Game: Garfield Kart

Ever since Super Mario Kart came on the scene back in 1992, there have been dozens of imitators. Some have come from established properties, such as Crash Bandicoot or Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, while others have been crudely-made, cheap cash-ins which often feature licensed properties (such as M&M's Kart Racing).You'd be forgiven for thinking that Garfield Kart would be among the latter; we certainly did. Much to our pleasant surprise, however, this title is actually an extremely competent entry into the kart-racing sub-genre. Don't get us wrong, it's not likely to light the world on fire, and Nintendo has nothing to fear as they prepare for the upcoming eighth entry in the series that started it all, but Garfield Kart is a surprisingly solid and sturdy racing game."Based more specifically on The Garfield Show than the fat cat's newspaper or other incarnations, Garfield Kart features a cast of eight characters, including Garfield, Odie, Jon, Nermal, Arlene, Liz, Squeak, and the toon-original Harry. Each looks just like their cartoon self, but at the outset, you can only use Garfield or Jon, while Liz, Odie, and so on get unlocked as you continue playing.Locations seem to come from the cartoon (Full disclosure: While we've seen some episodes of the toon, we've not seen them all), and while they provide a nice degree of variety—more than seen in some racing games—it's admittedly not as diverse as what you're likely to find in Nintendo or SEGA's offerings.