WiiNintendo

I did not have a ton of time to play this game, but in all honesty, I am not sure I wanted much more time.  The only major item I did not get to try was the local multiplayer.  I hope you enjoy my “mini review” of Speed Zone.

A WiiNintendo mini-review by hattrick.

Game: Speed Zone (Wii)
Time Played: 1 hour
Obtained: Rental
Control Method: Wii Remote, Nunchuck, Classic Controller

Overview & Gameplay
This is your basic high-speed racing game.  It is similar to F-Zero, but you are still on wheels.  In fact, I find it a cross between F-Zero, Speed Racer, and TrackMania.  If you test this game out, I am fairly sure you will agree.  The gameplay is straightforward.  You start off with $10,000, you pick a car, and you begin racing.  Each race, you make money, and you use that to upgrade your car or buy/unlock another one.  Each time you finish a race in the grid, you check it off your list, and more tracks are unlocked. One interesting point to bring up, that I unfortunately did not get to try, was that this game supports up to 8 players locally (no Wi-Fi).

Controls
Speed Zone allows you to pick from various control methods.  For example, I was able to use the Wii Remote by itself (Mario Kart style), Classic Controller (R for acceleration, L for brakes, control pad or left analog stick for steering), and the Nunchuck by itself (tilt down to accelerate, tilt left and right for steering).  Other buttons and analog sticks were used for hand brakes, view options, and weapons (although I never saw any weapons I could shoot).  My favorite probably was, surprisingly, the Wii Remote.  I thought I was going to like the Classic Controller, but I did not do as well.  The Wii Remote allowed me to get my best times.  However, with that said, this game is extremely difficult to control.  I must have re-spawned at least 20 times each race.  Even when I purchased the highest grip for my car, I still went flying off the track.  You can also play with the GameCube controller, but I did not have the patience to try one more control method.

Graphics & Sound
Let me make this simple and easy.  The graphics are no better than a GameCube or PS2 game.  Maybe the real graphical prowess comes when 8 players are on the screen at the same time, but I did not have the opportunity to see that in action (I did not have 7 people to play with, and my TV would have given each player about a 3-4 inch screen to watch anyhow).  The sound seems to be out of an early 90’s nightclub, but it fits the feeling of the game with its dance beats and futuristic synthesizers.

Conclusions
This game might be best played with a group of 8 friends gathered around a projector or 70 inch TV screen, but when played alone, it only left me wanting to eject the disc and replace it with Mario Kart.  If you are looking for a futuristic fast-paced racer, I would recommend Speed Racer, or even go back to F-Zero GX for the GameCube over Speed Zone.  While it was a bit fun at times, I would easily play these other games over it any day.

Discuss this and more in our forums.
Follow WiiNintendo on Twitter.
Subscribe to our RSS Feed.