MotoHeroz . . . the most interesting, innovative, quirky and cerebral racing game you'll probably ever own.
We'll start from the game's main menu, where your choices are many. From here you have seven options in total, the first is called "Story Adventure" and is where you do all of your single player racing. When you select the Story Adventure option you will then be presented with three sub-options. The first is called "Play" and is what will take you straight to the races that unfold along the path of Gene's pursuit of the World Race of Gema championship. In total there are 75 races you need to complete in order to finish the game, you must win the first race before unlocking the second, rinse and repeat. When you go to the Play sub-option and tab through the various races, the race names will be displayed not only on the list you are scrolling through, but also in the top right corner of the screen in a larger font. Here is where you will find the current status for the particular race you have highlighted, including an icon for what type of medal you've earned on that race, a gold coin with a red star in the middle of it indicating whether you've found all available coins in said race or not, and up to two head icons indicating how many spirit ancestors you've collected during the race. Gold coins are prevalent in most races in this game and are what you collect and then trade in to unlock different vehicles in the game. There are a small number of races that don't contain any coins and also a small number of races that contain many coins (anywhere from 70-100+), but most races probably contain around 20-40 coins on average. As for the spirit ancestors, in each race there are two glowing blue spheres that you can collect, these spheres each represent a member of Gene McQuick's ancestral family tree. I'm not sure what the point of them are, but they are quite addictive to try and collect!
Anyhoo, back to the races themselves. Like I said there are 75 of them you must complete in order to win the whole shebang. As you advance through the game there are 6 different types of areas/terrain you will race amongst as you navigate your way over and around Gema (a world map with these areas and individual races is displayed as you sort through the list of the available races under the Play sub-option). There are 24 races that take place in the forests, 22 races that take place in the desert, 14 races that take place on the icy tundra, 4 races that take place underwater (with a propeller attachment), 1 race that takes place in the air (with a rotor attachment), and 10 races that take place up on some futuristic sort of moon planet that orbits the world of Gema. Most of the time when you are competing in these race events you are not actually racing against another competitor, you are simply trying to complete the race in a target amount of time. This time is immediately measured by a ghosted out vehicle that sets the pace during these races. If you beat the ghosted out vehicle to the finish line, you win! When you win for the first time you earn a silver medal but you can then go back and try it again, if you beat it at an even faster clip you could possibly win a gold medal. Anyways, most of the races follow the format where you race against the ghost vehicle however, there are a small number of races that are a bit different. The first four races are basically tutorials led by Hans that get you used to the various characteristics and power-ups involved in the game. There are 7 races in total where you will be racing directly against other opponent(s), and then a small number of races, 10 in total, where the objective is very different and usually quite wacky (escape a trap, give Hans a lift, carry Peri to safety, escape the toxic sludge, transport eggs without breaking them, run from a giant bug, get to a giant cannon, and then a few where you have to chase down the moving finish line). It all sounds a bit bizarre, but once you get playing this game and see how cool and different it is, you'll quickly come to love it!
OK, finally getting back to the Story Adventure option, the second sub-option we come to there is called "Spirit Gallery". This is a place where you can go to view all of the ancestors you've unlocked in the game (by collecting the two blue spheres in each and every race of the game). Each time you find one of these spheres the ancestor it represents will then be available for viewing, they will appear amongst a long line of characters along a family tree. Each ancestor has a name and then a brief description of what he or she contributed to society back in their day (usually the descriptions have a more humorous slant to them).
The third and final sub-option under Story Adventure is called "Story Recap". This basically just recaps what has happened to Gene McQuick as he's progressed through the game, giving a brief write up on the more eventful moments. If you complete the game the recap will reach a total of 25 pages (very small pages!) I do believe.
It is important to note that when you choose the Story Adventure option from the main menu your game status will constantly be displayed as you scroll through the three available sub-options. The statistics included under your game status include completion percentage, a count of how many spirit ancestors you've unlocked (out of a total of 150), a tally of how many coins you've collected (out of a total of 2500), and a total of how much time you've spent playing under the Story Adventure option.
Second on the main menu we come to the "Online Play" option, where you can complete online events against other MotoHeroz aficionados. Similar to the Story Adventure option, when you bring up the Online Play option and cycle through it's various sub-options, your online game status will consistently be displayed. The statistics included under this status report are your global ranking, league points, number of races entered, and total amount of time played under the Online Play option.
There are three sub-options available when you select the Online Play option, the first of which is "Online Events". This is where you go to compete in online races, but unfortunately the races are not head to head. The results are completely based on how long it takes you to complete the race, the lower your time the higher up the leaderboards you'll climb and the more race points you'll earn. At any given time there will only be four available races for you to compete in, for a limited time. Two of these races will be under the unlimited category, you can race them as many times as you wish. But two of them will be under the one shot category, where you have just one chance at completing the race . . . make it count!
The second sub-option under Online Play is called "Buddy League". If you have a friend or friends that also play MotoHeroz you can set up a league for everybody to join. Again the racing isn't head to head, it simply means that everybody's individual race points will go towards the league.
