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 Decent aerial racing and combat buried beneath a super-campy cartoon world. By Alex Fraioli | Aug. 29, 2003  76Good
The Lowdown: Lots to see and do for kart racing fans -- if they don't mind the atmosphere.
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Platform: GameCube
 Game Type: Kart Racing Developer: Midway Publisher: Midway ESRB: Teen Full Game Information To put it simply, Freaky Flyers is -- despite taking place in the air -- a very goofy kart racer. Whether or not this is a good thing is entirely dependant on one's own personal preference and the player's ability to endure the game's unavoidable sense of style. The cartoony art style and original musical numbers attempt to convey an air of "totally Xtreme, yet zany!" with cutscenes and voice acting to match. Most of these efforts can easily be interpreted as obtrusive and annoying, but if that's your thing, more power to you. The cast is a mishmash of original characters and racial stereotypes. Examples of the former can be seen in the conjoined mime brothers and the split-personality librarian, while the shaggy Rastafarian and mustached, turban-sporting Arabian ("Sheik Abdul") provide evidence of the latter. Even worse are the blatant sexual references that earned the game its Teen rating. One really can't blame Midway for hitting the 18-35 male demographic right on the mark, but that doesn't make Traci Torpedoes' wildly bouncing chest any more necessary. The game features a slew of unique modes, but adventure is the one that you'll be spending most of your time on. This is the basic story mode, taking you through various events (races and original missions such as defending a fort from bandits) interspersed with cutscenes detailing your chosen pilot's rise to glory. These FMV bits are occasionally amusing and always "skippable," so mirthless gamers needn't worry about breaking their concentration between tracks. Two players can go up against one another in both dog fight and race modes, though any unlocked mini-games remain one-player only. For a kart racing title released on a system that supports up to four controllers right out of the box, the absence of four-player support in the GameCube edition of Freaky Flyers is inexcusable. In addition to unfortunate bouts of choppiness on the GameCube, this version of Freaky Flyers is also burdened with heftier load times and minor control issues. Like other versions of the game, the controls are set up efficiently enough for the most part, but stumble when it comes to operating special weapons while in the rear view, requiring players to choose a different scheme in order to have full access to their pilot's repertoire. On the plus side, the GameCube's analog performs better than most and comes close to making up for the game's other flaws. Despite a somewhat poor sense of pacing in the game's difficulty, the racing itself is good enough to outweigh most grievances that players might have with the rest of the game. Tracks open with a narrator explaining the locale and listing any subgoals to be completed, while the camera flies a test lap to prep you for the three-lap race. Each track contains a half dozen optional missions that can be fulfilled to open up extra boost rings, or even new characters and tracks. Heavy emphasis is placed on combat, as each pilot comes equipped with a Gatling gun that feeds off a gauge in the lower right portion of the screen opposite the life bar. Holding down the fire button will steadily drain the gauge, but refilling it is as simple as easing off the trigger for a few seconds. Most of the courses are thematically unique and design their subgoals around whichever locale you happen to be racing through. The lumberjacks in the beautiful snow-covered Canadian course request your assistance in cutting down trees, while the robot on the remote monster haven of Danger Island wants you to reunite him with his battery pack located elsewhere in the course. It will usually take two or three trips through a course before the means of completion for each submission becomes clear and one can start taking advantage of them to win. Listening to the narrator before beginning a course will often reveal clues to completing the subgoals if you can stand his awful jokes.  A clever, somewhat gross course. Gamers looking for a solid kart racer may want to give Freaky Flyers a rental, perhaps even a purchase, if they can stomach its style. After all is said and done, the core gameplay is reasonably satisfying, and the game offers lots to do and unlock providing you don't mind lame humor and the occasional insult to your intelligence. The PS2 version may have a slight edge, but the game still isn't bad if all you've got at your disposal is your trusty 'Cube. •
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Essential Links Reviewer System Specifications GameCube, Memory Card 59, Standard Controller. System Requirements GameCube, Memory Card 59, Standard Controller. Reviews Index |
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