Gamers, start your engines! Cars 3: Driven to Win allows racers to take the driving seat as Lightning McQueen, Cruz Ramirez (or one of 23 total cars from the films), to race, battle and challenge your way to the Racing Hall of Fame.
Driven to Win finds its lane between a traditional racing game and a kart racer — and we really enjoy it for that exact reason. This blend of gaming styles paired with the characters from the Cars franchise makes the game shine in our opinion.
Fans of the Disney Infinity franchise will feel right at home with the game as it was created by Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment and Avalanche Studios (the studio behind Disney Infinity). That's another way of saying that if you enjoyed the Cars play set from Disney Infinity 1.0, Driven to Win has a similar feel, but the in-game abilities and engagement is cranked way up.
The script is also entertaining as Chick Hicks run through race stats along with Natalie Certain after you complete an event. Of course, Chick has his signature jabs at McQueen along the way as well! Although the likes of McQueen, Sally, and Chick aren't voiced by their respective vocal actors from the film, we were excited to hear the racing legends like Junior Johnson (Junior "Midnight" Moon) or even veteran racer and announcer Darrell Waltrip offer their vocal skills to the game.
For younger racers, the game does get hard at times, but the level selectors of Easy, Medium and Hard help to minimize issues for young gamers.
We enjoyed the wide range of racing styles, cars and tracks to choose from and found ourselves really getting a kick out of racing through Radiator Springs — it's like racing in Radiator Springs 500-and-a-half (including a run through the Tail Light Caverns with their signature Stalac-Lights).
Overall, we really enjoyed the game and think you will too. Our favorite car to race as is Cam Spinner (the TripleDent Next Gen Racer), but when we get a little lonesome, we also enjoyed playing in 4-player mode (4-player mode not availabe on PS3 and Wii U).
Read more in-game details below (with our insights in bold), watch the trailer, and purchase the game on Amazon (links below).
 |
| Click to enlarge - all current racers from the game |
CHARACTERS
- Race with 23 different characters from Fabulous Lightning McQueen, to Cam Spinner (TripleDent Next Gen Racer), to Arvy and more.
- Customize your racers with different horns, racing lights, and turbo flame colors.
EVENTS
- Race: Compete against the best of the best across 21 tracks from Fireball Beach all the way to the Florida 500 (including a few legacy tracks from the Cars 2 game).
- Battle Race: Collect weapons as you race to help you cross the finish line before the competition — be careful, the other cars fire back!
- Takedown: Collect weapons and take down as many Crash Karts as possible to earn points.
- Stunt Showcase: Do as many tricks in the air as you race off ramps — just make sure to land safely to get the points.
- Best Lap Challenge: Race against your own best time to set a new track record.
- Master-Level Events: Complete skill checks to unlock these events. Once unlocked you can race Mater the Greater, Miss Fritter, Chick Hicks, and Jackson Storm— but get ready, you need to beat them at their own game if you want to race as their character in the game.
- Playground: A no-rules playground racetrack where you can race, test your skills, and more (this is very much like the toy box mode in Disney Infinity).
- Hall of Fame: This screen shows you which skills you've unlocked — the more skills you master, the more you unlock on your way to becoming a Hall of Fame driver.
Watch the game play trailer below from WB Games.
Note: some screenshots courtesy of Toy Games TV YouTube channel (as we didn't have a great way to capture screenshots from our console).
Pick up Driven to Win on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3, Nintendo Switch and Wii U (on Amazon).
Related Posts:
- SDCC Exclusive 'The Making of Cars 3 Lightning McQueen' Die-Cast Vehicle 3-Pack Will be a Fan Favorite
- Watch our Hands-on (or Feets-on) Video Review of the 'Cars 3' Inspired New Balance 'Vazee Pace V2' Running Shoes
- Sphero's Ultimate Lightning McQueen: Our Detailed Hands-On Video Review (Yes, The Name Fits)
Pixar Post - T.J.
Related Posts:
- SDCC Exclusive 'The Making of Cars 3 Lightning McQueen' Die-Cast Vehicle 3-Pack Will be a Fan Favorite
- Watch our Hands-on (or Feets-on) Video Review of the 'Cars 3' Inspired New Balance 'Vazee Pace V2' Running Shoes
- Sphero's Ultimate Lightning McQueen: Our Detailed Hands-On Video Review (Yes, The Name Fits)
Pixar Post - T.J.