Toca Cars
© 2013 Toca Boca
Unlike typical driving simulations, where you tilt the controller left or right to act like a steering wheel, the Toca Boca treatment takes a different approach. The cars follow your finger, which makes them hard to control, but it also adds to the fun; because you bump into the cardboard props. The result is a compelling fine motor experience that's easy to start fooling around with, and that you find yourself still playing an hour later. You simply have to see if you can line your car up on one of the four types of jumping ramps, to see if can land on all four wheels. You rarely do. There's a lot of crashing and planned chaos; helped along by a "reset" key that instantly restores order. This "undo" feature is powerful, adding reversibility to the experience. This increases engagement. After you choose from two possible cars, you can try one of two modes of play, one with a pre-constructed village that you can freely explore, the other with a "make your own" environment, where you're given 23 building elements to arrange as you like. When it's time to drive, you can spin out in puddles of colored ice cream, leaving a design, or fly off jumps into a lake. As you might expect, Toca Boca has also built in fun surprises such as a dog that chases your car, or a robot who tries to tip you over. There are no rules and lots of possibilities. Testers wanted a larger area to explore (the driving area seems similar to the area found in Toca Builders) and found the cars less than easy to control. This is the 13th Toca Boca App we've reviewed; and it is one of the most innovative. It's nice to see that Toca Boca's irreverence is just a strong as ever.
$0.99, iPad, iPhone, Android
Teaches: spatial relations, some creativity
CTR Rating: 90%