I got used to it by now, I saw the cars back lights turning red as they turned so that means they where breaking. This helped alot. Also it's easier for me in first person too. I had to set the game on easy though. I like capture the flag the most so far.

After playing for a few more hours. the controls are kinda ok. I learned to do small mini brakes as you turn from watching the AI cars. Some of the music reminds me of Cruisin' USA. Overall it's an ok bye. Better than some other 500 point games.

Thanks for the offer but we already have someone on it

I'll pass. As soon as I watched the trailer I said
"Oh this looks pretty alright....Hey wait, why do all the cars slip around so much? Are the wheels made of butter?"
I'll stick to Burnout, if that's okay

I think the Wiimote turning controls on Mario Kart Wii aren't sensitive enough. Would it be easier for someone like me to get the hang of the controls in this game?

The developer said there was a demo coming out... if you have the patience to wait for that. It's sensitive except for the turning, which you can deal with using the breaks. It's not a MUST GET like Fast Ledge but it's alright for what your paying.

How exactly do you know that it's horrible, then?

@Rensch mentioned he might download "FAST Racing League" instead and that is absolutely what you should do @accc. "FAST Racing League" has much better visuals, music and gameplay. It also allows for the WiiMote & Nunchuk combo or the Classic controller options. Which I found much less difficult for steering. I guess it depends on if you like watching 60 fps or 600 pixels per sec. lol. You usually get what you pay for. But at 45 blocks "3D Pixel Racing" is comparatively tiny in size of content for 500 Wii points. When you can purchase "FAST Racing League," which contains 320 blocks of content for only 500 additional Wii points.

Longer gameplay video:

That's how you play. I saw Josh Thomas hitting walls left and right lol.

Well been playing this a little bit more and am really liking it, the levels are diverse and well enough designed that it's worth playing through the game a few times if you can get a grip on the controls. I think alot of people won't put alot of time into figuring this game out but those that do will be happy they bought the game.

In regard to the NL review, a little disappointed they didn't even seem to want to like the game. I guess they have to write these reviews from the perspective of an average pick-up-and-play gamer and this is one of the few games that I've played recently that you have to spend a little time figuring out first. Hopefully people still give this a chance when the demo comes out as I think it'll be a bit of a sleeper hit.

That said, after giving this game a fair chance my biggest complaints include:
+Unconventional camera system that seems to make this game hard to control until you figure it out (beginners will find first person mode easiest since the camera is fixed to the dashboard).
+Adjusting the steering sensitivity would have been really nice
+Non-tilt controls (classic controller, or simply using the d-pad for steering) would have been incredibly useful

If the developers ever do a followup (or patch) I hope they consider some of this stuff!

Wow, I just watched the video you mentioned. That's some pretty bad driving. The key to taking corners at high speeds is to turn way before the corner, so that at the end of your drift, you'll be in the center of the road and not banging into walls.

Okay, I have a lot to say about this game, so bear with me. When I saw the trailer for this game on WiiWare, I thought it looked awesome. Then I read Corbie's review and, like many, assumed the game sucked. But I decided at a measly 500 points I'd give the game a try. Boy am I happy I did. I don't know what game Corbie was playing, but this game is phenomenal.

Corbie claimed that the game had poor controls and was overall frustrating. It took me one race to learn the controls and after that I was drifting like a pro. I think the problem Corbie had is that he didn't understand how to play the game. To put it in Mario Kart Wii terms, it sounds like Corbie was driving a kart yet expecting it to handle like a bike. You can't fault a game for it not conforming to what you think it should be. After watching the video and then playing it for myself, it handled like a dream, exactly as I was expecting.

I'm going to be blunt here: I don't think Corbie understands how normal racing games work. This isn't Mario Kart. In all honesty, I think it feels like a more whimsical and fun Gran Turismo in the way it controls. The cars have really good physics. It also kind of reminded me of those Top Gear games of yesteryear. What I'm saying is, these cars handle similarly to a real car. With that said, the game is far more forgiving than Gran Turismo. In Gran Turismo, if you go off the track just once, you might as well start the race over. Not the case in this game.

Similarly to Gran Turismo, there is also a pit stop mechanic that you can turn on or off. I highly recommend turning it on, as it adds a fun dimension of strategy to the racing. As you race, your tires will start to wear down depending on how hard you drift. Also, your gas goes down as well. Deciding whether to hit a pit stop to prepare for the next race or just racing through it adds a fun layer of decision making. (BTW, the CPU has to go to pit stops as well) Once again, like Gran Turismo, the way of racing is similar. Your best chances of moving up in placement during the race is by making better turns than your opponents. It's a ton of fun in practice.

