When the first doodle styled apps started appearing in the App Store, we quickly shrugged them off as a quick way for developers to save time and cost creating detailed graphics for their projects. To our surprise, not only has this genre exploded into the development scene, but also has proved popular with players. J2sighte’s latest app Doodle Kart proves this art style can be successfully applied to more than vertical ascender games.
Doodle Kart Pros:
- 25 unique tracks
- Adjustable vehicle traits
- Super simple controls
- Intense AI
- Clever power-up items
Doodle Kart Cons:
- Polarizing soundtrack
- No acheivements
Playing strikingly similar to Nano Rally, Doodle Kart brings top down racing to the iPhone in a very complete way. Five race environments exist in which players can race against AI opponents to command the road. Initially only the first stage is available, while the others must be unlocked by achieving gold placements in championship mode. Track environments center on amusing doodle drawings with each stage sporting its own visual theme. Each track generally takes just over a minute to finish. Five tracks make up each stage totaling 25 unique tracks in all. Difficulty modes range from Easy to Nightmare. We found the Normal mode to be a nice challenge but had to drop down a notch into Easy to win the gold. Maybe we need to tune our vehicle more precisely – which can be done! Before each race, players are allowed to tune their vehicle’s speed, acceleration, handling, weight, and items to better match that particular track. Car color can be red, white, or blue. Additionally, j2sighte has promised the ability to import your own car design in a future update, which we eagerly await.
Controls follow a simple steer left/right layout with gas and brake/reverse pedals displayed at the lower right. Tilt and auto gas options are selectable, but these proved to be terrible alternatives in our opinion. Thankfully, the default control method works great. Each track contains a hefty assortment of fun pick-up items that grant special powers. Items include, shooting pencils, heat-seeking missiles, speed boosts, traps, and even a power-up that turns you into a huge opponent-crushing speed demon. Beware though; enemy cars can also use these items against you. In fact, the AI vehicles can get pretty ruthless in the harder difficulty modes. Crashing into another car can make them veer off course, but could also bounce you in the wrong direction. Accidentally steering off the road will substantially slow your car down, and hitting an obstacle will stop you dead in your tracks. So, accurate driving is essential and lacking it could cost you the gold.
Besides controls, other options include portrait and landscape mode, music and sound toggles, and item disabling. OpenFeint is integrated for global track leaderboards but, unfortunately, no achievements are included. The only other complaint we have is the soundtrack. While festive, it does get annoying quickly. We were hoping it would change up after the first stage, but no such luck. Starting your iPod library before launching Doodle Kart does override the music, though. Regarding updates, j2sighte has promised Bluetooth multiplayer in addition to the car import feature. We’d love to see online multiplayer supported, but clearly understand that takes a whole expensive server solution to implement. Wishful thinking…
If you’re a fan of doodle style apps and are looking to bump up your collection, you really can’t go wrong with Doodle Kart. Everything about it plays right. We even found ourselves returning to perfect our doodle-drifting. While the artwork may be simplistic, the adjustable options and numerous tracks leave nothing short of a great little pick-up-and-play kart racer. Doodle Kart crosses our finish line with a 5-Dimple gold medal.
