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Platform: PS2, XBox, PC

Developer: Codemasters

Publisher: Codemasters

Genre: Racing

ETA: June 2002

Pro Race Driver (in US and Spain)

Toca Race Driver in the UK, DTM Race Driver in Germany, and V8 Super Cars Race Driver in New Zealand and Australia

Having only become a fan of professional racecar driving recently, I can understand how daunting it must be for fans of racing games who want to begin watching and following the sport.  From the myriads of series, it can be difficult to find what type of racing and what kind of race cars one finds the most exciting.  Apart from rally, Formula 1, Nascar, and drag racing, there is only one major type of racing left.  Touring car or sports car racing is perhaps the least popular of all the major types of racing but this does not mean that a good game cannot be created from it.  Just look at Test Drive: Le Mans, which was a great game based on the Le Mans series.  

So most of you are probably thinking what the big deal about this game is then.  Just another racer, now trying to push a form of racing that hasn’t been popularized in videogames yet.  Well, maybe, but there are a few surprises here where one wouldn’t expect them.  First off, graphically, this game looks unreal.  Go ahead, look at the screenshots and the comparison shots.  I had a tough time telling the difference between the screenshot and the picture of German race track Hockenheim.  This game makes Gran Turismo 3 look like Pole Position.  (Go ahead, I dare you Codemasters to use that quote.)  Cars and tracks have been modeled after their real life counterparts, and include officially licensed cars and tracks from some of the different touring car series.

Comparison Shots Below:

Well since we are all big kids now, we know that graphics alone don’t make a game great.  So apart from all the realistic car physics and mechanics that we have all come to expect from our racing games, Codmasters has created an all new physics model that will realistically model collisions.  Named Finite Element Modeling, this damage model will calculate how a car’s internal and external structure become damaged over the duration of the collision.  This means that each collision will be different, depending on the exact circumstances of the crash. 

Like other modern day racing games, players will be able to customize the setup of their cars.  Players will also be able to receive advice from their pit crews.  In the sound department, Codmasters has taken the opportunity to add to the realism of the game by using authentically recorded sounds of the cars. 

The final point of interest that should snap most peoples’ necks around is a story line.  Knowing that to stand above the thick competition in racing games one has to create a unique product, Codemasters has created a character that the player will become.  Not a mere afterthought to the game, professional voice actors, directors and script writers have been used.  Gamers will assume the role of Ryan McKane, a young rookie coming up in the touring car world.  With motion capture used for the cut scenes, the addition of a dramatic element to the game will give it a unique twist that should provide gamers a reason to budget this game into their time. 

Although the game does not follow any one touring car series, Codmasters has obtained the license to use Germany’s DTM series and Australia’s Avesco V8 Supercar Shell Championship Series.  The decision to not focus on any one series was likely made to complement the story elements of the game.

With all the ingredients to make an interesting racing game, we will have to see if it all comes together.  As racing fans know, putting in all the right elements to help a racing team to succeed does not necessarily guarantee a championship or even success.

- Mark Leung