Antz Extreme Racing

The movie Antz came out years back and few people really remember it, so it seems pretty strange that someone would release a game based on it now.  Nonetheless, Empire Interactive and DreamWorks felt compelled to put out Antz Extreme Racing, a Mario-Kart style racing game set in the Antz universe.  The game features several characters from the movie and four different styles of racing.  However, the bland presentation of the game, sloppy controls and lackluster racing bring nothing to the genre.  Antz Racing is a weak racing title with an extremely dated license.

The game starts out allowing you to only play as Z and Bala.  As you progress, you can unlock more playable characters, like Azteca and General Mandible.  The game features four different racing types:  cart racing, foot racing, flying, and boarding (which is like snowboarding, only no snow).

While the diversity of the racing types seems promising, all four modes control very poorly.  The vehicles feel very floaty and oftentimes spin out the wrong direction. And don’t even think about doing the boarding stages with a gamepad, as digital controls will just send you up the sides of the track and in last place.

The poor controls are not the only sore spots in the game.  The tracks are devoid of any creativity whatsoever.  They couldn’t be simpler if they were circles, which they practically are.  The running levels are simply a matter of using power-ups and not running into walls.  The power-ups are very generic, consisting of run-of-the-mill missiles, homing missiles, boosters, etc.  Also, if you can manage to get past the frustrating controls, the game is ridiculously easy to beat.

The game has pretty plain graphics as well.  There aren’t any special effects, and the tracks and character models both have very bland textures and pretty insipid presentations.

The game’s sound ranges from annoying to absurd.  The music is ridiculously out of place, comprising of weird, glum new age music complete with creepy singing.  The buzzing noises in place of engine sounds are grating from the moment you first hear them, and they are pretty much the only sounds in the entire game.

With boring, simplistic gameplay, bland graphics and irritating sound, Antz Extreme Racing is nothing to get excited about, so do yourself a big favor and avoid it.  This style of cartoony, arcade racing has been done much better, and will be done better in the future.

Gameplay: 3.0
The gameplay is boring and repetitive, the controls are frustrating and the tracks are plain.  That’s about all there is to it.

Graphics: 4.5
The environmental textures are plain and the character models are nothing spectacular.  The game also features no special effects.

Sound: 2.5
The weird new age music is creepy and out of place in a kids’ game, and the buzzing sound effects are very grating.

Difficulty: Very Easy 
The AI is so inept, that nearly anyone would be able to finish the game in about an hour or so.

Concept: 3.0
The license is very dated, and the idea of a cartoon-style racer has been implemented much better before.

Multiplayer: 4.0
The game utilizes a split-screen 4 player mode, but no online play.

 Overall: 3.0
Antz Extreme Racing is a boring racer with poorly implemented ideas and simplistic gameplay.  Any racing fan would do good to avoid this game at all costs.