Wacky Races Crash and Dash is a very odd type of racing game. Based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon from years back, this arcade racer sports many of our favorite characters. They all drive their own unique vehicles, which have specific racing features and powerups. It does look “wacky.” However, the total package is pretty dull.

The racing is mostly from a side-scrolling viewpoint, with some angles from the back or top. It’s never “into the screen”. Because of this design and the fact that there are tons of racers on the track at a time, the resulting viewpoint doesn’t let racers see very far ahead. This also means that racers can’t fall too far behind, as the screen will keep on scrolling regardless of the condition of the racer.

There are no racing controls to speak of, except for a “Mad Dash” move that requires a frantic shaking of the remote, which will rapidly tire the player’s arm. No backward acceleration, no brakes. The main point of the game, therefore, appears to be the strange and weird powerups that are literally lying all around the tracks for easy pickup. These powerups will turn the racing vehicles into other types of vehicles like rockets or blimps, allow them to bomb other racers, or perform other deleterious acts against the other racers. These powerups seem sort of fun at first, but as they don’t really help racers win, the pointlessness soon begins to pall.

No matter how badly or well the racer has performed during the race, everyone is all together at the last stretch. Here, it’s the Mad Dash to the finish line, and it’s always a close finish, because all the racers are together in the one screen. So, no matter what happened previously, anyone can win if they can get around the others and shake their wrists very fast. In order to powerup the Mad Dash meter, it is necessary to earn a few Mad Dash Cogs, but racers can do that easily by using just a few powerups against the other racers and staying fairly in the middle of the racing pack.

There are two modes of play, one of which is a circuit mode, similar to a simple campaign mode, and a wacky mode, which is customizable. In the wacky mode, players can choose to play just against each other, with no computer opponents. This is the only way to play this game with any enjoyment, as this will allow players to clear the racing field a bit. It’s much more enjoyable racing in Wacky Races with just a few racers.

Mini-games can also be turned off in the Wacky mode. These mini-games are simple arcade games that Dick Dastardly will pop on players now and then during the course of the race. None of them are fun, and some are frustrating because of bad control design. The worst is the river paddling one, where players are supposed to simulate oars moving from side to side. This simply doesn’t work as expected on the Wii.

All I can really say positive about this game is that it is evident that the intention was to be different from mainstream racing games. While innovation and freshness is laudable, the bottom line is does it work, and is it fun. Many of the features just don’t work together very well, as in the forced scrolling of the screen and the crowded race track. Plus, the mad dash requirement at the end negates most of what went on before. No racer can lap the others. It’s also not very much fun. The easiness was probably designed that way for children, but the crowded playing field makes it a little hard for kids to see what is going on. The directions during gameplay are also not very clear.

Gameplay: 5.0
This game just isn’t much fun. It’s too easy, and too dull.

Graphics: 6.0
The graphics are the best feature of Wacky Races, and it’s neat for the first few minutes to see all the characters from the cartoon.

Sound: 6.0
The music is average and fits the them fairly well.

Difficulty: Easy
The racing is ridiculously easy.

Concept: 5.0
While the design is somewhat different, the execution is not good.

Multiplayer: 5.0
Players can play either as a single player against the computer, or play with friends. The essential gameplay remains the same, as the real players will take the place of the characters, the number of which will remain the same in Circuit mode. In Wacky Races mode, players can choose the number of computer opponents if there is more than one real player. Playing with multiple people doesn't change the game mechanics or add anything new to the gameplay.

Overall: 5.0
This game just isn’t very enjoyable. Families should go with Mario Kart; while it’s more difficult, it’s also much more fun.