Cars Mater-National Championship

About

In "Cars Mater-National Championship," players join an international racing festival in Radiator Springs, competing against new characters and exploring the world. The game features over 20 mini-games like Ramone's Rhythmic Rumble and Fillmore's Fuel Frenzy, and includes appearances from Mike and Sulley of Monsters, Inc. This fun-filled racing experience allows players to test their skills and enjoy various challenges.

Genres & Tags

Racing

Play Modes

Local Multi-Player Play with friends in the same physical space using split-screen or multiple screens
2-Players Play with one other player, either online or locally, in a cooperative or competitive game mode
Multi-Player Compete or cooperate with other players online
Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo
Split Screen Play with multiple players on the same screen, often with divided or shared screen real estate

Cars Mater-National Championship screenshot

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 171 reviews

story6 positive mentions

optimization2 negative mentions

The game is a nostalgic classic that many players enjoyed during their childhood, providing a fun and casual racing experience.
It features memorable voice lines and characters from the Cars franchise, enhancing the overall enjoyment for fans.
The game has modding potential, allowing players to enhance their experience with additional content and improvements.

The game is considered a downgrade from its predecessor, with less content, fewer races, and a less engaging story.
Controls are often criticized as being awkward and unresponsive, especially on PC, making gameplay frustrating for some players.
The graphics and overall polish are seen as lacking compared to modern standards, with many bugs and performance issues reported.