I've also heard complaints about the camera. I have no idea how the camera could be any better. I wouldn't change it if I could. I would change nothing about the controls as well. Or perhaps, I might make the motion controls a tad less sensitive, making it easier to drive in a straight line, but a Wii Wheel really helps out here.

But I'm not saying the game is perfect. It has the most important parts right, but some things could be a little better. The tracks are from different parts of the world. While the graphics are fantastic, many of the areas look similar and don't really have any way of making you think, "Yep, I'm definitely driving in Italy." or "This track conveys Brazil perfectly!" I guess Brazil has palm trees and Japan has cherry blossoms, but they could have done a lot more. The track layouts are pretty good though. Probably the biggest issue I noticed with the gameplay is occasionally on certain turns it comes up on you too quick to tell which way you need to turn until it's too late. After racing through a track a few times, it shouldn't be an issue though. Actually, the biggest issue I had was racing in the dark. It's so dark I can't see anything, but this is CLEARLY A PROBLEM WITH MY TV AND NOT THE GAME. Videos on youtube show that night time driving is lightyears more visible than on my TV. Plus, I've noticed issues with dark games before, like Twilight Princess and Goldeneye, where it's so dark I can't see anything. Basically, I just need a new TV.

The game has a few different modes, and they are all quite fun. They all support up to four players locally WHILE racing the CPU as well. This immediately makes the multiplayer options better than Excite Truck's. I haven't played multiplayer yet, but I'm gonna make sure my friend downloads this game so we can play when I go over to his house. It looks like a ton of fun with friends.

A few omissions I noticed: This game begs for a track editor and online multiplayer would have been nice, but not necessary. With the inclusion of these, I would have easily paid 1000 to 1500 Wii points. Actually, I'm quite surprised that this game, as is, is only 500 points. It's easily an 800 or 1000 point game. At 500 points it's an absolute steal. I just hope it doesn't get overlooked.

Bottom Line: Watch some videos of the game on Youtube. If you think it looks good, buy it immediately. Trust me, it plays like you would expect based on the videos (the ones where the people know how to drive, that is).

This game easily deserves an 8/10. If it threw it a track editor and or online multiplayer, it would be a definite 9.

And Corbie, I wasn't trying to be hard on you, just telling people that I think you dropped the ball on this one.

Most modern TVs have a brightness setting. It shouldn't be very hard to fix that problem on your TV.

I've been on Gotham TV many times, so I know how to play a traditional racer. I'm also fairly proficient at Mario Kart, as readers who've played me will tell you, so I've got that covered. Having said that, the controls in this game were not nearly as tight as they needed to be given the amount of loose drifting involved. Not even in the vicinity of the ballpark of the planet of close. I also even went so far as to put in about another 6 hours on trying to get more used to the controls before I began writing the review.

To go even further, I brought over about 8 friends who are avid racing game fans on Xbox 360, and every single one of them, after about 4 hours of playing, said this game was terrible in the controls department. Not one of them had a nice thing to say, aside from two of them liking the way the game resembled 3D Dot Game Heroes on PS3. But everyone is different and if the game plays fine for you, all the better. But the only thing I dropped while playing this was the Wii Remote when I'd finally had enough.

lol. Well, I still don't see how the game could handle any better, which leads me to think you are expecting mario kart controls on a game that isn't trying to be mario kart. Something tells me you'd throw down the remote when playing a Gran Turismo game as well. Just my thoughts. I'm sure there have been people who have thrown there controllers down in frustration when playing a Zelda game, but that doesn't make them any less brilliant. But it's your opinion, and that's perfectly fine, I just have no idea how you or your friends could have that opinion. But maybe I'm the odd one here. But I really love the feeling of drifting around those corners. Now that I think of it, the Excite games are much more "slidy" when drifting. The only time I slide into the walls on this game is when my tires need to be swapped out. Maybe I've just got mad skills.

And I don't have the remote to my TV, so I can't change it's brightness. I'll get a new TV soon enough when the Wii U comes out.

I'm glad you're enjoying the game. But my job is to call it like I see it. I was vey much looking forward to this game for some time, so it's a bit disappointing that it didn't pan out for me.

Any time you want to put those "mad skills" to the test, hook up with me on Xbox Live. LOL

Don't worry @Corbs your not the only one who feels that way about this game. I think it's sad and it's a sign of the low quality of past WiiWare titles. If gamers really think this is better than other titles, then that isn't saying much for WiiWare at all. IMO FAST Racing League blows this game out of the air, literally.

@Corbs, I don't play XBox.

@WiiAboutU, FAST Racing League (which I plan on downloading next week) is a completely different game than 3D Pixel Racing. There are many different sub-genres within the racing genre.

With 3D Pixel Racing, FAST Racing League, and the upcoming MotoHeroz, WiiWare is getting a slew of racing excellence. And they are all very different styles of racing.

You could still get a cheap universal remote in the meantime.