The third and final sub-option is "Leaderboards". This is where you go to view how you sit amongst all other online competitors of MotoHeroz. You can also view everybody's player cards, which basically just sums up everybody's current game status totals under the Online Play mode.
Getting back to the main menu the third option is "Party Rally", the local multiplayer mode of the game. And it's a ton of fun!! Unlike Story Adventure and Online Play, in Party Rally you get to go head to head with up to three friends in some classic MotoHeroz racing! This mode starts off with everybody picking the vehicle they want to use (you don't get to use multiple vehicles in Story Adventure mode, only the two default vehicles, the unlockable vehicles are for use only in the Online Play and Party Rally modes). Next you select which particular races you want to include in your tournament. You can select as many or as little races as you want, or you can have the game randomize them for you as an alternative. At this point you also select how many rounds you want to spend at each race. After setting all these variables it's off to the first race. Each player is awarded a certain amount of points based on how they finish each race, the player with the highest amount of total points at the end of all races is the winner!
The fourth option from the main menu is called "Add-On Content". This is apparently where you can go to purchase additional material for your MotoHeroz game. I haven't been able to check it out just yet as the machine is giving me all kinds of connection errors, but I hope to one day see what they have to offer if not just for curiosity's sake.
Fifth on the main menu we have the "Garage" option, which is where you access all of the additional vehicles in the game. There are 14 total vehicles you can race with. Two of them you gain by default as part of Gene McQuick's campaign during Story Adventure mode. Three of them you unlock by performing certain game tasks (completing story mode, obtaining all blue spirit ancestor spheres, and gaining a gold medal on all races), and the other nine you purchase by cashing in the coins you collect throughout the races in this game. You don't need all 2500 total coins in the game to do so but you do need most of them, so make sure to collect all that you can. At the Garage is where you can purchase these additional vehicles, as well as view them and all their various attributes.
Sixth we come to the "Options" option, where you can adjust a small number of the game's functions. Selecting this option will allow you to adjust the game's music and sound effects volumes, toggle the units of measure between feet and meters, toggle the story dialogs on/off, view the game credits, or view general information about the game.
The seventh and final option from MotoHeroz's main menu is called "Profiles". Any player who gets on this game can create a profile for him or herself, which they can then race under. There is space for up to 8 profiles in total. Profiles only track your progress in Story Adventure and Online Play modes, not in Party Rally (although you can still use them there, so your vehicle has a name). This Profiles option is where you go to create, view, edit or delete your various game profiles. When viewing each profile a list of stats will appear that are tracked under each user's profile, including completion percentage, time played, available coins, and total number of spirit ancestors found.
As you make your way through the many races included in MotoHeroz, there are a number of things you'll need to watch out for. The two most important things I've already gone over in detail, and those are the coins and blue spirit ancestor spheres. Gobble these up like candy if you truly want to complete this game as fully as possible. What I haven't really gone in to yet though are power-ups. There are a small handful of power-ups you come across every so often that are key to getting through certain areas of a race. These power-ups include a bomb (blows up or around any nearby objects of vehicles), ghost (allows your vehicle to pass another without any contact being made), boost (gives your vehicle a healthy dose of extra speed), flying bug (attacks a rival racer and tries to fly away with him or her), spring (allows your vehicle to make a jump), sticky wheels (allows your vehicle to cling to any surface, basically driving on the ceiling) and jetpack (allows access to very high, normally unreachable areas). There might be one or two others I missed, but I'm fairly certain I got them all.
You also have to look out for environmental objects while you race through this game. Some of these objects may contain blue spheres, some may help you navigate a race a little easier or take you to hard to reach places, and others plain and simple just get in your way. These objects include things like wooden crates, ramps, loop the loops, exploding cylindrical tanks, wooden barrels, falling logs, and many others. On a similar topic there are sometimes hidden levels built in to these race environments, found either when dropping in to a particular body of water, or by getting launched up high in to the clouds. These hidden levels usually contain a lot of coins and sometimes even a blue spirit ancestor sphere. If you've completed a race and collected all the coins you saw but you're still far away from collecting them all, chances are there is a hidden level somewhere in that race, you just need to find it. These hidden levels utilize either your propeller attachment for underwater action or your rotor attachment for mid-air action.
The game screen is pretty sparse on MotoHeroz, there isn't a lot of information that needs to be displayed. In the top left corner you'll find a clock showing the current running time you've spent on the race you are competing in. In the top right corner you'll find a tally of how many coins you've collected versus how many are available in total on the particular race you are competing in. Finally, just beneath the coin totals are two round circle icons that will light up in blue as you find the blue spirit ancestor spheres.
The controls for MotoHeroz are at the same time pretty unique yet also very simple. This game is laid out a bit differently as it's not a head on racing game, it's more like an old school side-scrolling racing game. I like to compare it to the classic Rock n' Roll Racing, at least in some respects, but not totally. Anyways, you always start each race at the left side of the screen facing ahead to the right. Pressing the 1 button will make you drive backwards, or left (also used to go back a step in the game's menus), while pressing the 2 button will make you drive forwards, or right (used to confirm choices in the game's menus). The A button is used to engage any power-up you may have equipped at the time, whereas the B button does absolutely nothing. The left and right directional buttons (you hold the Wii remote on it's side like an old school NES controller) are used to fine tune your vehicle's tilt while it is in the air, so as to create a more streamlined landing. The up and down directional buttons do nothing. The – button is used for a quick restart during a race, and the + button is used to pause the game.
