Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour

Game Description

The Fireworks Machine at Walt Disney World has blown apart, and its pieces are scattered throughout thirteen of the rides at the park. Of course, the rides are now racetracks, and it's up to you to maneuver your go-kart through popular attractions like Space Mountain, Tomorrowland Speedway, and the Test Track at Epcot. Play as Chip, Dale, and ten other brand new Disney characters, as well as the eminently helpful Jiminy Cricket.

Walt Disney World Quest Magical Racing Tour boasts more playable characters than any kart racer before it (a total of 13 are offered), and each of the game's tracks allows you to maneuver a different vehicle. Instead of being confined to just a go-kart, you'll get a bobsled, or a rocket ship, and several others. Collect a myriad of power-ups to your vehicle such as Mickey coins which allow you to race a little faster with each additional coin you collect. Or use the guided bottle rocket to get a speed boost and home in on your opponent. You can also collect items that can be used against your opponents like the frog spell, which will leave them hopping in your dust. Or launch an acorn at them and send them flying out of control.

Magical Racing Tour also features a VS mode where you can challenge a friend (or enemy) to sudden death, go-kart style. Zip around thirteen different arenas, collecting weapons and power-ups to obliterate your neighbor. The Time Trial mode allows you to familiarize yourself with each of the tracks without other competitors, while you race against the clock.

Stuck at any point? Jiminy Cricket not only provides much of the narration on your quest, but he also dispenses racing tips free of charge. ~ Christian Huey, All Game Guide

Roots & Influences

Magical Racing Tour owes a heavy debt to 1992's Super Mario Kart and its sequels, but the title's gameplay bears a much greater resemblance to Crash Team Racing from 1999. ~ Christian Huey, All Game Guide

Review: Enjoyment

It plays well enough to keep most players interested for a little while. ~ Christian Huey, All Game Guide

Production Credits

Director: Glen A. Schofield

Producer: Steve Papoutsis

Lead Programmer: Adrian Longland

Lead Designer: Christopher Tremmel

Programmer: Jeff McArthur

Artists: Scott Anderson, Scott Baker, Amy Bond-Epis, Eric Elliot, Ross Harris, Ben Harrison, Freddie Lee, Martin McDonald, Colin O'Connor, Mike Provenza, Chris Thompson

Animators: Eric Elliott, Christopher Stone

Senior Designer: Gerald "Gmoney" Vera

Audio/Visual Lead: Greg Shaw

Audio Programming: Fred Mack

Additional Design: Jeremy "J-Dogg" Bredow, Jem Stiefelmaier

Additional Art: Spencer Hale, Ben Harrison, Pierre Roux, Glen A. Shofield, Christopher Stone

Music Composition: Jim Hedges

Additional Music: John Baker, Mark Miller, Burke Trieschmann

Executive Producer: Sam Player

Test Manager: Billy Mitchell

Lead Tester: Rich Krinock

Assistant Lead Tester: Ben Walker

Tester: Chris Bruno, Dave Caffey, Jon Guilford, Mark Medeiros, Jacob Rohrer, Benny Ventura

FMA Sequence "The Cleaner" Special Thanks: Malachi Boyle, Suzanne Cooper, Rita Fovenyessy, Anna Sharpe, Charlene Callorina, Brett Dyer, Mike Oswall, Michael Avanessian, Robert Fitzpatrick, Bret Bartlett

EIDOS INTERACTIVE

Sr. Product Manager: Chip Blundell

Associate Product Manager: Renee Pletka

Public Relations: Greg Rizzer

Special Thanks: The Entire Eidos Team Hanshaw Ink & Image Moore Design Group

DISNEY INTERACTIVE

Director of Production, Consoles: Dan Winters

Producer: Luigi Priore

Artist: Tom Barlow

Original Story: Michael Levey

Director, Marketing: Jean-Luc Satin

VOICE TALENTS

Jiminy: Eddie Carroll

Chip, Polly Roger, Otto Plugnut: Tress MacNeille

Dale, Moe Whiplash, Bruno Biggs: Corey Burton

Amanda Sparkle, Tiara Damáge: Michelle Horn

Ned Shredbetter, Baron Karlott, X.U.D.71, Oliver Chickley III: Shaun Fleming ~ Rich Hernandez, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

Ambient music guru Brian Eno once conceived of something he called the probability box. The probability box is fed data pertinent to the sort of product it's supposed to emulate. For example, say you wanted to create a new television sitcom. You might feed hundreds of scripts of every successful show ever aired, and the probability box would spit out a new show, made up of the most commonly found elements from all the other shows. It would be nothing new or innovative. On the contrary, it would cling to every time-tested tradition that's worked a hundred times before. Hence, Suddenly Susan. The probability box is what made the 1998 Godzilla movie, The Family Guy, NSYNC, and Disney's new Magical Racing Tour for the PlayStation.

