Circuit Breakers Review

Circuit Breakers is a racing game along the lines of the Micro Machines series of games. In fact, forget the "along the lines of" part of that last sentence. Circuit Breakers is a rip-off of the Micro Machines series of games. The only difference here is that you aren't racing on kitchen tables, floors, and card tables. Here you're racing in swamps, jungles, the snow, and other locales.

The main problem with Circuit Breakers has to be the control. Even with the analog stick, it feels very awkward. Most of this can be attributed to the game's camera. Instead of always maintaining a fixed position above and behind your car, the camera turns when you happen upon a curve in the road, whether you turn or not. This ever-changing perspective makes accurate turning a nightmare, as you're never quite sure if you're turning properly or if the turning camera just makes it look like you're turning properly. It's an incredibly annoying feature that just about ruins any chance the game may have had at being even remotely fun. The multiplayer feature is a nice thought, but in execution it just isn't interesting. I don't know who originally thought of having the action stop whenever a player's car gets left behind (points are awarded to the player who stays ahead of the action), and I can't understand why anyone would decide to clone this concept in their own racing game.

The graphics in Circuit Breakers are decent, but don't stand out in any way. The sound is tolerable, but the music is extremely annoying. Having over 30 tracks is a nice touch, but most of the tracks are pretty dull. All in all, Circuit Breakers is a flawed clone of a flawed game. It might hold the attention of a young child, but that's about it. There simply isn't anything good about this game.