When the pause menu pulls up you have four options, the first of which is "Resume", which should be self-explanatory. The second option is "Restart", use it to restart your current race from the beginning, in case you are having a lousy round or have gotten stuck somewhere (although pressing – for a quick restart is much faster). The third option is "Options", which offers a smaller selection of game functions you can change including music and sound effects volumes, units of measure (feet vs. meters) and toggling story dialogs on/off. The fourth and final option is "Exit Race", where you go if you want to exit your current race and try something different.
As for the game's presentation, it's quite fantastic really! The beauty of it is that at the same time it's such a simple and basic game it also has a lot of uniqueness and depth to it, I've never played anything quite like it before!! I love the way it's set up, the side-scrolling nature it brings to the screen. And then once you're out amongst the various racing environments there are just so many things to watch out for in terms of how to most efficiently navigate the race and where and how to look for hidden objects, it really is a world you get to explore to it's fullest. Normally exploring is something you only do in adventure games, which is another aspect that makes this racing game so unique and quirky. Like I said this game is pretty simple and basic so the graphics aren't award winning or anything, but for the game they made the look is absolutely perfect, a very cartoony vibe they executed flawlessly. With the various regions of Gema you visit throughout the game there are lots of different looks in terms of the terrain and environments. Because of this there is a lot of variation in the plentiful, vibrant colour that is thrown your way. The soundtrack is very well done too, a solid amount of original music that helps capture, even amplify, the craziness and quirkiness that comes through in spades with this title. And for the controls, they are very easy to master, it only takes a couple races before you really catch on and just fly through the game, plus they respond perfectly. This is one of the most interesting, best looking, well executed games I've played in a long time, it's indeed the whole package! As I made my way through it I often came up with the comparison that it is the LittleBigPlanet of racing games.
In terms of the pros and cons, the pros are many and the cons are just one. I've commented on how unique and quirky this game is, in today's busy gaming market where so many ideas have already been explored it's a hard job coming up with something so original. That is one big pro this game has to offer, it's originality. Once you get in to this game it looks and sounds so good, and then it also has a lot of depth to it as well. 75 total races, many of which are pretty hard, plus you have to gain the coins and spheres along the way. This means you don't just play each race once, in most cases you have to go back and try them many times before you've fully completed them. This really helps add to the depth of the gameplay. Of course I love the unlockable content too, what with the crazy ancestors and the additional vehicles. The real kicker though is the Party Rally mode. Story Adventure mode is the meat and potatoes of the game, the main single player mode that is so awesome. But then they added this local multiplayer mode where you can race with up to three friends. Anything can happen when two or more human controlled vehicles set out for a race on MotoHeroz!! The only con I can come up with is the Online Play mode. I like it, don't get me wrong, but I really wish they'd added an option where you could race head to head with a friend online, instead of just racing solo for the best time you can manage. That really would have helped strengthen this game and, in my opinion, make it perfect.
I do have one tip/trick to offer fellow MotoHeroz racers. And that is explore, explore . . . explore! To fully beat this title you must collect all available coins and blue spheres. In order to do this, you must explore. The way I approach each race is as follows. On the first run through I take it slow, my main goal is to collect all of the coins in the race. Even if you lose the race, as long as you reach the finish line you get to keep all the coins you collected. Once I've found all the coins on a particular race, I'll then run through and keep my eyes open for the blue spirit ancestor spheres. Sometimes you won't find all the coins or spheres on your first handful of attempts, especially if there is a hidden level you've got to find the entrance to. But on your first few run throughs just try and collect as much as you can, then eventually go for the win and beat the ghost vehicle, or whatever the particular task might be in any given race. Having explored the race for a few runs beforehand will give you a good bit of experience on that track, and hopefully a bit of an advantage in then gaining victory. You will eventually have to go back and replay races later on down the road after you've finished the game, as it's very hard to find and collect all the material in this game (I'm still missing 17 coins and 2 blue spheres). But collecting as much stuff as you possibly can on your first run through the game will make your journey that much easier in the long run. Also, when exploring the races in this game make sure to try going backwards through them as well. A lot of times the collectible items can be found in places you normally wouldn't have imagined, jumping to or otherwise accessing places you didn't know were there originally, simply by coming at them from a different direction or access point. Leave no stone unturned!!
In summary, MotoHeroz has it all! Amazing graphics and sound, vivid environments, great depth and length, awesome alternate game modes, uniqueness and originality, not to mention one of the highest fun factors around . . . and all this for just a $15 WiiWare title!! Kind of makes you wonder, doesn't it? This game is a must have for anybody who owns a Nintendo Wii, in my humble opinion. Let's just say that playing this game has left me very open to trying more games made by RedLynx, the developers of MotoHeroz. I give you a standing ovation, bravo!!!