Games that sell themselves on their humor frequently live or die by it. Freaky Flyers does a good job of getting past this with simple mechanics coupled with complex level design and an options menu that lets you turn off the voices when you've had enough of your flyer's repetitive chatter. While the game really should have had more multiplayer modes and could have used a couple more mini-games, it's a solid kart racer for those who like a challenge.

Freaky Flyers takes the solid mechanics and cartoony cast of characters found in most kart racers and puts them in the air. Each flyer is equipped with a gun with unlimited ammo that can only be used in bursts, a slot for power-ups picked up through the level, and a variety of situational stunts. The maps all have very heavy-handed themes. There's a tropical island with pirates to sink, a volcano to race through, and a jungle temple. A Japanese island boasts rubber-suited monsters that can be shot down and fireworks to be set off. The thirteen characters mostly consist of familiar caricatures of different nationalities, with a lot of obvious cartoon influence that keeps them from becoming offensive. Johnny Turbine is your average muscle-bound not-so-bright American Hero. Traci Torpedoes is an icy German military project who wears little more than her form-fitting uniform jacket, and Mick Bungadoo is a one-note Australian stereotype. Not everyone is defined by where they live, as you'll find Siamese twin mimes and a mad scientist among the playable characters as well. Over all you can expect very little of the unexpected from the dialog and the cutscenes between races.

The path to victory in Freaky Flyers is not always obvious. The maps are all very busy, with lots of alternate paths and action going on in the background. In addition to the alternative paths, there are six sub-goals for each level that unlock extras such as additional power-up slots and boost highways, which are a series of speed boosts. Depending on what character you choose, you may have to spend time playing each level several times until you figure out how to unlock all the boost highways on the first lap, some characters are definitely not as speedy as others and you always start behind the pack. The power-ups available to you are of good variety; missiles, extra health, shields, a temporary speed boost, and floating mines that work especially well for keeping other flyers off the boost highways you've worked so hard to open up. Each level also contains an unlisted sub-goal that unlocks a new flyer, giving you more reason to explore the levels and see everything in them.

Freaky Flyers' art style lives somewhere between cartoon and Claymation. This is a look that really works for the levels by giving them bright, vibrant color and exaggerated detail, but is less endearing in the cutscenes. It's not one of the best looking games for the PS2, and there is occasional framerate loss when there's just too much going on, but in general it performs well. Unfortunately, the only time you ever get a sense of any speed is when you are on a boost highway or performing a nosedive, the rest of the time it feels like you're just putt-putting around, trying to shoot down other flyers while waiting for the next boost.

The sound quality of the game varies wildly. The voice acting in the game is mostly good, playing up the exaggerated traits of the characters, even including the very, very announcer-y announcer. However, they don't have nearly enough things to say. Their 3 or 4 stock lines get repeated far too frequently and can become an annoyance quickly. You'll usually only hear two clips from rival racers, their "I just passed you" taunt, and their lament as you shoot them down. The sound effects for the weapons do their job without standing out as being either good or bad. The music for most of the levels matches the tone of the levels without ever becoming distracting, but also without ever standing out in a good way, with one major exception. The mariachi music for the Bandito mini-game is positively brilliant.

Sometimes the game can be downright hard. Depending on the character you pick, the game can feel like a constant game of catch-up or you end up sailing to victory fairly easily. The replay value is solely in trying to beat the game with progressively more difficult characters, as the multiplayer component isn't going to keep anyone captivated for long. If you like challenging kart racers and Tex Avery cartoons, Freaky Flyers is for you.