Antz Extreme Racing

Looks like it’s back to license games yet again.

I think it’s worth reiterating that not all licensed games are bad.  I mean, last week’s 10’s game was technically licensed.   So are just about all sports games.  But you know that I know that you know those aren’t the kind of games I’m talking about.  I’m talking about stuff like “The Golden Compass” or “Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game.”  And yet as strange as the latter was, this week’s entry may be even more bizarre.

Some of you might remember Antz, DreamWorks’ first digitally animated feature.  Released in 1998, it received solid reviews and performed okay at the box office.  It had quite the star-studded voice cast too, with Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, J-Lo, Christopher Walken, Sylvester Stalone, Danny Glover and Gene Hackman.  It also massively pissed off Pixar, who accused it of ripping off their follow-up to Toy Story, “A Bug’s Life,” which would hit theatres one month later.  I can’t say I blame them, I remember thinking they were the same movie when I was a kid.  In the end, it was Pixar who had the last laugh, as “A Bug’s Life” squashed its competition, earning double what “Antz” made at the box office.  “Antz” was quickly forgotten, fading from memory as both studios continued to turn out animated features.

 

 

And that’s what makes Antz Extreme Racing so weird.  Based on the info and timing I provided, you would probably assume this to be a PS1, Saturn or N64 game.  But it came out for the PlayStation 2 and XBox.  In 2002.  Four years after the film.  Remember, this isn’t “Frozen” we’re talking about here.  “Antz” wasn’t a bust by any means, but it was far from a cultural touchstone that was beloved by kids everywhere.  By this time, DreamWorks had become far better known for its film about a certain swamp dwelling ogre and his donkey friend.   I can’t even fathom what the developers were thinking when their boss was like 

“Hey! We got a sweet licensing deal!  With DreamWorks!” 

“For a Shrek Game?” 

“No, for an Antz game!” 

Of course, the most important thing here is the gameplay.  Come on, you know this is going to be bad.  It’s about what you would expect from a small developer movie licensed game about a movie that was almost five years old.  I can’t say they didn’t try, but there just isn’t much here.  You play as one of 5 characters from the film, each with their own story consisting of eight races.  You start with the main character Z and unlock the others as you go along.  There are a variety of different race types, including kart, foot, flying bug and downhill races.  It’s nice to see some variety, but a grand total of none of them are all that well done.  The controls are slippery, the default camera angle is atrocious and the hit detection is very finicky.  It also doesn’t have the courtesy to tell you what lap you are on, which sounds like it isn’t a big deal but the HUD counter doesn’t always update properly and the races aren’t that long.

The graphics are technically fine, but very bland.  All the areas are the same, dirt or trees with leaves.  At least it follows the movie and is appropriate for its aesthetic.  There seems to be fog everywhere, which is strange and somewhat off-putting.  There are only six characters, all of whom look the same in races, so sometimes it’s easy to get mixed up if the computer is on your tail.  Not that it happens very often, because the A.I. is terrible and can barely navigate the courses.  You will always have one adversary who jumps out to a lead while the others fumble around.  There is also barely any music, with many of the races taking place in silence.

The course design is awful.  Most of the tracks are just big circles and the ones that aren’t don’t make any sense.  The flying courses are probably the best, but even they are just okay.  It also doesn’t help that everything is so bland.  As is customary with racing game reviews, I have to talk about sense of speed.  It goes without saying that its lacking here and its compounded by the fact that the walking and driving races feel identical.  I really think they could have had something if they just stuck to one mode, but as it is the game just felt disjointed.  

Side note, I fail to see what’s extreme about any of this.  Why is it that everything at this time had to be so “extreme” (sorry not enough emphasis, I meant EXTREME).  When I think of things that are EXTREME, a racing game about a five year old kid’s movie about bugs is pretty low on my list.

That’s really all there is for me to say.  It still baffles my mind that this game even exists.  I started GOTBP to discuss unique games like this, so in a way I’m happy I found it.  But unfortunately, unique, bizarre and quirky doesn’t always mean good.  Sometimes a game checks those boxes for being so unbelievably bad that its shocking.  That isn’t the case here, I have certainly played games that are way worse, but that’s not saying much.  There is little reason to ever pick up and play Antz Extreme Racing.  The only redeeming quality it has is as an oddity that exists because…reasons?  In short, this game sucks, but I didn’t need to tell you that.

3/10