Racing games have always fascinated a lot of players all around the world, because they have offered them the chance to drive some very fast cars on special tracks or even in cities, without the thought of anything happening to them.

When a Hollywood movie that focuses on racing also appears, the ingredients are all set to deliver a video game based on it and to further increase the profits that the companies involved will get from customers.

Such is the case with Speed Racer, the movie that was written and directed by the famous Wachowski brothers, who also worked on the Matrix trilogy, or on V for Vendetta. The video game adaptation of the motion picture was developed by Sidhe Interactive for the Wii and by Virtuos for the DS. It was released in North America on May 6, 2008, reaching European shores on May 9 and Japan on July 24.

“Speed Racer is an exceptionally creative property and teamed with the Wachowski brothers' vision it makes for action-packed racing gameplay,” Samantha Ryan, senior vice president, Development and Production, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, said when the title was announced. “The game will capture the intensity of the racing in the film to give gamers and movie fans a chance to take the wheel after the[y] experience the film.”

The title features adrenaline-filled races, as drivers must use “Car-Fu” to battle opponents and jump, flip or smash their competitors off the tracks. Over 19 different drivers will be available for use in a lot of competitions throughout the game.

Overall, the title was positively received by many critics, who applauded the Car-Fu mechanic and the realism of the races. Low marks were given to the Wii version, as the DS one managed to impress a lot more reviewers.

UNLOCKABLES

Bonus characters
Reach the indicated number of fans to unlock the corresponding character:

Mariana Zanja (Petrobras-1): 500,000 fans;
S. Storm (Nukeshot): 425,000 fans;
Sonic Renaldi (Chalk-head): 30,000 fans;
Taejo Togokahn (Hangul): 600,000 fans.

Here's a trailer for this game: