It's okay to copy Mario Kart, certainly many games (Motortoon Grand Prix, Crash Team Racing) have done it well, but to work as a title and provide the consumer with a hook for entry, Heracles falls way short of the mark. Its hook is its aesthetic, which wears quite thin under the shallow and uninspired gameplay. Nothing more is offered in terms of substance or, beyond a few fun bits of four player battles, a reason to return.
Is Heracles Chariot Racing a good game for WiiWare? You bet. Is it a good game, period? Not exactly.
A whole lotta bite-sized offerings can be played on any PSP or your PS3 and downloaded directly from the PlayStation Store. Meant to be simple in approach, Minis are nuggets of pure game design, and accordingly they're usually priced quite a bit cheaper than full-blown games. Every week, IGn will be taking a look at what's hit the Store and offering up a simple verdict on the various offerings.
GamingXP: Take the two great franchises, "Disney's Hercules" and Nintendo's "Mario Kart", you escape the magic of the reputable and licensed characters, and then mix vigorously.
Gamez writes: "That many games would benefit from the success of Mario Kart is now no secret. Heracles Chariot Racing unashamedly uses the same elements of Mario Kart in a different setting."
