The graphics in Muppet Race Mania are quite nice. The tracks are all vibrant and filled with neat things, such as the buildings in the “Ghost Town” track and the weird spinning things in the “Secret Base.” Even the “dark and dreary” levels are good looking, as befits a Muppet title.

Even better, however, are the character models. Each character looks as close to the real thing (well, as real as puppets can be) as possible. You can tell when you’re racing against Rowlf or Ms. Piggy, and Kermit is unmistakable. Some of the more “bit” characters may be a little harder to discern, but that’s only because they’re less known. (Of course, all the graphical glory comes at a price -- load times.)

There are FMV clips from the various movies before each race as well, sometimes related and sometimes not, but usually quite amusing nonetheless.

The sound is also excellent. The music comes straight from the movies, and the voice-acting is virtually identical as well. The quips from the grumpy old men kept me rolling on the floor, and all the rest of the wacky Muppet humor came across intact. Unlike many properties which get mauled in the translation, Muppet Race Mania comes across as a Muppet title through-and-through.

And lo and behold, the game plays good as well! Yes, it’s Yet Another Kart Racer (tm), but it’s a fine one, and it’s loaded with all sorts of hidden goodies that’ll have you racing long after you beat all the tracks. People have come to realize that it’s the extras that make the game, and Muppet Race Mania has a whole lot of ‘em.

There are, at least at the start, 24 different tracks -- four from each of the Muppet movies. The tracks are themed after various parts of said movies, which is cool. There are four main race modes as well. There’s your standard race, where you try to get around the track faster than anyone else, there’s Battle Mode, where you try to blow up all the other Muppets, there’s Stunt Mode, where you’ve got to traverse a really tricky track, and there’s Adventure Mode, where you drive around on a track designed for one of the three previous modes and pick up items. This is where most of the secrets come into play. By picking up all of the stars or fruits ‘n veggies or banjos or whatever, you unlock -something-, be it a race in reverse or a battle mode version of a racetrack or whatever.

Each Muppet’s vehicle has its own stats, but the Muppets can race in each other’s vehicles if you figure out how to get them. (Hint: honk!) The racing itself is pretty standard fare, with your weapons to hit people in front and behind you and a turbo-boost meter that you fill up by collecting fruit. The weapons are a little “Muppety” (chickens, penguins, etc.), but they’re just like any other game; same goes for the super-boost. Filling the meter all the way lets you either honk the horn and unleash a special attack, or fly really fast and pass up all of the other racers. All in all, good fun.

And, of course, there’s multiplayer mode, although you can only race with one other human opponent.

There are a few “kid-friendly” modes, like one that steers for you -- you just have to push the gas. But like “The Muppet Show” itself, Muppet Race Mania appeals to both kids and adults, on different levels for each.

Some of the tracks are hard to race on, and getting all the stuff on the Stunt tracks is a bear. But the A.I. isn’t the sharpest at times, and it’s not too difficult to pass up all the other racers. Winning Battles, on the other hand, can be challenging, and some of the Adventure modes are really tough. And, of course, in multiplayer mode, the difficulty depends on who you’re racing against.

The game plays smoothly, with simple controls and intuitive menus. Finding the Adventure Mode for the first time may be a little difficult, but once you know where it is and what it does, you’re set for the rest of the game. There are a few ways to “mini-glitch” the game -- you’re not supposed to be able to jump in water, but jumping when hitting water for the first time lets you jump all you want -- but nothing that really detracts from the gameplay.

PS2: Muppet Race Mania works on the PS2 in both the “Smooth” graphics mode and the “Fast” CD-ROM mode. The load times go down from annoying to quite nice, and the graphics, while not getting a real boost, are a little smoother-looking. The main advantage to running it on a PS2 is the load-time decrease, as the first load time is pretty horrendous.

In the end, Muppet Race Mania adds absolutely nothing to the genre other than the half-cocked humor that’s always been a part of the Muppet legacy. Lots of tracks, lots of secrets, and lots of fun, Muppet Race Mania should be in any kart racing fan’s library. And since the game can go into autopilot mode, even the little kidlets can play. A good buy, for sure.