Until now, Game Boy Advance owners wanting to race on the go have had to make do with an incredibly small handful of games – less than a hundred, at most. Inevitably they are stuck with ho-hum efforts like Mario Kart Super Circuit and F-Zero: Maximum Velocity. If you've never heard of them, don't be surprised. These games aren't even based on movie licenses! Thankfully, Buena Vista has responded to this with Herbie: Fully Loaded, based on the movie of the same name.

Gameplay:

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I've often found myself wondering, What it would be like to race as "Herbie," the wacky 1968 Volkswagon Beetle with a knack for playing matchmaker and foiling gem thieves in Monte Carlo? In Herbie: Fully Loaded, I finally know the answer to that question, as you can choose from up to one car (including the Love Bug himself, of course) and compete against four racers in eight races designed to test your mettle. As you can tell from names like "Downtown Race," "Desert Race," and "Waterfront Race," Herbie lets you race in all kinds of scenic locations.

Best of all, you'll get to play these same courses again and again, as the three game modes (free race mode, championship mode, and story mode) all use them. Free race mode lets you play a single course on easy, hard, or expert difficulty. Championship mode is your normal racing game, where you're scored based on how well you did. Story mode is like championship mode, except you're treated to a still from the movie before and after each race. These stills, usually pictures of actress-singer superstar Lindsay Lohan, tell the story of preparing for the next challenge and congratulating you on winning the previous race (unless you don't get first place, in which case the story takes a heartbreaking turn). Keep in mind that the "Herbie loses" ending is not considered official canon in the Herbie mythos, however.

Our favorite Love Bug responds exactly like you'd expect a 40-year-old VW Beetle would, and to help players out, there are four different kinds of power-up stars you can acquire to get ahead of the competition, in case you accidentally get stuck behind a group of them while they're spinning out of control in an oil slick. The blue star lets you do a wheelie and gives you a short burst of speed, green lets you jump over obstacles, and red shoots a spare tire at another car. Hilarious! If you'd like to take a break from racing, hit a yellow star to give you a burst of speed into the grass and trees, where you can relax and enjoy the scenery for a few moments.

Graphics:

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Herbie uses state-of-the-art Mode 7 graphics to achieve faux-3D effects. Sure, Herbie's not racing on dirt courses or even over bumps, but he definitely looks great not doing it.

Audio:

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Squeeeeeeal! That's just one of the three sound effects you'll hear while playing Herbie: Fully Loaded. When Herbie revs up, imagine the soft purr of a riding lawnmower – and not one of those wimpy ones. A Craftsman, maybe. If you can believe it, the music is even better than the sound effects, although just barely.

Conclusion:

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All joking aside, Herbie: Fully Loaded really is a great-looking game compared to other Game Boy Advance racers. But squaring off against incompetent AI on eight similar street tracks with no option to customize your racer or even select another car? That's just not fun – even for kids. Skip it.