Cars: Mater-National PS3 Video Game Review

If you are a parent that likes to play video games on a Pc or console gaming system, odds are that your kids are probably into video games as well. The problem form a parent’s standpoint is that there seem to be less and less video games put out that younger children can play. Most games these days end up with at least an “E10+” rating for kids age 10 and over. That means that there are slim pickings for parents looking for “E” rated titles they can enjoy with their younger kids. Today we are going to look at one of the first PS3 games with an “E” rating that I have seen in a long time. The game is from THQ and is called Cars: Mater-National, read the full review for all the details.

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Benchmarks

Features
Gamer parents looking for a fun game for the whole family that they can give kids this holiday season, Cars: Mater-National is a fantastic choice. The game carries an ESRB rating of “E” and the game is fun to play and easy enough for young kids to play unsupervised. MY 6-year old son and I spent some of the weekend playing Cars: Mater-National and we both found it to be lots of fun. We own the original Cars video game for PS2 as well and the old Cars game for PS2 and Cars: Mater-National looks very similar and has much of the same gameplay.

Graphics & Gameplay
Graphically there is simply no comparison between Cars: Mater-National and the original Cars game. Cars: Mater-National has great graphics for any title and kids will be impressed. The controls are easy to use and don’t require complex interactions that challenge younger players. You simply hit the “X” for go and drive with the left analog stick.

My son was easily able to control the car in the game in all play modes. Gameplay puts you in different Cars characters from the movie and some new characters from the video game. Game modes include different races from three different areas of the Cars world including Radiator Springs, Ornament Valley and Tailfin Pass.

At the beginning of the game, you only have access to Radiator Springs, as you win the series races around Radiator Springs you gain access to the other two levels. You can consider Radiator Springs to be level one, Ornament Valley to be level two, and Tailfin Pass to be level three.

In each level, the environments are open and you can drive almost anywhere you can see making it fun to drive around picking up lightning bolts for extra points that can be sued to unlock and buy other cars for arcade racing. As you drive around you can also find paint cans that unlock new paint schemes for Lightening McQueen.

My son’s favorite mini-game was finding the parts needed to turn Lightening into a monster truck. After that, you can also play a mini game to turn Mater into a monster truck as well and monster truck races become available. In all, there are six mini-games to play including Tractor Tipping, which scared my son and 3-year old daughter for some reason.

My kids certainly enjoyed Cars: Mater-National and I found it to be fun as well. If you are looking for a PS3 game you can give to your kids as a gift that you will like to play as well, Cars: Mater-National is a great choice it’s tons of fun. The only problem I had with the game was that it was short. In a weekend of long play, we beat the game. However, my son continues to play Cars: Mater-National with glee.

Verdict

Conclusion

Pros

• Great 1080p graphics
• Easy for young kids to play
• ”E” rating

Cons

• Game was short

Verdict
In all Cars: Mater-National has the makings of one of the best family oriented games for the PS3 available. Graphics are great, gameplay is challenging but easy enough for young kids to understand. I highly recommend Cars: Mater-National for its fun and appeal for the entire family.

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