Absolutely nothing about this title will surprise anyone; in fact, even the ridiculous title of the game itself lumbers across the front page of the instruction booklet in a way that makes you wonder if there was any stage in the game's development at all that involved a human's input. Really, can you say Walt Disney World Quest Magical Racing Tour without tripping over your own tongue? That's the kind of hideous prose only a machine could churn out.

Nearly every power-up and pixel of this kart racer tries to ape more successful efforts at the genre, particularly CTR: Crash Team Racing, one of the runaway hits for the PlayStation in 1999, and a game that introduced some of the first real innovations to the genre since its inception in 1992 with the original Super Mario Kart.

It's all here. You've got your generous selection of characters, each with either a good or evil affiliation, and each with his or her particular racing strengths and weaknesses. (Some minor praise here: there is not a Mickey, Donald, or Goofy to be found anywhere in the game, which shows that, if nothing else, the developers were above cheap name recognition this time around. The only standard Disney characters tearing up the tracks are Chip and Dale, and the always-conscientious Jiminy Cricket.)

You've got your adventure mode, with each race you participate in bringing you closer to your ultimate goal, whatever that may be. And let's not forget the battle mode, where you get to challenge a buddy to a go-kart deathmatch. Already, though, at Magical Racing Tour's title screen, do we see some glaring holes in gameplay options. These are my two biggest quibbles: (1) there is no "arcade" mode, where you (and perhaps a friend) can participate in a straightforward racing tournament; and (2) the very notion of a four-player racing experience has been eschewed. This is inexcusable, since that feature in particular was what made the kart racing genre such a hit early on.

Unlike CTR: Crash Team Racing's adventure mode, there are no bosses to defeat, nor secret items or areas to unlock. There is no fully realized world in which you can zoom around and explore. All you've got is a static map of Walt Disney World, with icons for each racetrack. And yes, each track takes place at one of the theme park's many rides. So, what's your goal? To find the thirteen missing (or stolen, or whatever) pieces of the Fireworks Machine. Wanna guess how many tracks there are?

So, yes, the whole game does reek of more shameless Disney self-promotion, but enough on the political tip. Racing games are visceral experiences, and as long as the adrenaline's pumping, not much else matters. Luckily, Magical Racing Tour is quite playable, and its controls will be instantly intuitive to anyone who's sped across a power booster, off a ramp, and over a rocky chasm in the Crash Bandicoot or Mario racing games. While the handling may not be as razor sharp as in either of those two series, it's still pretty responsive, and for the first time in a kart racing game, I can actually get my guy to turn as far as I need him to before smacking into a rock wall!

But while the game tries to save face through its solid gameplay, it disappoints again with its mediocre graphical presentation. This is a bit of a shock coming from Disney, a company that has always excelled in providing lush helpings of eye candy. It's not bad, per se, but after the bar CTR: Crash Team Racing set for kart racers, these low framerates, polygon popups, and a subpar overall resolution just do not cut the mustard. Not in 2000, not in the era of 128-bit processors. As for the music, it depends on your tastes. Aside from a few well-placed swinging numbers, you'll mostly find yourself hearing those first few bars from It's a Small World over and over, and. . .

I'm sure I've said it already, but for the sake of clarity, let me spell this out for you: if you want a kart racer for your PlayStation, grab CTR: Crash Team Racing. If you're bored of CTR: Crash Team Racing, try Chocobo Racing or Speed Punks. But unless you're a die-hard Disney fan, skip this exercise in manufactured mediocrity, and go to the darn theme park yourself. I'm just betting that any minute now, that probability box'll be cranking out a survival horror game that takes place inside the haunted house. ~ Christian Huey, All Game Guide

Review: Graphics

Bright and colorful in typical Disney fashion, but visuals are marred by grainy textures, poor framerate, and polygon pop-up. ~ Christian Huey, All Game Guide

Review: Sound

Sound effects are suitable, likewise the music. Nothing outstanding, though. ~ Christian Huey, All Game Guide

Review: Replay Value

Lacks the hidden options and modes featured in games like Crash Team Racing. ~ Christian Huey, All Game Guide

Review: Documentation

Adequate coverage: story, characters, gameplay modes, stages, items, and game credits. ~ Christian Huey, All Game Guide

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