Things on Wheels
DeveloperLoad Inc.
PublisherFocus Home Interactive
ReleasedMay 12, 2010
GenreRacing
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer
PlatformsXbox 360

Things on Wheels[a] is a 2010 racing game developed by the indie developer Load Inc. and published by Focus Entertainment.

The game was released on May 12, 2010, for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade. It has been met with a negative reception by most critics upon release, for its gameplay and graphics. It was removed from the Xbox 360 stores on July 29, 2024, along with over 220 digital titles on Microsoft's system, making it no longer purchasable. It was not backward compatible with Xbox Series X/S.

Gameplay

In Things on Wheels, players control remote control cars in racing competitions. Many races have a non-linear track design, where the player can choose from pathways that may branch to shortcuts or secrets.[1] They can collect one of four power-ups (freeze, shield, static shocker, or speed boost) that give temporary abilities.[1][2][3]

Single-player mode has players race against a CPU player. Outside the game, players may use a sandbox mode to freely learn tracks, their layout and controls of the cars.[2][4]

Development

Following the completion and release of Mad Tracks (2006), and its port for the Xbox Live Arcade, the studio began development of the project.[5] Its innovation in the racing game genre was the non-linear track design.[6][7][8] Some concepts and gameplay mechanics like camera setting and track editor were considered but scrapped in the final game.[9][10][11] While the reason for the latter was unknown, the first studio couldn't find its useful purpose in the game.[10][11][12] Microsoft Windows' version of the game was planned to be released along with Xbox 360 version, but it was cancelled for unknown reason.[12][10][11]

Release

Things on Wheels had met with numerous delays before release.[13] The first time the game was announced was in January 2008, by its first publisher, SouthPeak Games, with one screenshot of a game and a release date of summer of that year.[6][8][14][15][16] In April, a short teaser trailer was released. According to the art director of Load Inc., Herve Nedelec, the trailer was short intentionally, but long enough to get a feeling for its races and the discovery of the huge house inside and outside.[17] Later that same year, screenshots of RC classes were revealed.[18][19] The game was released on Xbox Live Arcade on May 12, 2010.[20][21][22] It was removed from the stores along with over 220 digital titles on Microsoft's system on July 29, 2024, making it no longer purchasable. It was not included to be backward compatible with Xbox Series X/S.[23][24][25]

Reception

Things on Wheels received mostly negative reviews from critics. According to Metacritic, the game has a "generally unfavorable" rating of 41, based on 11 critics.[26] Jack DeVries of IGN criticized the game's CPU players' faultiness and stated the single-player campaign was "boring" with a "poorly written" story.[1][27]

Graphics were mostly viewed negatively by multiple critics.[1][2][13] Jack DeVries of IGN expressed that he saw other Indie games looking better than TOW, by the time when it was released.[1] The darkness of it was also criticized by Brett Todd of GameSpot, as it would "often obscure track hazards".[2] Jeuxvideo.com described it as "bland and tasteless, and the scenery has no style whatsoever. It's truly ugly, both in a technical and artistic sense."[28]

The AI/CPU opponents were widely criticized.[1][2][13][28]

Notes

  1. ^ Abbreviated as TOW[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ DeVries, Jack (June 1, 2010). "Things on Wheels Review". IGN. Archived August 17, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  2. ^ Todd, Brett (May 20, 2010). "Things on Wheels Reviews". GameSpot. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  3. ^ Peterson, Brian (2010-06-01). "Things on Wheels Review (XBLA)". Gaming Age. Archived from the original on 2010-11-29. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  4. ^ Price, Tom "Tomelet" (2008-08-27). "Things on Wheels Hands-on Preview (Xbox 360)". TeamXbox. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 2009-02-15. Retrieved 2026-02-10.
  5. ^ Matos, Xav de (2008-05-29). "X3F Interview: Load Inc.'s Denis Bourdain". Engadget. Archived 2025-06-10 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-05-13.
  6. ^ Dobson, Jason (2008-01-31). "Load Inc. creating another XBLA toy racer in Things On Wheels". Joystiq. Archived from the original on 2008-02-01. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  7. ^ de Matos, Xav (2008-05-29). "Posts tagged Things on wheels at Xbox 360 Fanboy". xbox360fanboy. Archived from the original on 2008-06-02. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  8. ^ Williamson, Steven (2008-01-30). "Southpeak to publish Things on Wheels for XBLA". Hexus. Archived 2021-11-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  9. ^ Jeuxvideo (2007-06-19). "Mad Tracks : interview Dennis Bourdain" (in French). Jeuxvideo. Archived 2007-06-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  10. ^ Matos, Xav de (2008-05-29). "X3F Interview: Load Inc.'s Denis Bourdain". Joystiq. Archived from the original on 2015-01-27. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  11. ^ Matos, Xav de (2008-05-29). "X3F Interview: Load Inc.'s Denis Bourdain". Engadget. Archived 2025-05-13 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  12. ^ Matos, Xav de (2008-05-29). "X3F Interview: Load Inc.'s Denis Bourdain". Yahoo News. Archived 2025-06-10 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  13. ^ Matos, Xav de (2010-05-18). "Downloadable Games Round-Up: May 18th Edition". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2010-11-23. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  14. ^ Berardini, César A. "Cesar" (2008-01-29). "Things on Wheels Announced". TeamXbox. Archived from the original on 2008-01-31. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  15. ^ Bramwell, Tom (2008-01-30). "SouthPeak unveils XBLA racer". Eurogamer. Archived 2010-05-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  16. ^ Burg, Dustin (2008-01-30). "Load Inc.'s new XBLA thing: Things on Wheels". Engadget. Archived 2025-08-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  17. ^ GamesIndustry biz (2008-04-18). "Things On Wheels - Brief video released of Load Inc.'s indoor RC car racer.". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived 2024-07-15 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  18. ^ Berardini, César A. "Cesar" (2008-12-04). "Things on Wheels Sting and Storm Screenshots - Xbox". TeamXbox. Archived from the original on 2009-01-08. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  19. ^ Berardini, César A. "Cesar" (2008-12-11). "Things on Wheels Envy and Glammy Screenshots". TeamXbox. Archived from the original on 2009-01-08. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  20. ^ "Things On Wheels - XBLA arrived upon.". GamesIndustry.biz. 2010-05-06. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  21. ^ "Things On Wheels - Rolling onto XBLA now, complete with a trailer". GamesIndustry.biz. 2010-05-12. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  22. ^ "Rocket Knight, Things on Wheels now on Xbox LIVE Arcade". Gematsu. 2010-05-12. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
  23. ^ Scullion, Chris (2023-08-17). "Analysis: More than 220 digital games will disappear when the Xbox 360 Store closes". Video Games Chronicle. Archived 2023-08-17 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  24. ^ Herrero, Pedro (2023-08-18). "These are the more than 200 digital games that will disappear when the Xbox 360 Marketplace closes". MeriStation. Archived 2023-10-15 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  25. ^ Bailey, Dustin (2023-12-15). "Here are the 47 games that'll be totally lost when the Xbox 360 store shuts down". GamesRadar+. Archived 2025-08-26 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  26. ^ "Things on Wheels". Metacritic. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  27. ^ DeVries, Jack (2010-06-01). "Things on Wheels Review". IGN. Archived 2014-03-11 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  28. ^ Anagund (May 18, 2010). "Things on Wheels" (in French). Jeuxvideo. Archived May 22, 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
  29. ^ Brockwood, Ted (2010). "Get rolling with Things on Wheels". GameZone. Archived from the original on January 21, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2025.