Reviewed: October 9, 2003
Reviewed by: Miguel Cervantes
Publisher
Midway
Developer
Point of View
Released: August 4, 2003
Genre: Racing
Players: 2
ESRB: Teen
8
8
9
7
8.0
Supported Features:
In today’s console gaming world, the thematic blueprint for interactive experiences is all but set in stone. Take the player, and have him move from point A to point B, with multiple repetitive button clicking tossed in between. In today’s console gaming world however, just precisely how the player is induced to perform those repetitive actions has become the wild card for failure or success. In the old days it was called storytelling, but today it’s referred to as immersion, and just how pleasant and deeply engrossing a game can make that immersive experience for the player – whiling his time away with button click after button click – has become a key ingredient in interactive entertainment.
With Freaky Flyers, the latest kart-style racing game from Midway Interactive, I’m pleased to report that your hard earned button mashing time will be among the most pleasant you’ve experienced in quite a while. Freaky Flyers takes a cartoonish, light-hearted approach to the racing genre by introducing a slew of high quality Saturday morning cartoon production values, outrageously funny characters and scenario after scenario of Disney-esque flying fun.
At its core, Freaky Flyers is an airplane racing game. The Freaky Flyers International Racing Tournament has attracted talented pilots from around the globe who compete against one another for fame, fortune and glory. Playing as one of fifteen available characters, your goal is to enter the tournament and aviate your way to the top, using weapons, power-ups, flying stunts and skill to overcome a host of competitive air jockeys, natural (and un-natural) hazards and a slew of obstacles in race courses that even Dirk the Daring might find daunting.
As its name implies, Freaky Flyers is a game that doesn’t take things too seriously, and every block of creativity, from the character creations to the world they inhabit, is a testament to this tongue-in-cheek adventure world. There are some enormously high production values here, beginning with the overall presentation of the game itself. Colorful menus, detailed artwork, a theme song and a deviously humorous announcer whose baritone is straight from the world of Rocky and Bullwinkle pull you in right away, and the extraordinarily imaginative characters, each with his or her own background, combined with hilarious high quality cinematic cut scenes continue to ensure that the ‘wow-factor’ baton is not dropped.
Every character is stereotypically ‘maxed-out’ in their attributes, crafted to ensure riotous amusement. A good instance of this is the All (too) American Johnny Turbine, a dim witted Montana Joe (who bears a striking resemblance to Robin William’s Genie in Aladdin) whose blonde hair and barrel chest are barely enough to get him out of his Dudley Do-Right escapades. This wacky brand of cartoon humor pervades the entire Freaky Flyer’s experience, from the single player adventure campaign to the additional Dog Fight, Mini-Game and two player head-to-head experience.
Flying against your opponents will take skill. Each plane is equipped with a rapid fire machine gun, the ability to perform barrel rolls and loop de loops, and, in the tradition of Mario Kart, each level is littered with power ups, speed boosters and other devious devices with which to foil your opponents. As cute and funny as the Freaky Flyers are, they can be down right nasty when it comes to using these items to their own advantage, and as a general rule of thumb, courtesy is often rewarded with a last place finish. That’s okay, because after you get the hang of using your aircraft, you’ll no doubt find enormous pleasure in showing your opponents the business end of your guns. It’s all in good fun of course, no one ever dies in Freaky Flyers, and with the pilots always out-sizing their planes (ala Star Wars: Bombad Racing) the violence is kept to a cartoonish minimum.The controls are fluid and simple to learn. Freaky Flyers makes good use of the PlayStation 2 controller, and during my own gameplay I found the default controls for acceleration, braking, firing and item selection to be well placed (you can change your setup or customize it if you prefer).
Each level in Freaky Flyers is a unique, intricately crafted locale ranging from the burning sands of the Sahara to the bustling city-streets of a prohibition era metropolis. Every race is preceded with an in-game fly though, allowing the narrator to fill you in on the details of that particular venue. Flying through each of these levels is nothing short of astounding, with tons of detail oozing from the pores, all contributing to the heightened sense of immersion which can best be likened to traveling though a theme-ride at Disneyland.
