Template:Infobox Video GameCars: Mater-National Championship is the third installment in the Cars video game franchise, as well as 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.
Gameplay
Lightning driving in Radiator Springs.
The objective in the game is to collect all races in the story mode, a style that is commonly found in other games of its genre. Each race contains 5-9 contestants, depending on the type of race. As in other Cars games, there is a variety of techniques that can be used to the player's advantage, such as powersliding, boosting, tilting, jumping, and more. Each selectable car has a different set of stats, each one having a different play style.
Unlike Cars: The Video Game where it is split into five chapters, this game has the campaign split into three "areas": Radiator Springs, Ornament Valley, and Tailfin Pass. To unlock a new area, players must complete the prior area's stadium race, which can be accessed once a certain amount of bolt banners are received. After the main story is completed, minigames can be played to earn additional Bolt Banners. There are a total of 350 in the game. Some events provide more banners than others.
Controls
Basic controls
- Accelerate: The player's car will continue to pick up speed until it has reached the top speed.
- Brake: The player's car will steadily decrease in speed until it has been brought to a complete stop.
- E-Brake: The car will quickly come to a complete stop.
- Steer: The car will turn left or right, depending on which the way the analog stick or D-Pad is being pushed.
Advanced controls
- Powerslide: The car will turn sharper, allowing for easier gameplay.
- Tilt: The car will tilt so it is balanced on one wheel, allowing for sharper turns than powerslides. However, the top speed is significantly lowered.
- Jump: The car will perform a small hop that can be used to jump over other competitors or obstacles.
- Boost: The car will perform a quick boost of speed to help it gain a lead or catch up to other racers. While the player starts off with only one boost segment, two more can be unlocked as the game progresses. The second segment is unlocked by completing Stadium Race #1, and the third segement is unlocked by completing Stadium Race #2.
Game modes
Story
Lightning, Doc and Fred racing in Radiator Springs Circuit.
The objective of the game is to collect all of the Bolt 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. The player controls Lightning McQueen throughout most of the game, while occasionally playing as other characters, including Mater, Doc, Ramone, Flo, Fillmore, Monster Mater, and Mike. Ornament Valley, Radiator Springs, and Tailfin Pass have all been updated. In Radiator Springs, new rock
A story event after completion
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.
Unlike the previous title, the game's story mode does not feature a shorter story for younger players.
Arcade
In arcade mode, players can play as any of 17 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. The race option gives players access to Road Races, Stadium Races, Rustbucket races, Relay Races, and Waypoint Races. For races to appear in this mode, they must be unlocked in story mode, or by entering a cheat code. In all race types, the player;s opponents include the other selectable characters, with the exception of Rustbucket Races, which instead will put the player against Fred and Mater's cousins.
The minigame option allows players to play most of the different minigames featured, including Ramone's Rhythmic Rumble, Fillmore's Fuel Frenzy, Mike & Sulley's Last Laugh, Tractor Tippin', Doc and the Law's Race 'n' Chase, and Ghosting Mater, provided that they have been unlocked through story mode. Each minigame has a limited amount of characters, the selection depending on what game it is.
Versus
Versus 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, Versus mode will only be enabled on the main screen when two controllers are plugged in or turned on.
Similar to Arcade's race mode, the race option gives two players the ability to race on a limited amount of tracks.
Similar to Arcade's minigame mode, the minigame option gives two players the ability to play a limited amount of minigames. All minigames feature 1v1 mechanics, in which the first player will face the second player.
Options
Many options can be changed here, such as game volume, control settings, and screen display. Cheat codes can also be entered here.
Profile
When "Profile" is selected, one's profile can be modified by saving or deleting, along with the ability to create a new profile, or load another existing one.
Bonus Content
The bonus content feature lets players purchase various unlockable content with bonus points collected in story mode or earned during arcade or versus races.
