Racing games on the Wii console are scarce. Barely a handful to even recommend. The WiiWare service is no brighter in this department and with High Voltage Hot Rod Show as one of the few games available on the service, it doesn't do much to showcase the genre overall.

Let's just take it slow with this review. Unsurprisingly Hot Rod Show has no storyline. Three difficulty settings to choose from include: Easy, Medium, and Hard Mode. That's it. Within these settings are 3 tracks to race on. Rather than racing on cups after selecting the preferred difficulty like most racers allow, Hot Rod Show makes it short and sweet. Like old school shooters, you can add your initials so your time can be recorded for online leader boards.



Selecting a character is as disappointing as it is pointless. Each of the five characters have one distinct vehicle with a limited amount of skins to choose from. Only five uninteresting characters that should never be together. A Sasquatch looking fellow, a sheriff, and a hill billy to name three of the five. No statistics, no balance just pure skill. Some may prefer this while some may not.

Like every other racing game out there your goal is to place first at the end of each race. Performing stunts to gain boosts, and driving over boost arrows are the keys to winning. That's it. No items to use to your advantage, no shortcuts, just a linear race filled with repetitive stunts. And that is exactly what bothers me. Every track is linear and there is no creativity or life to it whatsoever. Adding insult to injury there are only five tracks to race on. Three cups of three tracks, believe it or not, doesn't equal nine tracks. So you'll find yourself racing on the same tracks as you did in the other difficulties rather than new ones. Laziness is inexcusable High Voltage Software.

The AI is an entirely different story. Up until Hard Mode, you will find yourself lapping your "opponents" without hesitation. As I lapped the 6th placed computer I witnessed it mindlessly failing stunts and purposely driving off the track. On the hardest difficulty I found myself lapping computers, while I was in second place. The first placed AI was a mile ahead of me and no matter how hard I tried to catch up to it, I never came close. So with the AI either being either too easy or too hard, makes it an unbalanced headache.



As for the controls, it's safe to say that the Wii Wheel is broken. Running into walls and constantly failing stunts; whereas I found the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to be quite entertaining until my arm started to hurt. In order to perform a stunt you have to shake the remote fiercely and after around 10 minutes it eventually does it's tole on you. I personally recommend to use either the GameCube Controller or Classic Controller.

Drifting is busted as well. You're better off turning with the analog stick alone, rather than using the drift button. Drifting is implemented into racing games so it can retain the pace of the game and add that sense of skill in order to use it to your advantage. Hot Rod Show takes away that skill with a much more needed slam into the wall. And unless you can find use of the broken physic, stay far away from it.

Time Trials are virtually pointless. If you have a score you want to show off, online leader boards are the only way to do so. No playable ghost data for you to send or be sent. Splitscreen multiplayer is a give or take situation. If you can find enough people who even want to try this game out, Hot Rod Show doesn't last long. With no online there's not many options to sink your teeth into unfortunately.

Annoying character noises that sound cheesier than a 1970's Kung Fu movie. Unless you turn your audio all the way up and the sound effects all the way down, the score is fairly hard to hear over your unnecessarily loud engines. Even with the music on full blast, you're bombarded with the most repetitive beats known to man.



Graphically Hot Rod Show looks okay. The lack of textures, water effects, ecosystem traits (like wind, and ocean waves crashing along the shore), and an overall feel that we're actually in a living world drags this game down. No audience cheering us on, no voice overs when we do something good or bad, nothing. Rather we have a lifeless, dull world that fails to impress even the slightest. Even your vehicles look like cheap micro machines prior to looking like actual vehicles. Though I will say the bright colors look nice. For what that's worth.

Conclusion-

For the $10 price tag, High Voltage Hot Rod Show is way too overpriced as it fails to impress in any aspect. Lack of a storyline, dull score, linear tracks, no online multiplayer and so much more, I don't see any reason anybody should go out and purchase this title.

4.5/10

4- Mediocre A game with so many flaws that it's only fun if you have saintly patience or are a diehard fan of the genre.