Okay... this series has been available on the Nintendo Wii and DS previously but its developers have ported this game onto the 3DS to include glorious 3D graphics and yes the 3D actually works on this racer. With that said, this game is definitely not for anyone over 13 years of age as competing with Mario and Co is almost impossible. The game is also aimed at the female girl gamer, especially those that love the Monster High franchise.

Features

• Race as your favourite Monster High character, each with unique abilities

• Compete on multiple treacherous courses with distinctive themes from Monster High

• Customize your character and team to race to victory

• Capture monstrous pick-ups to help your team

• Unique gameplay modes to keep the racing spirited

• Choose multiple difficulty settings to match your skill

• Discover creeperific hidden items as you race your team to victory

At its core, Monster High Skultimate Roller Maze is racing skating game on the 3DS that requires the player to embark on a variety of courses as they avoid obstacles and receive power-ups to help them win. Best of all, the game features all the popular characters from the series such as Frankie Stein, Rebecca Steam & Heath Burns so each has their own pros and cons. The game even allows for some basic customisation and a handful of game modes to spice things up.

When the game loads, the player has access to the menu which includes Race, Lockers, Records and Options. Race allows the player to choose between a variety of modes that includes Circuit, Relay, Quick Race & Timed, whereas Lockers gives the player access to all the characters they have unlocked. Given that, there is enough incentive for players to continue, especially with all the unlockable characters and tracks plus three different difficulty levels.

When you start the race, you need to select your team of three Monster High characters and interestingly enough while you race, you can swap between these three characters. That's quite a clever gimmick. However the highlight of the game for me where the power-ups which give you an edge on your competitors and can be quite whacky like unleashing bats against your fellow racers. It's not Mario Karts but....

It's also great that the developers have kept with the theme from the series as the game is definitely oozing with Monster High likeness. There are also a number of different tracks with scary names such as Gloom Beach, Skull Shores or Scareship to name a few of the tracks you'll be racing on. All in all, it's a sturdy game but doesn't try to add too much to the racing genre.

Graphics/Sound

Graphically, the game borders on Spartan but backgrounds are well designed and the skaters move with a human-like grace. There's also a map on the screen and the 3D works well for the most part, provided you don't move the screen too much. The music is funky but the sound effects are quite repetitive, especially the sound bites which is reminiscent of budget games for the 3DS.

 

Final Thoughts?

Monster High: Skultimate Roller Maze may not be the most exciting game on the 3DS but it actually targets a niche group that many developers don't target, girls under the age of 13. One issue with the game is that the gameplay is quite repetitive, even between the different modes of play but fortunately there are plenty of tracks to help keep things interesting. It's also a shame that the game does not support multiplayer but overall it will keep most girls that love Monster High entertained and it's quite affordable priced.