Thanks to Hamada for helping with edits.
A while ago, I rummaged through my backlog in search of a racing game, ideally one robust enough to supply a topic in this nascent series. Initially, I didn’t think Codemasters’ simplistic Toybox Turbos would be such a title. One level left an impression on me, however, and after grinding through the game I realized it was “Level with Me” material. Now, as I concluded in my overview of Toybox Turbos, it’s serviceable; finishing a mission or two a day was a fine breather from the more demanding, meatier titles I was playing alongside it. But if I were asked which of Turbos’ levels best embody its weaknesses, or which one best prepares you for its toughest missions, I’d choose Science Fair. Let’s discuss why.
Codemasters’ racer hit Steam, the PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. I acquired a digital copy through Microsoft’s now-defunct Games with Gold program (alongside dozens and dozens of other games; I’m blessed with a backlog in the three hundreds). (Image: Electronic Arts)
Toybox Turbos is an arcade-y, accessible racer. It contains eighteen racetracks and thirty-five vehicles, which are split into seven categories, and its seven cups contain six events each. Unlocking new cups is done by beating the boss of the previous cup, and you must earn enough stars to unlock each boss. Clearing a standard event rewards you with one to three stars depending on how well you perform. Oh, and don’t worry about the quotas—you’ll likely obtain eighty stars, the bare minimum needed to unlock the final boss, by playing through Toybox Turbos normally. Unlike other games, grinding probably won’t be an issue. Probably!
Now, Toybox Turbos starts slowly. The first cup is easy, featuring calming household-themed tracks and opponents who barely oppose you. That isn’t a problem; top-down racers are uncommon, and gently weaning players into this kid-friendly one makes sense. This is where players familiarize themselves with the classic race, time trial, overtake, and elimination match rulesets (the more demanding rulesets, escape and countdown, are introduced later) as well as Turbos’ items, clumsy cars, and grating audio. A subtle rise in challenge cumulates in a duel against the first boss, but everything’s doable, if not exciting.
Tracks boast distinct visuals and a few have unique hazards. Still, the top-down perspective is limiting; the track design can’t get too sophisticated due to our inability see what’s on the horizon. (Image: Electronic Arts)
Then you graduate to the second cup, Off-Road Rush, whose first event is fittingly dubbed “Back to School.” Upon selecting it you’ll have to buy a new car through the in-game shop, as you’ll need one under the classroom category. But you’ll have enough to buy at least one (coins are doled out by finishing events and dot each track; they’re plentiful). You’re shown what your potential rides look like and what their stats are. For the sake of this event, though, it doesn’t matter which one you choose. Any of ‘em will get you to the finish line.
The event starts, the countdown builds anticipation, the race begins, and…you’ll experience a fine introduction to Turbos‘ classroom theme. The track is outlined by white chalk. Pens and pencils act as guardrails, ensuring you don’t accidentally drive overboard. Many desks are rife with doodles, some of which—arrows and a “jump” message, namely—help guide you. Things get slightly more demanding at a few points, where you have to cross makeshift bridges composed of books, notepads, or thin rulers, but it’s a reasonable escalation. Altogether, it was my favorite course up until this point and might be my favorite in the game. Its aesthetics are charmingly nostalgic; its layout is the most elaborate yet and even features two alternate paths (which only diverge from the main one for a second or so, like every shortcut in Toybox Turbos, but still).
The multiplayer mode allows for a decent degree of customization. I can’t imagine Turbos sports an active online community today—especially as it’s been delisted from consoles—but I’ve certainly played worse. (Image: Electronic Arts)
Quite a whiplash was had once I began the next event, “Volcano!” That exclamation mark feels appropriate: this mission marks a considerable rise in difficulty. Now, I breezed through the previous events, and that isn’t meant as a brag; they’re very beginner-friendly. However, it took me quite a few tries to beat “Volcano!,” let alone attain three stars. Here, Toybox Turbos takes off the training wheels—while the game as a whole isn’t tough, this course, Science Fair, spells out that you will have to apply yourself at times.
So, “Volcano!” The usual pre-race countdown begins, except this time an ethereal blue wave ominously stands behind my car, one that’ll closely tail me. This is the first escape event, and the rules are simple: you stay ahead of that wave for as long as possible; letting it touch you is instant death (same for falling off the track, of course). Scoring one star requires driving for 1,000 centimeters, 2,000 centimeters yields two, and those who survive for 2,500 centimeters earn three. They reward you with 2,000, 4,000, and 6,000 coins, respectively.
Each event starts by telling you what your requirements for passing are. An online leaderboard also encourages you to practice and compete with others. (Image: Electronic Arts)
After I started moving, I was surprised at how fast the wave chased me—I figured this event would be a little generous, being the introductory escape one and all. For a few moments I upheld that naive view, though. Surely if the wave was relentless, the level would compensate by being reasonably straightforward, right? It is the second classroom track, after all; we’re still early in the game. Spoilers: it’s the hardest Off-Road Rush course by a hefty margin. Science Fair is also listed after the other three classroom levels in the multiplayer menu, correctly implying it’s the toughest one.
Now, the opening stretch is harmless. A few pins and paperclips dot the track, but they’re mainly for show; driving into them unobtrusively pushes them out of your way. Then there’s a sharp right turn, one where you jump off the table onto a desk. Then another sharp right turn, and a few pencils act as guardrails to help marshall you up a slope composed of books. The blue wave is kept at a fair distance for now, too. No problem so far!
