Product Description

Cars Mater-National features an all-new International group of racers vying for their chance to compete against Lightning McQueen in the First Annual Mater-National Race Festival, hosted by Lightning's best friend, Mater. Explore the new and improved open world of Radiator Springs, play in the all-new Monster Mode, jump into the fast lane with 6 new International racing competitors, burn rubber on new tracks, and twist and turn your way through new mini-games like Ramone's Rhythmic Rumble and Fillmore's Fuel Frenzy. Go head to head with over 10 multiplayer games. ESRB Rated E for Everyone

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3042 in Video Games
• Brand: THQ
• Model: 30130
• Released on: 2007-11-19
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platform: Nintendo Wii
• Dimensions: .57" h x 5.41" w x 7.50" l, .36 pounds

Features

• Jump into the fast lane with 6 new International racing competitors
• Burn rubber on new tracks; 5 exciting new international characters
• Twist and turn through 20 challenging mini-games
• Explore the new and improved open world of Radiator Springs
• Play in the all-new Monster Mode; over 10 multiplayer games

Customer Reviews

A great game!
I am an "older" gamer. I got back to gaming because of Pac Man World and Crash Team Racing.

I thought CTR was one of the greatest games ever. I have tried to find simialr games since and nothing came close until Cars - Maternational!

You drive around the main town going from race to race and mini games. Unclocking new races and courses as you progress.

The mini games that I have played so far are:
1. a game of tag - reminds me of Smugglers Run
2. relay races - you drive three different cars during a race.
3. match the beat. you have to hit the keys on the controllers to a beat to earn a flag.
4. Dont run out of gas - you have to race around the track three times without runing out gas. there are gas tangs spread out and you have to hit the right ones.

The only thing missing is there is no crates to crash to get new powerups and such but it works well without it!

3 stars for young ones, 5 for older kids
I was searching for a game that my 4 year old can play on the Wii, since most of the popular games are aimed at older players. The draw was that the Wii remote can be used to steer the car like a steering wheel, rather than using the nunchuk. Nunchuk steering is a little tricky. Setting up to steer with the remote is not obvious. The sequence is the following:
(1) plug in the nunchuk
(2) main menu
(3) options
(4) player one/two controls. Control settings are shown.
(5) choose "preset 2".
From then on, that remote has to be held sideways, and the nunchuk can be disconnected.

The difficulty for young kids is that the accelerator is all or nothing (e.g. you can't have the pedal half-way down). so, it's a little tricky for them to learn how to go at a reasonable speed that allows steering accuracy. But the game is very forgiving as crashing into things does not do major damage, other than time lost in recovering.

We've noticed weirdness where plants protrude thru cars and such. But not a major issue. The game is fun for older kids. But this is not the game for younger players.

fun mater
I purchased the first Cars game for the Wii and with the cheat codes it was a great game, once you got to access all levels. The only problem with the last one was it was so hard to steer. They have fixed the problem with Mater National by letting you steer with the nunchuck. They have thrown in fun characters like Mike & Sully from monsters Inc (seen at the end of cars in Cars form) and added a few new fun mini games and races that were not in the first. Cheat codes are readily available on line for this one as well. Overall both games I'd rate the same for fun, this one is a drop higher b/c younger ones will find it easier to play.