Wii Fanboy Review: High Voltage Hot Rod Show

High Voltage Software's High Voltage Hot Rod Show is an arcade racer fetching 1,000 Wii Points on WiiWare. Is it worth that price? How fun is it? These questions, and more, are answered in our review past the break.


High Voltage Hot Rod Show is a simple arcade racer with one goal: keep up the speed and do your best to win the race. You can keep your speed going through a variety of items placed around the track. There are paths you can hit on the ground that give you speed boost, or you can perform stunts when in the air, boosting when you hit the ground. There are also a variety of ramps littered around the course which let you fly through loops that sit in the air, providing a good bit of boost should you navigate your racer through them.

And how does one race? Well, in the controls department, the game handles very much like Mario Kart Wii. You hold the Wiimote sideways, tilting it to steer your racer, while you hold the 2 button in for your throttle. When in the air, you shake the Wiimote to perform stunts, just like in Mario Kart Wii. In fact, we even played the game with the Wii Wheel some. It felt very natural! But, if that's not your sort of thing, you could always use a GameCube controller.

Controlling your racer can be tough at times, as the CPU doesn't like to lay down and quit too easily. They'll ram you into walls, push you out of the track boundaries when you're grabbing some air, and make it a very difficult time to get back in the lead if you've fallen behind the pack. The CPU isn't cheap, mind you, but does have a bit of a competitive spirit.

Aside from the regular Championship mode, which takes you through a few of the 6 available tracks and gives you a trophy at the end, depending on your performance, there's also Time Trial mode, where you seek to get good lap times. You can even upload your best lap times online, comparing times with your friends to see who's the best hot rod racer. There's also a local multiplayer mode, if splitscreen racing is your cup of tea.


For 1,000 Wii Points, High Voltage Hot Rod Show is a pretty content-filled package. The racing itself is fun and you really get a good sense of speed when gathering boost, making it that much harder to control your racer. But, that's the fun of an arcade game such as this. If you enjoy arcade racers or classics such as Rock N' Roll Racing or RC Pro Am, then you'll get a kick out of this.

Final score: 8/10