Hot Wheels. Remote-controlled cars. Racing games. It seems like from the time kids are old enough to know what a car is, they’re fascinated by them. There’s something about the sense of speed that a remote-controlled car presents that your bike and tiny legs just can’t replicate.
JellyCar 3 is like that childhood fantasy of toy cars on mind-bending tracks come to life. This isn’t Gran Turismo, or some other driving simulator with lush, realistic backgrounds. This is a racing game whose only concern is how much fun you’re having.
That begins with the animation. The cars and courses look like they’ve been colored using MS Paint. Everything here looks manmade, and feels like a kid’s dream. Then, of course, there are the physics of JellyCar 3. As the name implies, everything wobbles along. Your car bounces around the terrain like you’re driving on the moon, and the ground itself gives and shakes like it’s made of, well, jelly.
All of these childish things seem to point to a game skewed toward a younger crowd, and that isn’t entirely inaccurate. None of the 50 courses in JellyCar 3 are particularly difficult. They each present their own challenges, but for a serious gamer looking for a challenge, this is not the place.
Instead, JellyCar 3 thrives on the imagination of driving around in odd-moving jalopies. Players can even customize their cars with pre-set designs or custom colors.
Although completing courses is relatively simple, players looking for a more serious challenge can race against ghost versions of other players who have set high scores on the leader boards. That sort of competitive social networking adds to the replayability of JellyCar 3.
If there’s an area other than difficulty where JellyCar 3 loses points, its in a surprising omission. Although JellyCar 2 came with a robust level creator, it’s somehow missing in this app. You rarely see new versions of apps come out with missing features, and there’s no good reason to axe what was a favorite feature for many players.
Even with that omission, JellyCar 3 would make for a great app for younger gamers or players just looking for something light-hearted and fun. You might not waste an entire day playing it, but JellyCar 3 will keep you coming back for more.
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