story
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
69%
13%
The story in "Mater-National" is generally considered underwhelming compared to its predecessor, "Cars: The Video Game," with fewer cutscenes and a less engaging narrative. While the main storyline revolves around Mater hosting an international racing tournament, many players find it lacking in depth and excitement, often describing it as dry and poorly structured. However, completionists may enjoy the additional layers of story found in minigames, which offer more cutscenes and content beyond the main plot, though navigation can be confusing at times.
- “Mater-national is a very nostalgic game for me. If you are a completionist that likes to get everything in the game, you will find a whole new layer to this game with even more cutscenes and minigames and an entire new story if you do all the minigames after you complete the game. If you are a person who just likes to do the main story, you will probably spend about 5-7 hours completing it, which is still really good.”
- “The story mode is still decently entertaining and considerably more challenging, but with worse controls, tracks, and overall structure.”
- “This game was so close to perfection; the story was way too short.”
- “Mater-National has basically no story, even in comparison to the first.”
- “The 'story', if you could call it that, is almost completely non-existent.”
- “So if Cars: The Video Game had a cutscene for every event, Mater-National has like 3-4 times fewer cutscenes, so you need to use your imagination to complete the storyline in some places.”
graphics
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
59%
18%
The graphics of Disney•Pixar Cars Mater-National Championship are generally considered good for a 2007 title, showcasing improved visuals compared to its predecessor. However, players note significant limitations in graphical options, such as lack of widescreen support and poor resolution settings, which detract from the overall experience. While the visuals are appealing, especially for fans of the franchise, the outdated technical aspects may disappoint some players.
- “The pinnacle of graphical abilities.”
- “This game has better looking graphics than the first car game.”
- “The game, graphically, is still amazing, and the soundtrack is still as awesome as ever.”
- “Apart from the better visual graphics, everything in this game was worse than the first one.”
- “It doesn't support custom resolutions, widescreen, analog input, it barely supports windowed mode, your graphics settings are stored in your save file, you can't type save file names or cheats with the keyboard like in cars, and the game can sometimes crash after the race countdown ends.”
- “The PC version is also bad as well; there isn't much offered when it comes to graphics options, which are limited. There is anti-aliasing, but it uses MSAA and there is only 'on/off'. The resolution is bad enough that it maxes out at 1440x900 or something, and no, there isn't widescreen support.”
gameplay
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The gameplay is generally enjoyable, featuring decent racing mechanics and a nostalgic feel, though it suffers from optimization issues on PC and pacing problems in story mode. While some players find it fun despite its flaws, others criticize the lack of engaging content and voice acting in cutscenes. Overall, the game offers a solid experience, particularly in driving mechanics, but may not meet everyone's expectations.
- “Has better driving mechanics and story than Cyberpunk.”
- “Decent racing mechanics and all in all, a good game, really nostalgic.”
- “Verdict is that despite the flaws, the gameplay was just too fun to get angry about.”
- “Genuinely a fun game with lots to love but broken and not optimized for PC gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is fine on its own, I guess, though if you compare this game to any car games like TVG or ROR.”
- “Story mode not interesting and it sucks, nor does the gameplay either, and it has very serious issues with pacing because of McQueen.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
38%
The music in the game is generally praised for its memorable soundtrack, which includes nostalgic tracks from the first game and some new additions. However, some players express disappointment over the removal of features like the jukebox system and the lack of overworld music, leading to a less immersive experience in certain areas. Overall, while the soundtrack remains a highlight, its limited implementation in the game has left some fans feeling underwhelmed.
- “Memorable soundtrack, races, minigames, and world.”
- “Nostalgia with a great soundtrack, worth the purchase even when not on sale.”
- “The track design is still up to snuff, the game, graphically, is still amazing, and the soundtrack is still as awesome as ever, even though most of it is just recycled from the first game.”
- “And while not necessarily a PC exclusive feature, this game removed the jukebox system from the first game that let you pick what songs you wanted to hear and when.”
- “Shame there's no overworld music, but oh well.”
- “Less playable characters, less tracks, some features outright omitted, hub areas smaller effectively making free roam utterly pointless (music doesn't even play in it anymore, which can sometimes make me feel a bit unsettled with the silence), the list goes on and on.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely appreciated, with players finding it both entertaining and engaging, particularly through its quirky storyline involving Mater and the humorous premise of the "mater-national" racing tournament. The lighthearted tone and playful dialogue contribute to an overall fun experience, despite some players noting minor flaws and inconsistencies.
- “The story is as follows: Mater, best friend of our main character Lightning McQueen, is hosting an international racing tournament titled the Mater-National (hahahahahahahaha very funny m8r hahahahahahahahaha) where, hence 'international', racing champions from all over the world come to Radiator Springs (and its three returning surrounding areas: Ornament Valley and Tailfin Pass) to compete and win the... well, no reward is ever specified.”
- “I love this game! It's so cool and funny. I love it a lot; I wish my life was like this game!”
- “As I've gotten older and wiser (lol I'm funny), I've begun to notice all of this game's little flaws, inconsistencies, and cut/unused content.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is enjoyable and has many appealing features, but it suffers from significant optimization issues on PC, including poor controls, low-quality textures, and a lack of overall polish.
- “Genuinely a fun game with lots to love, but it is broken and not optimized for PC gameplay.”
- “Controls are janky, textures are poor, and there is almost zero PC optimization.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
150%
The game's stability is marred by frequent crashes due to texture conflicts, micro-freezes, and buggy tracks, indicating weak game code. However, some users report smoother performance when running the game on an SSD.
- “I am running it on an SSD, and it runs great.”
- “The game has been incredibly stable; I haven't experienced any crashes or major bugs.”
- “Even during intense gameplay, the performance remains smooth and reliable.”
- “Texture conflicts, micro-freezes during gameplay, buggy tracks, and weak game code - all of this leads to the game's frequent crashes.”
- “The game is plagued by stability issues, with constant crashes and performance drops that ruin the experience.”
- “Frequent bugs and glitches make it nearly impossible to enjoy the game, as it crashes unexpectedly far too often.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players express that the grinding in the game is excessively time-consuming, suggesting that it requires an unrealistic amount of effort, akin to needing a second life to manage it effectively.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The grinding feels endless and tedious.”
- “Grinding takes away from the enjoyment of the game.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of "mater-national" is largely negative, with users expressing disappointment in its lackluster story and characters, which fail to engage players compared to the original Cars video game. The overall experience is described as inferior, lacking the charm and polish that made the original enjoyable.
- “In conclusion, Mater-National is a downgrade from the original Cars video game in nearly every way; a worse-controlling racing game with less interesting new content, more reused content, less original ideas, a boring story and characters, and an overall inferior way to experience Radiator Springs and the Cars universe.”