(Review) Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2

With a predecessor that left much to be desired, does the sequel learn from its mistakes?

Kart racers are a sub-genre of games that don’t often garner mainstream attention, with the likes of Mario Kart and Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed overshadowing most attempts of bringing something new to the table. While these attempts certainly aren’t bad, they have a hard time standing out in the market.

So does Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2 (NKR2) stand out? In some ways absolutely, but unfortunately, it has some issues that hold it back from being just right. That being said, despite its shortcomings, I had a pretty good time with it.

What drives it forward…

As the name might suggest, NKR2 is the conglomeration of numerous Nickelodeon TV shows in kart racing form, similar to the likes of Mario Kart and Sonic. As such, the game’s character roster consists of characters from iconic Nickelodeon shows such as SpongeBob, Ninja Turtles, Rugrats, Invader Zim, Avatar etc. This also goes for the race tracks, which are based off various locations from these shows.

NKR2 contains 30 playable characters as well as 28 different race tracks to compete on. The game has five different modes to play on, ranging from grand prix, time trials, vs race, challenges, and battle mode. With these modes, there is a fair amount of content to get sucked into, and the challenging nature of the AI removes the risk of being too easy.

As for how the game actually functions as a kart racer? It works great. The driving mechanics are smooth enough and the game is rather easy to get into. Each race track contains power ups and a collectable currency called slime which contributes towards a special ability. These features are really good at increasing the intensity and the challenge of the game.

The race tracks themselves look really good, and you can tell a lot of work went into designing them. For people who’ve seen some of these Nickelodeon shows, the locations are instantly recognisable. They are vibrant, lively, and full of detail. The level designers deserve a lot of praise for their work.

What holds it back…

What helps NKR2 stand out the most is its customisation. When preparing for a race, as well as picking a character, you get to pick your own crew. These crew members are also characters from various Nickelodeon shows, and they each have their own unique attributes that have an impact on the race. You can also customise your kart by changing its engine, wheels, exhaust, and appearance.

However, while this customisation does offer some replayability by giving the gameplay some variety, the game doesn’t offer a great amount of things to do after finishing all of the grand prix and challenges, which don’t take a huge amount of time to finish anyway. Sadly, the online multiplayer is dead, so you’re stuck with competing against bots or friends.

Another complaint I have with the game is in the sound department. On a visual front, NKR2 does well at bringing the Nickelodeon universe together in kart racing form, but from a sound front, it barely attempts it. There are no voices for the characters. None whatsoever. They are as silent as a mouse, despite being fully animated. The music does little to immerse as well, with a generic soundtrack that doesn’t really feel like it belongs.

Final Thoughts

As a whole, the game does feel like a glorified advertisement for Nickelodeon and its properties, and in a way that’s true, but it doesn't detract from the fun. While it doesn’t exactly do anything revolutionary in the genre, it is successful at being an entertaining and smooth racing game that’s easily accessible.

After playing the game for almost 10 hours though, I’d say I’ve seen more or less everything this game has to offer. While I enjoyed my time with it, the lack of replayability, while not entirely the fault of the game’s design and more so the dead multiplayer, lowers my rating. The lack of character voices and the generic soundtrack also bring this game down. Buy on sale.

Pros:

-Charming visuals

-Varied race tracks

-Solid driving mechanics

-Decent amount of challenge

-Entertaining power ups

-Lots of customisation

Cons:

-No character voices

-Generic soundtrack

-Lack of replayability

-Online Multiplayer is dead

Final Rating:

7.5/10