Where there's a Pixar movie, a game will follow. The Incredibles, Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. were all treated to average tie-in games, and the chart over the last year has been crammed bumper to bumper with titles based on animated films. The really cynical would say that these movies only exist to flog a range of spin-off merchandise - Cars the game doesn't exactly disprove this theory or spring any surprises, but in giving its target audience (ie. kids) what they want, it does the job.

The game is set after the movie, but it pretty much recycles the same plot - bar all the icky 'message' stuff about friendship, family and sportsmanship that wholesome American cinema audiences love. So hot-shot racer Lightning McQueen is now fully settled in the nostalgic desert town of Radiator Springs, yet must still complete numerous warm-up races and nonsensical tasks for other characters before being allowed to take on Chick Hicks in the annual Piston Cup.

As expected, this basically takes the form of a series of samey races punctuated by short cut- scenes that advance what little story there is. You're free to drive around the dusty roads of Radiator Springs picking and choosing your races and side-missions by stopping in designated markers next to one of Lightning's friends. Some relate to the story, others teach you (and therefore unlock) new skills such as powersliding and driving on two wheels, and some are merely there to complete for completist's sake.

Navigating your way through the sandbox-style town is much harder and more painful than it ever should have been. There are lots of invisible barriers blocking you from getting to certain roads and areas, but there's never any indication that you aren't supposed to try to reach them. Likewise, Lightning's jump ability is made somewhat redundant by obstacles that are impossible to leap over, even though your car can actually jump higher than them. Eventually you're able to enter two other towns, but again the game stupidly fails to mention when this becomes possible and whereabouts they are. What ought to have been a fun and distracting way to explore the game world is a lesson in frustration; if it tests our patience then we can imagine a younger gamer just giving up altogether or suffering the indignity of having to ask a parent for help. The shame!

The strange, confusing design continues with some of the mini-games. There aren't many of them, but each includes a number of increasingly difficult levels - the emphasis being on 'difficult'. For example, Tractor Tipping involves scaring a set number of cow-like tractors so they fall over within a time limit, all the while avoiding a vehicle's searchlights. We genuinely struggled after the first few levels, and so kids will no doubt come crying to mum and dad after repeated failed attempts.

Racing itself is much more fun and well balanced, despite the odd control set-up. Instead of the right and left triggers controlling acceleration and braking like in pretty much every other racing game, Cars inexplicably uses A and X. There's also a general lack of polish that smacks of either the game being rushed out so it's released at the same time as the film or lazy design because it'll sell truckloads of copies regardless. There's no sense of speed for one, even though you can zip along at almost 200mph, while the lack of destructible objects is a travesty, with fences, walls and other vehicles all treated as solid, immovable objects. The handling is also loose to say the least; the back end of your car constantly slides all over the place and the track surface seemingly makes no difference whether it's tarmac or dirt. Try taking a shortcut and a three-second countdown is triggered to get back on the track before you're reset and lose a few seconds. Not that it really matters - you'll be so far ahead thanks to the wretched opponent AI that you can get away with plenty of crashes and resets and still have time to make a cuppa.

And yet we'll still maintain that races are relatively fun, especially if you can regress for a moment and put yourself in the small shoes of the kids they're aimed squarely at. For them, it'll capture the movie near-perfectly, thanks to all the main cast members reprising their roles, the fun banter during races and as you're driving around town, and the surprisingly decent graphics. The film has a simple, clean look about it and the characters are expressive, even though they do little more than blink and roll their eyes, which benefits the game because it doesn't have to do too much to generate the same look and feel. Radiator Springs appears exactly as it does on the big screen.

There's also enough to the game to warrant a purchase rather than just a weekend rent. New characters, scenes from the movie, concept art and paint jobs are unlocked by spending points earned through finding dozens of lightning bolt icons scattered throughout the town, as well as by winning races, powersliding, being in the lead after each lap, setting lap records and driving for periods without crashing. These bump up the play time from about six hours to somewhere in double figures, and kids will love the idea of unlocking stuff that older gamers tend to take for granted. For parents with two children around the same age, the two-player split-screen mode will be a godsend.

So, no major surprises then, and ultimately Cars is a mediocre racing game for anyone over the age of about 13. But taken on its own terms, as a game geared towards pre-teens and fans of the movie, its flaws and shortcomings don't matter one bit and will probably pass young 'uns by quicker than Lightning McQueen himself.

1. It looks and sounds like the movie, with the actors bringing these hunks of metal on four wheels to life.
2. There are plenty of races and mini-games, which do actually present a real challenge later on.
3. Not only is there loads for kids to unlock, they'll find the process fun - especially finding all the bolt icons.

1. Look closely at the racing and you'll find poor controls, woolly handling and terrible opponent AI.
2. Exploring the town just isn't fun due to a lack of information about which areas you can reach.

Scant enjoyment for teenagers, but kids will love the atmosphere, exploration, races and mini-games.