After the well-deserved success of Micro Machines, the idea of doing the same thing for Tonka, perhaps the ultimate name in classic toys, sounds great. But the result of this move is a catastrophically bad game.
Manky Machines
This may sound a little harsh for what is, after all, a 'fun' game, but there are many reasons why Tonka Raceway is worse than lacklustre. You are offered three types of track - Desert, Jungle and Snow - which basically means a yellow, green or white course. As you race from one to the next, nothing really changes. You race against three other vehicles but the only difference is the size of the nasty sprite you have to lug around. Having said this, you do get to choose the colour of your car!
Rumbling Away
The game has a two-player option, but even that just means playing in turns, and the Rumble Pak comes into its own as you spend half the game crashing mindlessly. The sheer amateur nature of the gameplay prevents any race from being enjoyable - it's like racing sticky brick walls around poky country lanes. The game designers have obviously made a lame attempt to recreate the success of Micro Machines and have offended the intelligence of every Game Boy owner in the process. You'd have a lot more fun pushing some real Tonka toys around in a sewer.
28th August 2000