Template:Infobox Video GameCars: Mater-National Championship is the third game overall in the Cars video game franchise, and the sequel to Cars: The Video Game. It was released to many different consoles, such as the Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2 and Playstation 3 on October 29, 2007.
Lightning is still in the making of his Racing Headquarters, and to celebrate, he is holding the International Championship - until Mater announces to the world that it is the "Mater-National" because he forgets the name.
Lightning is driving along the road when he meets a traveller named Philip. He asks Philip what he is doing, and he tells him that he is from England, where cars drive on the opposite side of the road. Philip than notices that he is talking to legendary Piston Cup champion Lightning McQueen, and starts getting overly excited. Fred is driving along when he hears Philip exclaim that Lightning is giving him a "driving lesson". Fred asks to join, and he does. Then Doc comes out and begins complaining that they are blocking his road. Philip and Fred challenge Lightning and Doc to a race, and Barry joins. Lightning wins the race.
Five new international cars are out in Carburetor County, preparing and practicing for the big race. Lightning soon makes friends with a racing-obsessed race car named Otto, a spunky and cute race car named Emma, a legendary Ferrari named Giovanni, a Sweden race car named Gudmund, and a Japanese drifting champion named Koji.
Gameplay
Story
The objective of the game is to collect all of the banners, which are awarded by completing events. Unlike the first game, where it the game is split up into five parts, the game is now split up into three parts, each one taking place in a different part of Carburetor County. The first is Radiator Springs, the second is Ornament Valley, and the third is Tailfin Pass. Some events must be completed to advance in the story, but after the third chapter, there is still much to do, including completing all the levels of minigames to earn all of the banners. You play as Lightning McQueen throughout the game, except in minigames and Monster Truck Races, where you can play as other characters, such as Mike, Sulley and Mater.
Ornament Valley, Radiator Springs, and Tailfin Pass have all been updated. In Radiator Springs, new rock formations have been cut, and Fillmore has opened a nature park. In Ornament Valley, there is a construction zone, an airport, and several new rock formations to explore. In Tailfin Pass, roads have been completely revamped, and there is a new mine and an abandoned western town to drive through. But some roads are blocked off and can only be played in races and as a result to this, the three areas are smaller than in Cars: The Video Game.
Arcade
In arcade mode, players can play as any of 13 characters, on any track they have unlocked. In arcade mode, nothing will be awarded for winning races, and is only put in the game as a free play option. Minigames are also playable, but are usually restricted to only one or two characters.
VS
VS mode is essentially the same as arcade mode, but two players can now go against each other, along with three computer characters. In most versions of the game, VS mode will only be enabled on the main screen when two controllers are plugged in or turned on.
Inside one of the old gas stations near the Glen Rio Motel.
Ornament Valley
In the park, behind a bushel of flowers.
Behind some rocks around the exit of the "Turkey" from the second Ornament Valley road race.
In the sand dunes not far from the Rustbucket Stadium.
Tailfin Pass
In the dead end road running alongside the road that used to be a cliffside.
In some bushes next to a bridge that eventually leads to a long tunnel.
Tucked in a corner inside the long tunnel.
Wheel Sets
There are 8 wheel sets in the game, making a total of 32 wheels. Six of the sets can be found in Ornament Valley, and the other two can be found in Tailfin Pass. There are none in Radiator Springs.
Set 1
All four wheels in the set can be found in Ornament Valley.
At the end of the main road, near the road closed signs
In the sand dunes
In the sand dunes
Behind the airplane statue at the airport
Set 2
All four wheels in the set can be found in Ornament Valley.
In the sand dunes
In the sand dunes
At the exit of the turkey
By the Rustbucket Stadium
Set 3
All four wheels in the set can be found in Ornament Valley.
In the air next to a ramp at the Ornament Valley Airport
At the lighthouse at the Airport
In the trailer park in next to the Nitroade trailer
At the very top of the exit of the turkey where the road is blocked off
Set 4
All four wheels in the set can be found in Ornament Valley.
In the sand dunes
Along the wall of the hanger
At the very end of the runway at the airport
At the blocked-off tunnel at the very top of the sand dunes
Set 5
All four wheels in the set can be found in Ornament Valley.
On the edge of the wall of sand near the airport
Behind the bleachers next to the main road
In the gas station
At the entrance to the tunnel from Rustbucket Grand Prix
Set 6
All four wheels in the set can be found in Ornament Valley.
