Formula Cartoon All-Stars Review

Developer: Cartoon Network
Price: $2.99
Version Reviewed: 3.5
App Reviewed on: iPhone 5

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[Are those other cartoon cart racers making a first place finish difficult? Take a look at our beginner's guide.]

With its cart racing rather than ‘kart’ racing, Formula Cartoon All-Stars seems a little like it’s trying to be a top-down version of Mario Kart. While it doesn’t have that title’s level of depth, it’s still quite fun to play, assuming you don’t expect too much of it.

Formula Cartoon All-Stars offers up two different game modes in the form of adventure and tournament. Tournament is a matter of racing in specific tracks, aiming for a faster time than anyone else, while adventure takes you through a kind of story mode, unlocking new tracks as you gain stars in earlier ones. Ultimately though, the idea is the same - outrace the competition.

Controls are simple to learn with one finger manipulating a virtual wheel as you spin around the course. There are power-ups and nitro boosts to use too, located on the opposite side of the screen. Nitro boosts can be re-used for the price of a few in-game gems, but bear in mind, you’ll run out of those quite quickly if you keep it up. It’s a small reminder that despite the premium price, Formula Cartoon All-Stars still likes to throw in-app purchases your way.

There are further purchases to be made via in-game currency too, such as being able to upgrade your abilities with gems, or buy new characters and pieces of a car with coins. You can gain both simply by playing, but you’ll always do better by paying up to advance. Sadly, a change of character doesn’t change anything in terms of your ability levels though.

That’s part of the issue with Formula Cartoon All-Stars. Playing it for 10 minutes shows you everything, with further time not really adding much to the mix. It’s still quite charming, but without the depth of different characters offering different skills it can turn a bit samey.