Homie Rollerz is an interesting game. I think it’s the weird mix of Mario Kart + Chicano + Zombies + Gangstas.Another thing is that I can’t tell if this game is making fun of itself or not… with the exaggerated gangsta talk, stereotype perpetuating, and outrageous characters, it seems that Homie Rollerz may be trying too hard.
Homie Rollerz is a racing game. It is a combination of Diddy Kong Racing and Mario Kart, with gangsta cars, upgrades, and characters. You can pimp out your ride and then race it against other gangstas to make more tracks open up, as well as gain “respect” points to add to your bad-ass-ness.
David Gonzales, the creator of Homies who has been closely involved in the development of Homie Rollerz: “I believe my fans will appreciate the storylines and most importantly, the fun of racing through the various tracks with some of the same popular characters they already have in their prized Homies collections.”
Developed exclusively for the Nintendo DS, Homie Rollerz offers a variety of gameplay options, including:
- Trick Out and Roll Out: Earn respect points by doing stunts and winning races, then cash them in to trick out your car. Use the stylus to paint and mod your ride, fit your car with a better engine and exhaust system for more speed, beef up your suspension and hydraulic systems for better turning and cooler tricks when racing.
- Rivalries and Respect: Challenge your fellow Homies on their turf. Beat Jokawild under the big top in the Homie Circus or drag race down Venice Beach against Big Loco. To win, you’ve got to learn the hoods, find the shortcuts, earn respect, and show your Homies who owns the street.
- Multiplayer: Is one of your friends challenging your street cred? Show them who owns the hood with up to 8 players via Local Wireless or four players via Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection. Homie Rollerz also supports Download Play, so you and another Homie can play a trial version using only one cart!
- Get to Know the Homies: Play as one of 10 slick Homies and enter the “Wizard Circuit,” a mysterious racing series through which the winner is granted a single wish by the wise and legendary Homie known as Wizard. Each character has a unique vehicle that can be upgraded in the garage for improved stats. Learn what’s motivating each of your Homies: Why is Alien Ese stuck on Earth and how can he get back home? How did Zombie become undead and will he ever return to the land of the living?
Your character could be a number of any despicable people: a zombie, an alien, a pimp, a hooker (that looks like a transvestite), a chili, a prison inmate, etc. Combine it with their trash talking, and we have an episode of MTV’s Real World right on our DSs’.
The racing is okay. You gather items, go off jumps, run over zipper-shaped boost pads, and race against seven other characters while trying to gain respect and a spot in the top three. Sounds familiar? The racing is decent, but it is hard. It seems like the other characters are never really affected by any items that you throw behind you, nor do you ever lose any of them. The player may need to race a level several times to beat it.
The graphics are okay, but again it looks like the artists tried to bite off more than they could chew. Simpler would have been better in this case so that the environments didn’t look so pixilated. The amount of detail on the characters is almost too much also; usually the character’s clothing just looks like a blur.Music isn’t anything spectacular either. Some bleeps and bloops, but otherwise just a drone in the background.
Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend this game to kids. How this game got away with an E for Everyone rating is amazing. I wouldn’t let my five or even ten year old play this game with all of the trash talking, innuendo, or adult themes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a prude. If you’re the type of parent that lets their kids watch soap operas and MTV all day long, then you’ll be okay. Adults and teens might have a good laugh with this game, but I think the overall themes of the game are too adult for little kids.
Considering the abovementioned argument, it is hard to decide what audience this game is looking for. As an adult, I cannot take it seriously, and I’m sure not giving it to kids to try out, even though they could look past the graphics and mediocre gameplay. There is a multiplayer available for up to eight players with a single game cartridge. Again, it’s like all of the racers you’ve played before: try to beat your friends in a race. Pick up this game when it’s down to a few bucks at your local gaming store.
Title: Homie Rollerz
Developer: Webfoot Technologies
Publisher: Destineer Studios
Release Date: March 5, 2008
Genre: Racing
Console: Nintendo DS
Rating: Everyone
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