In one of the first races, for instance, you’ll find yourself barreling through a dusky canyon set somewhere in the Wild West while a steaming train chugs its way below. As you fly your way through an Indian campground (replete with neon signs), you’ll suddenly find yourself twisting through the cavernous entrails of a gold mine twisting and dodging your tiny craft to avoid shafts and cart rails packed closer together than the insides of the Death Star. There’s quite an Indiana Jones feel here, something which doesn’t let up in any of the more confining areas. In addition to rich detail, each level also contains numerous optional sub-goals that your flyer can perform during the race. The sub-goals are a fantastic addition, and some, like giving Big Foot a lift in the snowy mountains, are worth seeking out and performing just for their novelty.
Its not all fun and games flying the freaky skies however, and Freaky Flyers loses some brownie points in a few areas. The intricacy of the levels works against itself in some instances, sometimes forcing the player to give up the plausibility of accomplishing sub-goals in order to place in the match, and progress to the next level. The massive detail can make it hard to find them as well, even at the medium-fast speeds at which the races occur. Only after successive attempts (often resulting in lost races) was I able to locate most of the sub-goals.
The addition of mini-games was enticing until I realized that they were same mini-games unlocked during adventure mode. Unique mini-games would have added immense value. In the Menu, Jukebox options and unlockable character movies/cut-scenes are also an added bonus, but the only way to access them all is to play through the entire adventure mode with each individual character, the prospect of which would make even the most die-hard Freaky Flyer squeamish with repetitive anxiety.
It’s become increasingly hard as of late to fault next generation console titles for their graphics, and Freaky Flyers is no exception. Bright colors, crisp textures and a painstaking attention to object rendering and detail bring the world of Freaky Flyers to life in bold beautiful strokes upon the PS2’s graphical canvas. The in-game racing levels benefit particularly well from this factor, and I found myself intentionally losing races just to cruise around and enjoy the view. The cinematic sequences used to move the story along and reveal more about each Freaky Flyer are also first rate, and serve to enhance an already enchanting ambience.
For a game with such enormously high production values, you’d expect the soundtrack that accompanies it to be no less than captivating, and it is. In addition to the menu theme song mentioned above, each level comes complete with its own unique soundscape, surrounding the action in sprightly, high-energy tunes specific to that level. Your desert canyon romp gets cowboy guitars and harmonica; your detour through the Arabian Nights-inspired Cave of Blunders is accompanied by mystical Arabesque. Even the mini-games benefit, as the faux-Spanish ‘Bandito’s Pride’ attests to. Win the match and your ears are treated to a high energy ska selection, while losers get the hard luck harmonica ensemble. Each song is a joy to hear as you cruise through the levels and the aural care and craftsmanship with which Midway treated Freaky Flyers is apparent throughout the game.
Adventure mode is a joy to play, but made more than a tad tedious by the need to replay each level with the Freaky Flyer of your choice in order to unfold their cinematic storyline. Once you’ve played the mini-games found in adventure mode, there’s not much incentive to replay them on their own, despite their creativity. New mini-games are needed to enhance the replay value.
Multiplayer races with your friends work toward alleviating this, but it would have been nice to include a four-player option. The mode I found most amusing to play outside of adventure mode was Dogfight; multiplayer matches in which you and a friend can compete with one another red-baron style, attempting to shoot each other out of the sky you’re your wits and your weapons.
In attempting to bring the thrill of kart racing to the skies Midway aimed high and, with a few exceptionsk scored right on target. Gorgeous graphics, an amazing soundtrack and fun, lighthearted gameplay combine with some of the best cartoon story scripting and voice-overs to bring an immersive and highly enjoyable racing experience to the PS2.
There are a few flaws, unnerving redundancy within adventure mode, the lack of unique mini-games and a sometimes overcrowded landscape weigh this Flyer down a bit, but not enough to shoot it down or take away your enjoyment of this beauty. In the end what Freaky Flyers is all about is wacky, simple fun and this it provides in overwhelming abundance.