''Cars 2'' (also known as ''Cars 2: The Video Game'') is a 2011

racing game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...

based on the 2011 film of the same name. Originally announced at

E3 2011 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 (E3 2011) was the 17th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 7, 2011, and ended on June 9, 2011, with 46,800 total attendees. E3 201 ...

, the game was released by Disney Interactive Studios on all major platforms in North America on June 21, 2011, and in Australia two days later. The game was released in Europe on July 22, 2011. Versions for the

Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...

and

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...

were released later that year in November. The game features an array of '' Cars'' characters competing in spy adventures, as well as racing. The game received mixed reviews from critics.

Gameplay

In ''Cars 2'', a third-person

, players have a choice of 25 different characters and train to become world-class

spies Spies most commonly refers to people who engage in spying, espionage or clandestine operations. Spies or The Spies may also refer to: * Spies (surname), a German surname * Spies (band), a jazz fusion band * "Spies" (song), a song by Coldplay * ...

. As part of training, players participate in missions using high-tech

gadget A gadget is a mechanical device or any ingenious article. Gadgets are sometimes referred to as '' gizmos''. History The etymology of the word is disputed. The word first appears as reference to an 18th-century tool in glassmaking that was develo ...

s, for example, to avoid enemies or slow them down. The game has three types of trophies: bronze, silver, and gold. Points are awarded at different values depending on what type of vehicle class players use. The game characters are divided into three weight-classes: heavy, medium, and light. Players can unlock new cars, tracks, and missions by collecting emblems. Drop-in/drop-out multiplayer modes support up to four players simultaneously.

Synopsis

Based on Pixar's computer animated film, ''Cars 2: The Video Game'' follows the exploits of car characters Lightning McQueen and Mater as they train in a secret facility known as CHROME, short for Command Headquarters for Recon Operations and Motorized Espionage. They are joined by British Intelligence agents Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell as they attempt to become the car-equivalent of spies. Several characters from the ''Cars 2'' film appear, with additional characters from the first film and '' Cars Toons''

animated short Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...

s available as downloadable content.

Development

The game was first shown to the

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

at E3 2011. It was also unveiled at the American International Toy Fair in New York City.IGN Staff. According to a video interview on Game Line, John Day, the producer of the game, said they wanted to create a good family racing game and add a few things that perhaps no one has seen before. Avalanche Software was working in close collaboration with Pixar artists to bring the humor and personality of the feature film to life.

Reception

''Cars 2'' received mixed reviews from critics, with a score of 72 and 74 on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

and

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

versions respectively. ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' gave the game an 8 out of 10 rating, stating that "''Cars 2'' is a great multiplayer game that rivals ''

Mario Kart is a series of racing games developed and published by Nintendo. Players compete in go-kart races while using various power-up items. It features characters and courses from the ''Mario'' series as well as other gaming franchises such as ''T ...

''." The ''

Official Xbox Magazine ''Official Xbox Magazine'' (or OXM for short) was a British monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released at E3 2001, with another preview issue in November 2001. Th ...

'' gave it a 7.5 out of 10 rating, praising fun and polished racing but criticizing the fact that online play was missing from the title. ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...

'' gave the title a 7.75 out of 10 rating, calling it a satisfying racing experience. ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' Justin Calvert gave it a 7.5 out of 10 rating, praising its career mode and track designs. He was, however, upset that there was no online mode as expected and also no free roam unlike its predecessors.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2011 video games Avalanche Software games Cars (franchise) video games Disney video games Sony Interactive Entertainment games IOS games Nintendo DS games Nintendo 3DS games Wii games Xbox 360 games MacOS games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation Portable games Racing video games Third-person shooters Vehicular combat games Video games based on animated films Video games developed in the United States Sports video games set in Italy Video games set in Tokyo Video games set in Arizona Video games set in London Wii Wheel games Windows games Multiplayer and single-player video games Firebrand Games games