For more on Jungle Kartz, check out our full Jungle Kartz review. Or, for more of the best Nintendo Wii games for a 7 year old, why not try our Family Game Finder
Jungle Kartz is a kart racing game in the vein of Mario Kart and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing - but not as good. After choosing from one of a selection of Jungle-themed characters (and a Polar Bear), you decide on a vehicle and then drive your way round three laps of a course, pelting your opponents with a variety of power-ups to slow them down and give you the advantage.
While Mario Kart and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing can be played by children much younger than about seven by using the Wii Wheel and tilting it to steer the kart, Jungle Karts is at a disadvantage here as its version of this well-known control scheme is fundamentally broken. Turn the wheel slightly, and your car may career into the nearest wall, or will carry on unperturbed - and there's no rhyme or reason for when it happens either, making it virtually impossible to come anything but dead last. Thankfully, Jungle Kartz is saved by offering a second control scheme in the form of the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, using the analogue stick to steer - although this is a bit of a harder one for the kids to get their head round. Unless of course, they manage fine with it on Mario Kart.
Sadly, the courses aren't very well designed either, with plenty of invisible walls to collide with and jumps that are impossible to take right. Each course, and indeed every race is littered with countless frustrations for children (and adults) of all ages, and is sadly more likely to see them handing the controller to you in exasperation, than sitting gripped with their new game.
All things considered, Jungle Kartz isn't likely to hold their attention for very long, and you'd be better off spending your hard earned dinero on Mario Kart and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing for the simple reason that they're a lot better.
As a kart racer aimed at children, Jungle Kartz is 100% wholesome, with nothing here that should be a cause for concern for parents. The most violent it gets is through giving you the opportunity to hurl a cartoon pineapple at your opponents, although everything's handled in a suitably cartoon fashion.
Like other kart racing games, Jungle Kartz is made for multiplayer, and lets up to four people compete to see who is the king of the jungle - or at least, the fastest. What is worth bearing in mind though, is that as the Wii Wheel tilting-the-Wii-Remote controls are so flawed, you are going to need a Wii Remote and Nunchuck for each player.
Age Ratings
Format Reviewed: Nintendo Wii
