James Maddox writes:
"Wacky Races was a cartoon that aired back in 1968 and had a long-running presence on Saturday morning cartoon schedules throughout the country even after its 1970 end-date. Now, nearly 40 years later, a game has surfaced that attempts to bring the animated classic back into the limelight, only to succeed in creating a very forgettable title.
Still, the overall charm that Wacky Races: Crash and Dash hoped to accomplish is superficially present on the game's outer surface. It's stylish in the ways it should be stylish, calling memories back to a simpler form of animation, and its antics parallel the cartoon's theme perfectly.
But digging deeper (aka actually playing the game) brings a major letdown that fans of the old cartoon will find disheartening, especially if they were hoping to pass the love of Wacky Races to a new generation."
Let's say for argument's sake that you're the most die-hard fan of Wacky Races of all time. You have the entire forgotten series on DVD, and you still sleep in Wacky Races sheets. Maybe, just maybe, you'll get ten minutes of nostalgic enjoyment before removing the game from your Wii forever in favour of essentially any other game available of the system. Wacky Races is a repetitive, annoying, and awfully shallow experience that is neither worthy of your time, money, or even consideration. The mere fact that you've read this review all the way to the bottom is the most attention you should ever give this travesty. Avoid this game like you would that girl in the eight grade who used to pick her nose and munch on the contents.
Pros:
* You don't have to play it (no really, the game plays itself)
* Midrace cutscenes look sharp
* Doesn't cause your Wii to spontaneously combust
Cons:
* Races can be won without touching the controller until the end
* Pointless mid-race minigames
* Midrace loading
* Idiotic, repetitive gameplay
* Excessive arm waggling
* Lousy controls
* Terrible camera
GI.net: "Some say superb and at a fault, almost aggravating amounts of alliteration absolutely agitates any and all associated around or in the area. I always thought that an explosively colorful language can articulate a point perfectly and illustrate an image in magnificent ways not possible without unique and a nuanced sense of interesting dialogue. And yet others would love to dance around the English language in such obtuse ways as to create a labyrinth of such complex or fanciful phrases, any party lucky enough might feel blessed enough to spread the verbal joy in a relative manner. After playing Wacky Races: Crash and Dash on the Wii, however, I think the English language can jump off the highest cliff while I hand it the wrong backpack for a "safe" landing.
Focusing my complaints toward speech and not racing may seem a bit cross when first discussing a racing game, but if you were familiar with Wacky Races, you would be very familiar with why an abusive amount of alliteration takes noticeable precedence over driving slightly fast through a finish line. The game is based off a cartoon concept from the late 1960s about 10 cars full of different cartoon characters racing to get to the finish line. The rage I express is directly toward the anonymous announcer who is nothing short of a complete buzzkill throughout. He'll go out of his way to remind you that the English language is molested in all manners every day of your life and, sometimes, in horrifically cute or over the top manners in which to obliterate the chances of anyone enjoying a fictional race amongst a bunch of offbeat wackos for some unknown recreational reason.
I remember the dialogue as "fun" when I was a kid - much like someone might find curling to be fun at a second glance. Whether retrospect has the better of me or I'm not one for copious control when it comes to casting canny words in large bunches, the dialogue has miffed me in ways I can only attempt to describe here. Much like horse racing, no one feels good at the end of the day, and much like horse racing, the announcer never really stops. With this sort of friction from before the starting gate, you can imagine how taxing a Grand Prix could be on any poor soul wishing to see an end to it all."
BCG writes: "Nostalgia is a pretty powerful thing. Bad fashions disappear for a decade or two and then all of the sudden someone feels the least bit nostalgic for them and they're back bigger than ever. Television shows that were kitschy and silly die off only to be resurrected twenty years down the line with an even more kitschy and silly feature film. People like to remember the good old days and snap up things that make them nostalgic faster than they can be produced.
Enter the new Wii game Wacky Races: Crash & Dash. Based on the short-lived but much loved Wacky Races cartoon series, Wacky Races: Crash & Dash has cartoony graphics that are neither bright nor vivid, much like the show it's based on. And, again like the show it's based on, the game sports terribly little interactivity. Not being very interactive may seem like an odd choice for a video game, but it's one that Wacky Races: Crash & Dash seems to embrace wholeheartedly."
