The Mattel Hot Wheels Apptivity in action. Photo copyright Mattel.
Apps can turn the iPad into many different things but a racing track wasn’t one that I expected.
With the free Mattel Hot Wheels app and the purchase of Hot Wheels Apptivity Cars ($19.90), that’s exactly what happens. As can be seen in this demonstration video, the screen follows the car in real time. This means you can abruptly go forward, backwards or sideways and the road on the iPad will adjust accordingly. There are custom features for each of the four different Apptivity cars so it’s not all the same, all the time. The game includes three different challenges with multiple levels in each challenge.
My children are a bit past the Hot Wheels stage, so I loaned out this app and the cars to a friend with a five-year-old son.
Their report was mixed. On the good side, the app and cars performed exactly as described. On the bad side, my son’s friend lost interest fairly quickly but he’s also not in a big “Hot Wheels” phase.
Bottom line: the app is cool, it worked nicely when it was tested, but is likely best appreciated by a child (or adult) still crazy over playing with Hot Wheels.
