Go Fanboy - Everyone Has A Favorite

Very few games get me nostalgic about my childhood. Even when playing games like The New Super Mario Bros on the Wii, I don’t get a rush of memories or care to remember the fun I had playing the original. Somehow Storm City Games has managed to get me thinking about Saturday mornings as a kid watching Heathcliff and The Catillac Cats. They’ve accomplished this with their latest racer Heathcliff the Fast and the Furriest for the Nintendo Wii. There are no wild stories of Heathcliff getting over on someone, but instead a thin plot about aliens catnapping Sonja and Heathcliff having to win races to get her back. Any plot that involves racing to win your girlfriend back from aliens should automatically be a winner right, right?

The gameplay is something you should be used to by now because it’s a kart racer on the Wii. We all know what those are like right? Your goal is of course to finish first and you’ve got a variety of weapons to help you along the way. This is one of the areas of originality. I won’t spoil your discovery, but there are some pretty funny ways to dispose of your competition on the track. In regards to the competition, things lean towards the easy side of the difficulty spectrum. It’s not a racer you can blow through in a heartbeat, but it is one that the younger racers will enjoy for accessibility reasons.

The story itself is delivered in a comic book art-style, which is where Heathcliff came from years before I ever watched him on Saturday mornings. The graphics in game are colorful and nice. Weather effects vary and can make things look different, but don’t really change the handling of your car (kart). The audio can get a little repetitive and tedious with characters saying the same thing over and over after only a couple races. Music is much the same, but fits the gameplay.

Heathcliff the Fast and the Furriest is a fun little racer. The controls might take a little getting used to, but in a short period of time I found myself appreciating the tight handling of the cars/karts. I’d almost recommend this one to any gamer who remembers Heathcliff just because it’s been so long since this cool cat had a starring role. The game itself is worth a recommendation its gameplay merits too and if you’re looking for a new racer and have played out Mario Kart and Sonic Racers, you should give Heathcliff the keys and race to save the girl.