track has powerups and weapon boxes to pick up which are randomized, making each run through the race pretty unique.
Multiplayer: 8/10
Multiplayer is the exact same games and races that are covered in the single player section of this review - but its just more fun to play against real people isn’t it? Not to mention they were really smart when developing multiplayer for this game allowing xbox live multiplayer AND split screen multiplayer. So many games these days leave out split screen or local multiplayer completely.
Graphics/game play: 8/10
For an xbox live arcade game the graphics are on point. Some of the tracks are very interesting and detailed, there are areas where you drive through a set of dominos, or huge empty coke bottles. The car models are pretty detailed and offer a few different cars and colors. The gameplay and controls are pretty straight forward, no really weird controller configurations or anything like that - the only thing that slipped me up is switching between the various powerups. It isn’t a complicated function to do so, I just forget to try it, since so many of these type of games allow you to hold a single power up / weapon at one time.
Achievements: 7/10
There are a few easy achievements. There are a few difficult achievements, and there are a few really annoying achievements. Specifically there is an achievement in which you have to race the same track 20 times in a row, no you dont have to win, you simply have to race it 20 times in a row. Obviously its a bit repedative, and there is no real skill involved at all, you just simply have to be bored enough and have the time to run throught he same race 20 times - each time taking an average of 1 to 1.5 minutes.
Value: 8/10
I rate the value high on this game, because its a unique game and allows for local and xbox live multiplayer. You won’t fall victim to someone that knows every map inside in out because although the tracks themselves are not randomized, the power ups and weapons that you pick up and use against the other racers are. This makes the powerups at your (and your opponents) disposal different each time - giving it a little more replay value.
In Short..
Mad tracks is a fun little game with cartoon cars and cartoon tracks. You pick up various power ups and weapons to help you progress through the race. Some of the races - are actually mini games instead of races, a pool game for example, where you are the cue ball and the goal is to hit your balls in before your oponent. I think its a fun little game and has a good amount of replay value with the randomized power ups, local and xbox live multiplayer, and upcoming track downloads (of course they will cost you more so its no ideal - but they are rumored to be priced very low).
I give it a 7.5 out of 10
