Cars was one of the best PIXAR movies in general, but the sequel has been panned by numerous critics. How’s this iPhone counterpart?

Cars 2 ($0.99)

“Join Lightning McQueen, Mater and two new characters from Disney • Pixar’s feature film in a fun platform racing game. Your mission in Cars 2 is to complete each race, unlock new levels, and get the high score!”

Presentation

The game is set in the Cars 2 universe, and you’ll have a chance to play as four of the main characters of the movie: Mater, Lightning McQueen, Holley Shiftwell, and Finn McMissile. The provided levels take place in three places, Oil Rig, Tokyo, and London. The objects you collect in the game are your typical car needs, oil, fuel, etc.

Controls

The controls are as simple as the game itself. You tap to jump, and tap again while in the air to double jump. You can also tilt left or right to have the character tilt. The game auto-accelerates as you go with no option to slow down.

Gameplay

I’m pretty used to more “hardcore” games on the AppStore. Even the simplest ones out there are fun. I’m going to be frankly honest: Cars 2 is not a lot of fun. This is probably because, like the movie, Cars 2 is targeted for small kids.

And you can tell by playing it. The game is just a platformer, with your character picking up items on the way and avoiding certain items / surfaces. It’s quite easy, and honestly not a lot of fun (although James seems to be enjoying it…..no comment).

If you were around a while back when flash games were popular (no joke intended here folks), you probably remember Disney used to release free flash games to promote their shows and movies, this is the equivalent of those, but for iPhone.

Conclusion

If you have small kids, they’ll probably enjoy this, it was intended for them, both the game and the movie. If you’re a grown up, or even just a teen, you can safely go ahead and pass on this, you don’t need it. And if you don’t believe me, try out the lite version.