Pro Race Driver Review

The last racing game that was delivered to our office was Rallisport Challenge; and a wonderful challenge it was. Other than that, and racing classics such as the F1 series, we haven't been privy to a decent racing game for quite a long time. Pro Race Driver came just in time. Codemasters are already renowned for conjuring up outstanding racing sims, such as Colin McRae, which now slowly steps into its third reincarnation on the PC and is already available for Xbox and PS2. As a first initiative to respond to the success of Colin McRae, Codemasters launched Pro Race Driver for the Playstation 2 and it turned out to be a big hit. The game came out some time in August last year. Since then the development team has been promising to release Xbox and PC ports later down the road, these versions will be incorporating a few changes and improvements into the gameplay as well as updated graphics.

Look into my eyes and believe in zee snake...

Hey baby, wanna go for a ride in my Subaru?

As you begin the game, you can choose to participate in series of free-style events, selecting your "wheels" from a wide range of cars. In this mode you can also pick tracks you'd like to race through. Next to that, you may try out a few additional modes, such as Time Trial and Free Race, both of which can help you get in shape for the tough racing career that lies ahead. If you feel prepared to begin the racing season, you can start the Career mode immediately.

The Career mode follows the life of one Ryan McKane, a temperamental young rally car driver. Ryan inherited most of his talents from his father, who was also a skillful driver in his time and highly respected individual amongst the competition. At first, you have to prove yourself in a number of ordinary racing events that are brief, but quite tricky. These few events at the beginning can do wonders for your driving skills, so it's quite an effective tutorial and you'll certainly need it if you're a rally newbie. In due time your improved skills may surpass even the most competitive driver, which could in turn improve your reputation with the rally club manager. The storyline goes on from there, and as you progress, a whole bunch of driving opportunities, challenges, and events will be open. Aside from the traditional-style championship races, Ryan can travel to various parts of the world competing against various well-known icons of the racing world. There's also a couple of events that can bring you a bundle of cash, or, in certain cases, earn you a new racing car.

Thanks to the story-driven championship and free-style racing events, Pro Race Driver has a straightforward and smooth gameplay that's bound to please most gamers. After being engaged in the championship mode for a couple of days, I realized that even hardcore racers could find something satisfying in this one. Gaining the lead and staying in front of your competitors is truly a challenge, even for more experienced players. Stuff like controls and vehicle handling are aspects that were well-balanced. Granted, regardless of these positive aspects, there might one or two segments in the gameplay that could turn off all you pro drivers out there. For starters, there appears to be a few unexplainable hitches in an otherwise decent AI routine. Specifically, AI drivers would sometimes push you off the track if you slow down - for no apparent reason. If you are half-way through the race, or close to the finish line, this may force you to drop out of the race entirely. This is led us to a rather disheartening conclusion. To be exact, the developers evidently didn't invest any time into re-adjusting the relatively weak AI from the original PS2 version. Regretfully, instead of fixing the problem, all AI weaknesses were transferred to the PC version, which causes some weird behaviors among CPU-controlled drivers.

Another aspect which may possibly come as a slight disappointment to hardcore players, is the way vehicle optimization was handled. Managing your car before each race should prove useful, but most of the time it doesn't. For example, adjusting the downforce or suspension degree, doesn't seem to bring any tangible results on the track. Each car has specific features which require some getting use to, but when you try to ease the situation by tuning and modifying the car parts, you just cannot feel any improvement on the track. Although, I cannot guarantee this is the case for every car model; but I did try it out on a lot of them.

Something's not right here.

Great, that's gonna cost me a new windshield.

On the technical side of things, Pro Race Driver boasts many commendable qualities that can easily match up to some of the next-generation racing titles we are familiar with today, such as Rallisport Challenge or Colin McRae 3. The tracks were meticulously designed, offering an authentic representation of those in actuality. Similarly, the vehicle models have been furnished with splendid-looking reflections, plus they have detailed and colorful textures patterns. Some of the models though, ought to have been supplied with more polys, which would probably increase the game's hardware demands, but would add a far more realistic feel to the whole experience. This doesn't appear to bare any significant effect on the general atmosphere and the overall visual quality of the game.

The tracks are all abundant in detail and were precisely designed (apart from the 2D-sprited audience). What's even more important is that all the surroundings are in full 3D, giving you a captivating sense of depth as you rush around in your favorite car and make for the finish line. As for the sounds, everything seems to be in place. Truthful engine bursts and tire screeches are all it takes to make you believe you're really out there on the racing track showing off your driving talents. The music tracks are okay, and they seem to fit the whole ambiance quite well.

As we expected, the multiplayer features a split-screen mode and Internet and LAN options. A slight warning however - at this time, the multiplayer aspect of this game is something that should be left aside since it seems to throw too much of a burden on you system (regardless of the mode your playing LAN, Internet, or Split-screen).

In a nutshell, gamers who have experienced the game on the PS2 might want to check out the PC version, since there were improvements made in graphics and in-game physics. But looking upon general improvements, there's not much to hold on to. Some weird issues with the AI are still present, which is indeed unfortunate considering how much time the development team had to tweak it. In relation to the AI in general, I must stress that, based on my own experience, CPU-controlled drivers have shown a satisfying all-around performance. Sadly, there are some weak moments like I said. Even though these issues are rare, they can occur in a specific moment and ruin the entire race, both for you and other drivers.

Whether all of this is entertaining enough for you guys, depends strictly on what type of racing game you prefer playing, and how much you are willing to forgo the certain weak aspects of the AI. Also, if you're aching for a solid multiplayer racing experience Pro Race Driver might not offer the thrill you're looking for. Yet, it has quite enough features for a respectable single-player driving game. All of the abovementioned discrepancies are outshined by the excellent in-game physics, solid damage model, excellent particle effects, good sounds, and beautifully designed racing tracks.