Jimmie Johnson's Anything With An Engine

[slapdash]

Just noticed this game exists (for Wii and PS3 I guess), and it seems kind of funny -- lawnmowers versus motorized shopping carts and lounge-chairs. But is it any fun at all, or another forgettable -- or even trashy -- kart (like) racer?

[Oobgarm]

FWIW, I forgot it existed.

[Compute]

I saw this at the store the other day for $20. Too many crappy gimmick racing games have stolen my money, so this will wait until it's $2.

[G-Boobie]

There's a quick look of the game on Giant Bomb. Check it out if you're interested.

Spoiler: it doesn't look good, chief.

[dgdgagdae]

If you have a 360, there's a demo available. It wasn't fun.

[Mytho]

I've heard this game is actually very solid. Two of my friends recently purchased it on PS3, and were pleasantly surprised by just how much fun they were having. Neither of them knew who Jimmie Johnson was before picking up Anything with an Engine.

Part of the game's appeal is the campiness of the track and visual design. You'll be racing against a guy in a scuba suit driving a bathtub, a fat man sitting on a toilet and a bear driving a couch who throws pizzas at you. Not to mention the game constantly uses this static picture of Jimmie Johnson posing in what looks to be swimming trunks. This game doesn't take itself very seriously at all.

If you're looking for a competent Mario Kart style racer for the HD systems, give it a chance. I'm personally waiting to see if it drops in price a little more, as I have too many games to play as is.

[lazyhoboguy]

I've heard this game is actually very solid. Two of my friends recently purchased it on PS3, and were pleasantly surprised by just how much fun they were having. Neither of them knew who Jimmie Johnson was before picking up Anything with an Engine.

Part of the game's appeal is the campiness of the track and visual design. You'll be racing against a guy in a scuba suit driving a bathtub, a fat man sitting on a toilet and a bear driving a couch who throws pizzas at you. Not to mention the game constantly uses this static picture of Jimmie Johnson posing in what looks to be swimming trunks. This game doesn't take itself very seriously at all.

If you're looking for a competent Mario Kart style racer for the HD systems, give it a chance. I'm personally waiting to see if it drops in price a little more, as I have too many games to play as is.

Im one of the people mytho mentioned who bought this on ps3. I actually like this game. I paid 20 bucks for it and do not feel ripped off. The game is actually pretty unique for a kart racing style game and changes things up a bit. It's not an exact mario clone and actually involves a bit more strategy to play in my opinion. You have 3 weapons, rams (little explosive push in your vicinity), missiles,and mines. You also get nitros and there are switches on the tracks that yoiu can hit that activate traps that can hit other racers. The game is centered around a point system, so like the better you race the faster you unlock each weapon. The more points you get, your weapons and nitro will level up and get better too. You get points by drifting, using weapons, and there are like sequences of colored circles on the track that if you drive through them all you get points. Your kart can also blow up if it takes enough damage, so you have to plan on which lap to pit stop to recover health. Pit stops also restock your missiles and mines. The pit stops are quick though, its not like real nascar.

Id say the gameplay in this is like a 7 or 8/10. Pretty much everything else in the game is cheesy and low-budget, but that sort of ads to the game's charm haha. It is a budget title, but it feels like a well designed game actually. I like games like Mario Kart and Jak: Combat Racing more than realistic racing games and this game is similar to those. I am not a nascar fan at all, but am having a pretty good time with this game. It's made by Isopod Labs. They are formed by some people that made Vigilante 8 on n64 so this game was actually made by a competent developer.

[slapdash]

What an interesting diversity of opinions! Thanks for the responses guys! I suspect I'm in the "wait until it gets even cheaper camp", but I may pick it up eventually.

And for the record, I had no idea who Jimmie Johnson is/was.

[Robocop2]

This game sounds weird enough to be a candidate for my collection...