GameCube

GrooveRider: Slot Car Thunder

Grooverider: Slot Car Thunder starts off on the right foot by mixing some of the best elements of the top racing and top kart racing titles. There are tons of unlockable cars and tracks and there are oodles of in-race power-ups to collect. The game is effectively difficult and, with everything unlocked, there is a great variety that will satisfy even fickle game players. The game is fun to play in short bursts, especially against three friends. The best part is that the game only gets better as you unlock more items.

Well, you get what you pay for, I guess. This is the very definition of a budget racer and I don't mean that in a good way. Basic arcadey track designs mix with stupidly simple controls and poor graphics for an end experience that falls somewhere below the average. Slot Car might be willing to brave some the backward design choices and mechanical defects and find some entertainment here, but most would do well to look elsewhere -- far away, if possible -- for their racing fix.