Review by: Bob Mandel
Published: October 6, 1999

Lego is one of the best-known toy companies in the world, and its products constitute Denmark’s most significant export. The popularity, unchallenged by American competitors, has been so great that now there is a Legoland both in Denmark and the U.S. When Lego Media was established in 1996 and the company decided to develop game software, many wondered if the firm had the savvy to do well in that market as well. The answer came rather quickly: Lego titles have appeared on software bestseller lists, and suddenly a line of Lego digital recreation products are making almost as big a splash as the Lego construction kits themselves.

Lego Racers is Lego Media’s first really sophisticated personal computer offering requiring 3D video hardware acceleration. Although few use Lego construction kits to create racing vehicles, this orientation allows the designers to integrate subtly into the track and car design hooks to all their familiar play sets. While you do not have the tactile feel of Lego bricks, you do get a lot of the same thrill of construction. The company is so confident about this it is offering a 30-day money back guarantee on the title.

Many of you may be wondering if this is an offering aimed at children or adults. After all, the box says “Ages 6 and up,” and if you try to change the default graphics or audio settings within the game, you get a message indicating that you may want to consult an ‘older person.” But in reality, this title is just as adult and just as challenging as most arcade racers. It reminds me very much of Ubi Soft’s S.C.A.R.S., a quite entertaining offering with the same kind of bouncy, irreverent, and fast-paced racing with a little shooting along the way.

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Lego Racers is that, rather than just being able to select your car from a fixed set of choices or modify it with special tuning or painting options, you actually can build your vehicle from scratch. Using standard Lego bricks and figures (what else would you expect?), you may easily create a dazzling array of different cars and drivers to your heart’s content. What is most exciting is that how you design your vehicle has a ton to do with its performance on the tracks.