Surprise Mania

Car Mania (US$0.99), is an application that has really grown on me since I first picked it up. Car Mania is another superb application from the developers at Origin8. Car Mania takes a simple premise and shakes it up into a challenging and exciting multi-leveled traffic dodging experience. Ironically, it seems as though applications with simple objectives (rather than complex storylines) are often much more addictive and enjoyable than their convoluted counterparts, and Car Mania is no exception.

When I first used this application, I thought it was a nice time-killer, but nothing special.  However, another member of the MyAppSource team was adamant thats Car Mania is a classic, so, I gave it another chance. Car Mania made the absolute most out of this opportunity. In fact, I had to (reluctantly) put Car Mania down and begrudgingly dedicate myself to writing this review.

The features which altered my initial view of the game are the Time Trial and Road Rage modes. On the first play I did not pay any attention to these modes (BIG mistake! No. 1). These modes help to diversify the application from a one-mode wonder (I'm claiming that term), into a surprisingly challenging (and sometimes frustratingly so) traffic maze. Time Trial mode is as you would expect, complete certain goals within a certain time period. The goals are to direct each vehicle into it colour matched garage. Road Rage mode, takes the initial premise of the app and flips it upside down (literally!). I wont tell you anymore about the Road Rage mode, you'll have to buy it the app to find out, but, it is definitely worth the investment.

Another feature which I did not look into during my initial use of Car Mania (BIG mistake! No. 2) was the extra (and extra difficult) maps. These maps are completely different from the intial map, both in aesthetics and the obstacles that are present. Two of  the obstacles that these extra levels include are a volcano and a train, which passes directly through the centre of the level (and blows up your vehicles). The maps also help diversify the game play and create yet another challenging aspect in the game.

When I first played Car Mania, I though that it would be a three star app, at best (BIG mistake! No. 3). Now, I'm tossing up whether it should be rated four or five stars (Dammit! No half stars). Let's weigh up the pros and cons.

Pros:

• Entertaining
• Challenging
• Action packed
• Several different and enjoyable modes
• Crazy maps

Cons:

• Basic Premise

I thought it would be a four star app, but the Pros have defeated the Cons (by a considerable margin). The Pros won by so much that it can only mean one thing, and that one thing is:

MyAppSource Rating: Five Stars!