Graphics:
3 out of 5: MRC's graphics would earn a 5 if it weren't for the low-color, low-res look of the game. The texture maps on the cars also aren't of the highest quality. The motion is smooth, but because of the graphical flaws, it's rarely impressive. Still, the terrain varies, and it's pretty easy to see what's going on (in most cases). The different replay camera angles are kind of cool. The sense of speed is good, but not on par with the best.
Music:
3 out of 5: Fidelity wise, it's getting close to Tetrisphere. However, it seems that most of the tunes have no spatial effects, giving them a mono-ish sound. Track nine seems to have dialog from the moon landing in the background, which I found very strange. Another odd thing is that the best music is heard in the game's menus, cinemas, or replays. The stuff in the first two courses is actually a little too hyper and annoying. To a small extent, this is compensated for by the Ridge Racer like tunes that accompany the Downtown course. Overall, there are some nifty tunes to listen to through the sound test, but not during a race.
Sound FX:
4 out of 5: The road sounds match the Rumble Pak's movement beautifully. The car sounds are OK in the one player mode, but for some reason they whine quite a bit in the two-player mode. It's annoying enough to drop the rating from a 5 to a 4.
Play Control:
7 out of 10: MRC's control is really pretty good. If you customize your vehicle, it can be very good. The steering is precise, and feels just right. The major play control problems involve things that the player actually doesn't have any control over. For example, if you give something a solid hit, you will come to an instant halt. If other cars ram you, you will be knocked out of the lead, but if you try to ram other cars, little if anything will occur. These flaws indirectly limit the play control.
Frustration Factor:
2 out of 10 (10 being the worst):
If you tweak your vehicle, MRC should be pose no serious frustration for you. The only points of frustration are the inability to ram opponents and how easy it is to mess up and lose a race. However, give a race a couple of tries with a car tweaked to your liking, and even these problems shouldn't be too bad.
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