Review by: Mike Thompson

Keen Games' TNT Racers has been gradually infiltrating consoles for the past year. Originally released for the Xbox 360 and PSP in February 2011, the game recently hit the Wii back in December and has now arrived on the PS3. While it's been a long time coming to this platform, the game was (mostly) worth the wait, since it's full of insanely goofy fun.

TNT Racers features kart racing with battle elements, complete with absurd vehicles like wheeled rockets, UFOs, and turbo-powered buses. As you make your tight, quick laps, you acquire power-ups and weapons to help you gain some leverage over your fellow racers; examples include the Candy Cannon (which lets you shoot candy at your opponents), the Tesla Coil (provides you with an electrical shield), and the Heavy Cargo (a crossbow to fire a ten ton weight to the lead car in the race and slow it down). It's ridiculous, though that's only meant as a compliment.

The way that races work is that the game's camera stays focused on the car in first place. During the first few races, the controls feel a little stiff and unresponsive, but it doesn't take too long to get used to them. However, before you figure things out, you may fall too far behind the other cars and fall off screen. If that happens, you'll be knocked out of the race, but that doesn't mean things are over at that point. When you're ‘killed’ in a race, you're immediately brought back as a "shadow car." Shadow cars can't win races, but they can make things difficult for those who are still alive and kicking thanks to a series of unique weapons, which can be used to disrupt the competition and slow other cars down.

There's a lot of content here, especially considering the low price tag attached to the game. There are a total of 18 tracks and three different race types when it comes to the single-player campaign: Challenge, Custom, and Time Trial. The Challenge mode actually offers the most amount of stuff to do, by providing you with a variety of different victory goals, like taking out a certain number of enemies or completing the most laps before time runs out. There are several dozen of these challenges, and completing them unlocks more courses and vehicles.

TNT Racers also contains a multiplayer mode, which works both online and locally. Playing against others is a ton of fun, as a local match with friends proved this is a great party game. However, it's practically impossible to find other online players to play with. That's a shame, because it feels like this title could be much more fun if there was an active online community.

TNT Racers is a great little racing title that feels like it's something out a Saturday Morning Cartoon thanks to its goofy tone, lush visuals, and over-the-top action. It's not perfect, but it'll provide you with an incredible amount of bang for your buck.