Underneath the bridge at the entrance to the turkey
In the cargo storage area
In between the mini Luigi's Casa Della Tires and Ramone's House of Body Art
Next to a rock formation near the exit of the turkey
Set 7
All four wheels in the set can be found in Tailfin Pass.
In the ditch under the bridge
At the entrance of the cave
In the middle of the cave
Inside the Wheel Well Motel
Set 8
On the road right of the entrance
On the bridge on the road right of the entrance
Past the bridge on the road right of the entrance, near a stone wall
At the very top of the cave that can be accessed by jumping off of the large ramp
Concept Art
Character
Red
Bessie
Emma
Emma
Emma Wire Frame
Giovanni
Gudmund
Gudmund
Lightning McQueen
Mike
Monster Mater
Monster McQueen
Sulley
Philip
Ramone
Red, White and McQueen
Environment
Ornament Valley Airport
Lightning McQueen's Stadium
Ornament Valley Load Screen
Radiator Springs Load Screen
Tailfin Pass Load Screen
Racing Headquarters
Ornament Valley Drift Course
Stadium Racing
Stadium Practice Lap
Competing in the New Stadium
Extra
Luigi's Franchise
Laugh Canister
Sarge's Metal Detector
McQueen's Stickers
Cheat Codes
PLAYALL - Unlock all three cities, races and minigames in Story Mode and Arcade.
MATTEL07 - Unlock all playable characters.
INSTYLE - Unlock all wheel sets.
BUYTALL - Unlock all concept art.
ALLYORS - Unlock everything in the game except story mode races.
ZZOOOOM - Infinite boost acceleration
0TO200X - Faster speed
PAINTIT - Unlock all paint styles for Lightning.
VRYFAST - Unlock expert setting in arcade mode.
Reception
The game has received mostly good reviews. However, one of the most common thing that is criticized is the less amount of exploring space, as most of the original roads from the Cars game are closed off, such as Fillmore's Nature Preserve and Sarge's Compound. Gamestyle gave the game a 4/10 rating, because of the smaller exploring space, the smaller Radiator Springs, and called the handling of the vehicle constant. PSXExtreme gave the game a 7.0, praising the better audio, but criticized the graphics. IGN rated the Nintendo DS version of the game 6.8/10.0, calling it "cute" and "kid-friendly" but never made into 5th gear. Metacritic aggregate scores for the Nintendo DS version 69/100, the Xbox 360 version 58/100, the PlayStation 3 version 63/100, and the PlayStation 2 version 67/100.
Trivia
Otto, Koji and Emma's designs were later parodied and copied into the short, Tokyo Mater as three background characters - Manji, Tabinu and Cho.
Tailfin Pass has had a completely new construction - most of the road is closed during the exploration mode, and several new areas have opened - a recently discovered mine and a new road has been built where a narrow ledge used to lead high into the mountains.
The Game Boy Advance version was one of the last games to be released for the Game Boy Advance, and has a password system.
In the Tractor Tipping minigame, Red makes an extremely brief cameo behind the fields at a little cottage, watering plants.
Although you can't access the gold bridge beside the waterfall, you can spot it by going a few meters after the T junction near the entrance to Tailfin Pass and to the barrier at the edge.
In the Tailfin Pass cave, if you jump high enough from the ramp, you'll come up to a ledge on top of the cave where you'll find additional points.
In Ornament Valley, you can drive up the mountain cliffs on the side of the Rustbucket Stadium. There, you can take a decent look at the whole of Ornament Valley, although you can't do this on the other side.
Goofs
The Racing Stadium, which holds the races, has never been seen again during any Cars release, implying that it was likely only a test course.
On the DS version, Lightning has a phrase, "Ka-chow" when he jumps, but it sounds as if it was done by a child.
If you are a long way away, the other cars come a long way away, including Doc Hudson.
Sometimes, in a Luigi and Guido's Team Relay race, one of your opponents will mistakenly cross the finish line way before you.
The Upper Mine and Canyon Run improved area races are on the other side of the Tailfin Pass bridge, which means if McQueen would be able to enter into the Tailfin Pass improved areas, he would be trapped in Tailfin Pass.
In Cars: Mater-National Championship, Mater said, "Konichiwa!", the Japanese word for "Hello" and "Good afternoon". But in the Cars 2 In Flight to Japan video, when a forklift on the television screen in the plane said the word, Mater misheard her, saying, "Konichi-what?", as if he hasn't heard of the word.
In Relay Races, the cars have different engine noises comapred to other races and mini-games.
On the front cover of the game, Mater's left window is missing.
