Welcome to our review of Matchbox Driving Adventures, a new Matchbox cars-flavoured racing game that is more like an adventure game than it is a racing game?
Ready to get behind the wheel for the thrill of a lifetime? Then gear up for Matchbox Driving Adventures! The Chief of the Matchbox Adventure Squad heard you’re the best driver around, and now they need your help taking on epic missions. Jump into an authentic Matchbox vehicle, show off those driving skills, and embark on larger-than-life quests as you explore six dynamic environments. Race against the clock to help citizens, complete deliveries, chase down runaway cars, and tackle exciting rescue missions. Dash through the City Center, then breeze past the Beach. Enjoy views from the Mountains or beat the cold in the Arctic. Take on the heat in the Jungle and avoid eruptions in the Volcano.
Explore these scenic locations in Adventure Mode or choose from 14 unique tracks with four thrilling variations in Competition Mode to compete for a spot on the leaderboard against fellow players. Play solo or in local co-op, the choice is yours. Complete quests to earn medals as you unlock and customize special vehicles to add to your growing collection, all displayed in the Garage. With over ten cars and trucks, you can pick the best vehicle for the job.
It’s time to get behind the wheel of iconic Matchbox cars and trucks, celebrate your accomplishments, and Drive Your Adventure.
REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS – Extinguish fires, complete deliveries, or make airport drop-offs.
TAKE THE SCENIC ROUTE – Explore six epic locations: the City Center, Beach, Mountains, Arctic, Jungle, and Volcano.
EQUIP YOUR VEHICLES – Unlock new vehicles and upgrade them with slick paint jobs so you can drive in style.
DRIVE YOUR ADVENTURE – Complete missions and explore in Adventure Mode or compete in Competition Mode.
Before we go any further, it is important to note this is not a realistic racing game, nor is it even a pur sang racing game, this is more a game where you perform missions like tagging a car during a race or deliver items to preset points on a map. Adding in that the game plays more like an arcade game, this is a pretty perfect approach to the game when you do not want to make a pure racing game.
It starts from the initial approach, you get unusual cars, think like dune buggies or delivery trucks. Steering them is nothing like a racing game, at least not with a pro controller like I did. The steering is more akin to arcade games than it is to say a Forza game. There is some getting used to-time needed here, especially for someone like me who mostly just plays the genre with game reviews in mind. I admit that I did enjoy the game but only after getting used to those weird twists and turns the steering wheel took.
Also deserving mentioning, Outright games once again did an amazing job with the atmosphere of yet another game oriented mostly at the younger players. With a PEGI rating of 3, this is clearly oriented at the age groups of young kids/young teens, but I would not be surprised if Matchbox enthusiasts would be all over this game, enthusiasts of all ages.
In conclusion, Matchbox Driving Adventures may not be your typical racing game, but if you are looking for a more arcade like approach, this may very well be the next game your kids are playing to death.
