Ben 10: Galactic Racing Preview - Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Nintendo DS

When Ben 10 came to Cartoon Network in 2005, it won over kids instantly. So when Ben 10: Alien Force came out as a game, it instantly found itself on kid's Christmas lists nationwide. Ben 10 returns to the game market this year, with its own take on Mario Kart, Ben 10: Galactic Racing, out 11th October.

An array of characters are available to race as, including series protagonist Ben Tennyson and his friend Kevin E. Levin, along with, for the first time in a Ben 10 game, Ben's arch nemesis, the alien Vilgax. There is also a choice of 13 of Ben's aliens for you to race as. New alien 'Fasttrack' will make his video game debut on all versions of the game, and 'Diamondhead', will be exclusively available to the Nintendo DS version of the game. Bad news if you want this game but only have a PS2 or PSP, as it's the first Ben 10 game to be released that doesn't make appearance on those two consoles.

On the topic of new character 'Fasttrack', producer for the games Publisher, D3, Aaron Blean said to coinoptv, "he's basically a very, very fast alien... he's one of the quickest characters on the game, so I think a lot of people are going to identify and think that he's a very cool character".

Each character has their own exclusive special ability, which can be used to affect the final outcome of the race. There are also special 'Omni-node Power-ups' to be collected throughout the race, which include a special move that gives the player a super boost of power and speed.

Blean also spoke of the wide range of game modes, saying, "We have some really cool single player modes. We have the 'Galactic Grand Prix', which is our main game mode, which allows you to play through the story mode and progress through that mode and unlock more characters as well as karts; of course you have time trials and 'Showdown Mode', as well as a cool multiplayer."

This game is a must have for any Ben 10 fan, because as the past has shown through Crash Team Racing and Mario Kart, kart racing games are great to just pick up and play.

Tom Holgate