Race to the Lights Game Review

BY: BRIAN ROBBINS  |  Advergame reviews, Advergames

Race to the Lights is an advergame promoting McDonald’s 24 hour drive thru windows.

The player must first choose their car/music type and then drive around several successive courses as quickly and accurately as they can.

What I liked: The gameplay itself is very simple and straightforward. There’s no need to read or even look at the instructions to know just what to do.

The graphics are also simple, but engaging. They didn’t try to overdo this game, and what they ended up with has a solid overall composition.

I also like that there are a few things to do in the game, even though they are relatively simple. After completing one course players are able to customize their car, and players unlock a “hidden” car by using the Tell a Friend feature.

What I didn’t like: The branding on this game is horribly done. The game itself is somewhat unique, but they’ve essentially just slapped a logo on it. The worst part is the “Dr. Pepper” blimp that appears several times throughout the gameplay.

I also lost the entire point of the game which was driving at night to the “lights” of McDonalds. Why doesn’t my car have headlights on, or any other indication of time within the gameplay?

There also isn’t anything to drive me to continue playing after 1 round. There might be some big payoff at the end of all the rounds but I wasn’t enticed enough to find out.

Finally, while it is good that there’s a reason to use the Tell a Friend it seems a little bit too contrived and forced. The way it is presented just encourages people to enter junk data to unlock a new car.

Overall: A relative fun game with a good visual style. Unfortunately the branding on it is horribly contrived and executed. I’d love to be proud to call this an advergame, but with the forced branding I can’t recommend it as a good example.

(via Water Cooler Games)