Characters
Unlockable characters may be purchased here, along with paint jobs for existing characters. Most paint jobs range from 2,000 to 20,000, while characters range from 20,000 to 60,000.
Art
Concept art of characters and environment, along with some extra miscellaneous art, can be purchased here using bonus points.
Characters
Playable characters
There are seventeen playable characters in Cars: Mater-National Championship, with five of them being unlockable - Otto, Gudmund, Koji, Emma and Giovanni. These characters can be obtained by earning a certain amount of bonus points, and then purchasing them from the Bonus Content menu option.
Boost: 3
Acceleration: 5
Handling: 5
Stability: 1
Non-playable
Wheel Sets
Cars: Mater-National Championship features eight different wheel sets that can be collected in story mode. Once all four wheels in the set are collected, they are unlocked for use at Luigi's Casa Della Tires to customize Lightning McQueen.
| Wheel | Location |
|---|---|
 |
Ornament Valley |
 |
Ornament Valley |
 |
Ornament Valley |
 |
Ornament Valley |
 |
Ornament Valley |
 |
Ornament Valley |
 |
Tailfin Pass |
 |
Tailfin Pass |
Events
Races
Road Races
Stadium Races
Rustbucket Races
Luigi and Guido's Team Relay
Monster Truck Waypoint Races
Minigames
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.
Beta elements
- Main article: Cars: Mater-National Championship/Beta elements
Multiple characters have playable data inside of their directories, and can be loaded into the game via hacking. These characters include Mia, Fletcher, Philip, Yuri, Sheriff, Lenny, Count Spatula, Judd, Buford, and Lewis.
Staff
- Main article: Cars: Mater-National Championship/Staff
Cars: Mater-National Championship was developed by THQ, the same company that developed Cars: The Video Game and Cars: Race-O-Rama. It was published by Rainbow Studios.
Glitches
- Main article: Cars: Mater-National Championship/Glitches
Out of sync voices
Sometimes a character will say a line of dialogue without their mouths moving, particularly by AI drivers. Characters may move their mouths without saying anything, as well. This glitch is present in all versions of the game.
Luigi and Guido's Team Relay 2 glitch
In the "Luigi and Guido's Team Relay 2" glitch, when the player enters the second lap, sometimes it will then display an AI character almost an entire lap ahead of them, though they are technically still behind them. This glitch is present in all versions of the game.
Team Relay 3 selection glitch
If the player selects the event icon for Team Relay 3 while going at 99mph, the game will begin to emit a screeching noise, the sound depending on what speed the player is currently at.
References to other media
- Cars: Many of the characters introduced in this movie re-appear in the game.
- Cars: The Video Game: Many of the characters introduced in this game re-appear in this game. The open world is also heavily inspired by the open world featured in this game.
- Mater and the Ghostlight: The Ghosting Mater minigame is based off of this short.
References in later media
- Cars: Race-O-Rama: Many of the paint jobs featured in the game make a return.
- Cars: Fast as Lightning: The Ornament Valley Airport returns as an unlockable building.
Gallery
- Main article: Cars: Mater-National Championship/Gallery
Media
| Game Music |
|---|
| High Speed Heist
|
| One More Chicken
|
Title in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Polish | Auta: Mistrzostwa Złomka | Cars: Mater's Championship |
| Russian | Тачки: Новый Сезон | Cars: New Season |
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.
- The Game Boy Advance version was one of the last games to be released for the Game Boy Advance, and has a password system.
- Most of the airlines in Ornament Valley Airport are sponsored by sponsors of the Piston Cups racers (e.g. Mood Springs, Vitoline).
- Although the player cannot access the gold bridge beside the waterfall, they 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 this game, Radiator Springs is not visible from the Wheel Well Motel.
- 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.
- This is the only game where Lightning McQueen is a computer opponent in the Rustbucket Races in Arcade Mode.
- Waypoint Race 1 is the only event in Story Mode where Lightning McQueen is a computer opponent despite exploring as him in the monster truck format.