Cars is one of Pixars biggest lines, it’s an absolute smash hit with the kids and Gameloft has partnered up to release Cars: Fast as Lightning, a new game based in the town of Radiator Springs.
In this new game, you’re going to race characters from the Cars universe, which means you’ll be hearing some familar voice talent including Owen Wilson reprising his role as Lightning McQueen. You’ll race cars, build race tracks by incorporating stunts and scenery as well as upgrade your cars throughout the game.
The racing isn’t exactly challenging, it’s a matter of holding down the accelerator pedal and lifting off on tight corners, then tapping it when you hit a blue ‘Boost’ ring. You also interact with the various stunts on the course by swiping up, down or left/right. It’s good for kids, but you’ll probably tire of it fairly quickly.
The initial 23MB download from Google Play is then immediately complimented with a 79MB download of additional files when you launch the game – if you’re running low on downloads, you may want to connect to WiFi for this one.
The game is free to download, install and launch, but carries the ‘Offers in-app purchases’ tag in Google Play, and if you want to get to the good stunts, upgrades etc early, you’ll have to pay – which thanks to the new settings in Google Play, attentive parents can now see up front that the IAP in the game ranges from $0.99 – $31.99 per item. Gameloft is certainly aware of the stigma attached to games with In-App Purchases and from the outset when you load the game you are presented with a warning addressed to ‘Dear Parents’, and warns of IAP and how parents can best ensure there are no accidental downloads.
This is a really fun game for kids, it’s easy to play, and should be ok provided you heed the warnings from Gameloft about turning off IAP. I just know I’ve lost my tablet for a while as soon as my son gets a hold of this.
This comment is for Daniel.
My early days of using an IBM PC were when shareware was the norm. Would I like to see a return to that idea, instead of IAP, absolutely. When you paid for the full version of a shareware product you got the full product. No ongoing expenses with the product just to be able to use it. The problem is the masses of games where IAP is abused as a ‘core function’ and the game is basically unplayable without spending and spending and spending. For the independent devs, that is simple, make a good game, make it playable without IAP,… Read more »
Typo in the title, should be ‘Cars: Fast as Lightning’ not ‘Cars: Fast as Lighting’
I really wish that the various governmental consumer protection organizations globally would start slapping Heavy Fines on game devs and the distro mobs, who create, release and distribute games which require IAP to have any hope of realistically playing.
I agree Jenny. It’s obviously a game for kids and yet they put IAP in it! Call me sceptical but it seems like a plan to trick kids out of $.
Hey gameloft, you may know about the stigma with IAP, especially in kids games- how about this? GET RID OF THEM! charge for the game instead. Ridiculous. I refuse to give them any $ at all for this but would definitely have bought it no matter the price.
Why? The game devs still need to make an income source. It could be worse, it could be trialware or crippleware. I’d rather play a game which takes longer than a crippled version of the same game. Granted, some devs take advantage of the IAP aspect and do indeed essentially turn it into crippleware w/o the IAP, however there are still many games where IAP is an enhancement than a core function. And what about indie devs, where IAP is their primary source of revenue? How do you propose they make an income? And lastly, how would any regulatory body… Read more »