Your success in Toybox Turbos largely boils down to memorizing the tracks’ layouts, including where people left traps. Sometimes you aren’t given a lot of time to react to oncoming hazards, and they can blur together with the scenery. (Image: Electronic Arts)
Then you’ll land on another table, one that contains the game’s most lethal hazard so far: an exploding volcano. Three fireballs descend from the sky, land somewhere on the track, and leave splotches of molten lava. Touching one causes your car to light ablaze, ensuring a swift death. But the challenge is derived from the overhead camera: lava may land in your way with little warning. While Turbos often uses trails of coins to safely guide you, the three here aren’t reliable, as fireballs can fall in their path. Still, this isn’t the toughest part of the course. And lasting this far means you’ll hit 500 centimeters. You’re halfway to a bronze medal!
You’ll drive straight and then turn left, leaving the volcano behind. After leaping off another ramp, you’ll drive straight briefly before reaching a very sharp curve. Surprisingly, it demands more from you than the volcano. Leading up to it the wave speeds up, and though it suddenly slows at the turn itself, the pressure it instills can inadvertently cause you to mess up. Making a tight turn isn’t advisable, either, as a green liquid graces the innermost part of the curve. This temporarily makes your already weightless car more slippery, which might cause you to accidentally careen into a wall—which would leave you at the wave’s mercy. Given the cars’ awkward handling, I usually briefly let go of the gas as I turn; that drops my speed slightly but also grants me slightly finer turning. That also ensures that I won’t fall off the table, as the edge lacks guardrails. Still, this section isn’t unfair; after a few tries you’ll figure out how to manage it. And this practice turning is valuable, preparing you for comparably tight turns in later levels.
Another part of the challenge after finishing that turn is positioning yourself carefully onto the ramp… (Image: Electronic Arts)
The path quickly transitions into another ramp, leading into a cinematic moment where the camera pans behind you a little as you jump over the volcano and onto another table. If you leap off at an angle, however, you’ll probably crash into the scenery after landing, ensuring the wave will ensnare you. Even a slight angle proves problematic, making the upcoming turns trickier. Generally speaking, Turbos’ camera transitions are a little disorienting; the game’s overhead perspective doesn’t loan itself well to spectacle. And while this is admittedly a personal hangup, the ramps in the game, especially this one, make me yearn for a trick system popular kart racers employ.
Anyway, we’re in the final stretch now—if you survive it, you’ll hit 1,000 centimeters! The left side of the table lacks guardrails, which is fine because we’re making a right turn. You can choose between a sharp or normal one. The sharper turn happens almost immediately after landing and takes you over a small road composed of two rulers onto the next table; this potentially saves valuable milliseconds but it’s easy to fall overboard or get stuck on the tight scenery. The second turn is safer, even helping guide you onto a notebook, a bigger bridge than the rulers. However, that green goop from earlier returns; part of the track outline on the right is composed of it and a lot is spilt along the innermost portion of the second turn, so you’ll likely drive over some. Regardless of the hazard you contend with, though, the blue wave speeds up; any mistake proves fatal. This is where I most frequently died my first few runs through the course, always falling just short of the distance threshold needed to beat the event.
Thankfully, a small, straight stretch afterwards lets you regain your bearings as the wave recedes. And now you’re back at the start of the level! Congratulations! If you seek three stars, redo this all one-and-a-half more times. (Image: Electronic Arts)
By the fourth cup, Service Sprint, the campaign starts availing itself of older tracks instead of solely focusing on new ones. Science Fair opens the sixth, Emergency Dash. The “Liquid Hot Magma!” event is set to the classic racing rules and fast service vehicle category. Item boxes grace each ramp, and in my experience the EMP and mines are most effective. Rocket boosts and the machine gun help little on a course lacking in long, straight stretches, though a few spots—namely the jump over the volcano—support the former. Strategically placing landmines or confusing foes with the EMP in the problem spots can cause them to crash, however. This strategy also works in multiplayer, as it’s limited to elimination matches.
The seventh and final cup, The Cylinder Cup, drudges this track up one last time for a time trial challenge, “Burn, Baby, Burn!” (All three Science Fair events uniquely sport exclamation marks, and deservedly so.) Getting three stars requires clearing three laps within one minute, which itself is reasonable. However, landmines litter the course, including by the volcano. It’s the toughest mission of the three, though you’ll pass it if you’ve spent as much time honing your Toybox Turbo skills here as I had.
This harsh turn greets you after the volcano. While Turbos isn’t difficult overall, some missions are more challenging than its aesthetics and ugly, plastic sheen might imply. Not that I’d recommend Turbos to younger players over Mario Kart, though. (Image: Electronic Arts)
Appropriately, “Volcano!” acts as a warmup for the rest of Toybox Turbos. Every other challenge in Off-Road Rush is easier; even the bunsen burners of the Science Lab course are bizarrely less dangerous than Fair’s small fireballs. “Volcano!” teaches valuable lessons, too: trails of coins aren’t reliably safe (a later time trial mission rudely places a landmine between two connecting ones), mastering sharp turns is necessary, tracks will lack guardrails, and the game’s attempts at cinematic set pieces mesh poorly with its top-down camera. A few later events caused me some trouble, but they never demoralized me. After all, I aced the Science Fair! I can pass any test Codemasters throws my way as long as I put my mind to it.
I’ll also confess that I’m kinda glad an elimination match event never happens on Science Fair. One of the later bosses sets up shop along a comparably tough course where toy helicopters shoot downwards, though. That took a few tries, too. (Image: Electronic Arts)
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