Wacky Races
Every so often you come across an original table and you have to do a
double take. You know it is something that someone programmed but it looks
as good if not better than the tables you would find at an arcade. Wacky
Races is one of these tables. Everything about it just screams out
professional. And it is enough to make you glad that a program like Visual
Pinball exists.
As you can guess from the name, Wacky Races is based on the classic cartoon. It is a very colorful and visually pleasing with a well laid out table. The table is based around speed with different ramps and places that will send your ball speeding out. It reminds me a bit of Road Runner in that regard. It is not a target hitting game, but it is quite addictive. The use of colors and especially sound is very well done.
Of all the pluses in this game, the sound has to be at the top of the list. The game starts off with the announcer calling out all the drivers. There are plenty of classic cartoon sound effects for bumpers. But my favorite part is that when you go up different lit ramps, the announcer tells who the next driver is. If you keep doing it, you can hear all the people in the race, which encourages you to keep the ball in play.
About the only flaw that I could find and it is a very tiny one is that the bumpers blend into the table and you have a hard time telling they are there. It is not until your ball bounces off them that you even know they exist (though from basic pinball design you pretty much expect them to be there).
In closing, Wacky Races is proof that Visual Pinball is capable of creating tables that rival their arcade counterparts. It succeeds on all levels and creates an exciting table that will have you coming back over and over again.