|
|
|
MUPPET RACEMANIA (PS)
|
Publisher: Sony.
Developer: Traveller's Tales. Released: April 2000. Genre: Racing. Posted 8th January 2025. By Shane Battams © 2025 |
|
There were kart racers aplenty by 2000, even aside from the Mario Kart series, but Muppet RaceMania is one of the more successful imitations that would grace the original PlayStation. Guided by the steady hands of Traveller’s Tales, the puppets from the iconic Jim Henson ensemble feel right at home barrelling around colourful tracks inspired by multiple movies. It’s challenging, visually stimulating and overflowing with content. While you can see its influences clearly, and there are some minor quibbles that stop it from reaching the top of the genre, they feel minor. It’s still a sturdy and enjoyable racer that is worth a look for both Muppets enthusiasts and kart racer addicts.
RaceMania doesn’t stray far from the genre blueprint. On the track, handling feels light and almost Micro Machines-esque, allowing you to spin on the spot and glide around corners as well as perform small jumps. When combined with floaty physics, the racing takes some getting used to. AI is fairly competitive, showing little hesitation in clattering you with power-ups that include fish, autolocking chickens and explosive birds. To succeed, you often need to study tracks and reveal shortcuts, along with collecting both power-ups and fruit, the latter helping charge your boost and, when full, allows you to perform either a super boost, or stun opponents with a special move. Once you get the hang of RaceMania’s handling and intricacies, it plays rather well.
MRM has a raft of tracks inspired by five Muppet movies
Outside of standard races, there are two other types of events. Battle puts you into small arenas, simply tasking you with destroying all other competitors. While it offers some mild fun, it can also be frustrating, as AI has a tendency to back you into a corner, and this is even more true with Boss Battles, which range from irritating to extremely infuriating when you’re pitted against multiple bosses at once. The other is Stunt mode, which charges you with reaching the end of a course within 10 minutes. Changing to a side-on view, you’ll often need to navigate jumps and tricks. These work well as a nice diversion from the racing, and forego the frustration of Battle. You can also play all these in two-player split-screen, partake in tournaments and test drive each kart and character too. The main attraction is the racing, of course, but these extras are still welcome.
The litany of unlockables here sustains Muppet RaceMania very well. As you race through 28 tracks, each can then be played in Adventure Mode, which allows players to explore the level within a time limit. You’ll be tasked with collecting all the power-ups, delivering Doozer to a portal and finding the litany of hidden characters, which on normal race tracks, require you to beat them in a 1v1 race to unlock. This is where much of your time will be spent, as finding the right path to collect items within the time limit can take a few tries. It’s just a shame you’re limited to one collectable per run, so for example, if you collect all but one fruit, but then decide to race an unlockable Muppet, you’ll lose all that fruit and have to redo it, meaning you’ll need to prioritise one area at a time. Nevertheless, it adds a good deal of longevity to the game, and scratching off the list of hidden characters is addictive.
The litany of unlockables here sustains Muppet RaceMania very well. As you race through 28 tracks, each can then be played in Adventure Mode, which allows players to explore the level within a time limit. You’ll be tasked with collecting all the power-ups, delivering Doozer to a portal and finding the litany of hidden characters, which on normal race tracks, require you to beat them in a 1v1 race to unlock. This is where much of your time will be spent, as finding the right path to collect items within the time limit can take a few tries. It’s just a shame you’re limited to one collectable per run, so for example, if you collect all but one fruit, but then decide to race an unlockable Muppet, you’ll lose all that fruit and have to redo it, meaning you’ll need to prioritise one area at a time. Nevertheless, it adds a good deal of longevity to the game, and scratching off the list of hidden characters is addictive.
|
|
Muppet RaceMania is as colourful as you’d expect, making good use of the PlayStation. Tracks are spread across six Muppet movies, including The Great Muppet Caper and Muppets from Space. The set recreations are well-realised and are even bookended with clips from said movies. Characters look pretty close to their silver-screen counterparts, and each bears unique and attractive karts. The game runs steadily, loading times are manageable and it’s attractive overall. The sound is good too, with plenty of lines from the cast and they’re recorded in a crisp manner. The music is cheery and whimsical, though some of the shorter tracks end up looping during exploration. The effects are decent, with some notably recycled from Traveller’s Tales’ Toy Story 2.
|
|
As well as a generous amount of content, RaceMania makes great use of its cast
Muppet RaceMania is a surprisingly impressive effort that uses the Muppets license to great effect. Colourful, brimming with content and offering a decent challenge, it will appeal to both kids and adults alike. While Battle isn’t quite as fun as karting, Stunt picks up the slack and with multiplayer and tournaments, there’s plenty of other strong options. While it’s perhaps just below the likes of Crash Team Racing in the kart pecking order, Traveller’s Tales still put in far more effort than typical kart clone efforts. For those looking to while away a couple of dozen hours, Muppet RaceMania gets a solid recommendation.
|
|
VERDICT
"Muppet RaceMania uses its license to great effect, delivering lively, colourful karting in a racer that’s brimming with content and challenge." OVERALL: 7/10 |
OTHER GAMES LIKE THIS REVIEWED
Bump 'n' Burn (1994, Amiga)
|
Gale Racer (1994, Saturn)
|