Racing

The year is 2052 and Anti-Gravity Racing is the hottest thing on the planet. Winners of these races walk home with fame, fortune, and glory. The losers stagger home with a bad case of whiplash. Fortunately, you’ve got your pick of the four fastest sleds on Earth. It will take all the skill and timing you can muster to finish high enough to be the circuit champion.

WipEout will take you through six different race courses located at all points of the globe. Each track is unique in look, feel, and racing surface, and you’ll want to figure out which sled works the best with your own style of racing. In addition to simply turning left or right, you’ll sometimes have to incorporate your left and right air brakes to make the tight turns. Also, you’ll have control over the up and down tilt of your sled, which should be used when you are going up and down steep hills.

Without the shackles of gravity, your sleds will reach speeds previously attainable only in your dreams. The sleds move fast all by themselves, but the courses are also riddled with boost pads which will thrust you forward so fast you can almost feel the skin stretching back on your face. Be careful, though, because if you hit a boost pad while from the wrong angle you might be rocketed right into a retaining wall.

You job will be to finish ahead of the other seven racers on the track. In addition to fancy driving you’ll be able to grab some power-ups that can put you one step ahead of the competition. There are dumb fire missiles, two types of homing missiles, and mines you can use to smite your foes. There is also a shield for protection purposes, and a super booster which, when properly used, can shave some major seconds off of your time.

The game on its own is 1-player, but if you happened to have the PlayStation’s link cable you can play head to head against a friend. If you can’t get enough high speed action, wipeout is definitely a game you should try.

Featuring two styles of racing – Open Mountain and Super SnoCross – Sled Storm delivers a solid racing experience with multi-pathed tracks that are laden with short-cuts, tight turns, and lots of big jumps. In air, you can take it to the extreme and rip off numerous tricks and combos that range from the rather tame (Lookback), to the difficult (One Footed Can Can One Hander), to the psychotic (Backflip). And of course, if you can catch enough air to pull it off, any combination of the 17 basic tricks can be put together for the ultimate combo.

To add to the racing excitement, Electronic Arts put together a “rocking” soundtrack. Rob Zombie’s Hot Rod Herman remix of his popular song, Dragula, is the most notable track, and the rest of the soundtrack is filled with Econoline Crush, Jeff Dyck, and the E-Z Rollers. The Open Mountain mode allows you to buy various parts and upgrade your sled, and by beating its eight tracks under various conditions – namely at night and in fog – you are able to unlock the Stormsled, a hyped-up trick mobile. To unlock the hidden characters, you need to score a certain number of trick points while placing first in the Super SnoCross mode.

Certainly, Sled Storm isn’t the greatest racing game of all time, but its unique use of snowmobiles and tricks puts it up there with the best. Fans of Jet Moto, and multiplayer maniacs will especially appreciate it.

Kazunori Yamauchi’s ground breaking creation – Motor Toon Grand Prix – was one of the first games released for the Japanese PlayStation. A clever blend of whimsical graphics and realistic racing fueled the fire and ignited the path into a new frontier of 32-bit console racing. Although the original Motor Toon Grand Prix was never released in the US, it utilized a PlayStation effect known as “mime” (the stretching and twisting of polygons) and thus far has been one of the few games to use this feature. So when will American gamers get to see this classic Japanese racing game? Unfortunately, we never will! (Unless you have it imported and have a Japanese PlayStation to play it on). But luckily for us, SCEA is bringing the sequel, Motor Toon Grand Prix 2, to the states under the title Motor Toon Grand Prix (U.S.).

For those of you who were lucky enough to see the original Japanese Motor Toon, you won’t believe what they’ve done to the sequel. Like the original, MTGP2 (or MTGP U.S.) offers some of the best cartoon-styled graphics you’ll ever see on the PlayStation, but that’s where the similarities end. MTGP (US) has two more tracks, a two-player link mode, extra cars, and now you have the ability (a la Super Mario Kart) to use power-ups that you can purchase by collecting coins during the race. You can buy missiles, oil slicks, turbos, jumps, and even bombs.

As any good game should, MTGP (US) features numerous secrets. Win a season in Normal Mode and you’ll receive the hidden cars and tracks. Take the gold in Hard and you’ll gain access to the hidden minigame, Combat Tank. Do it in Professional Mode and get an updated 3D version of Battleship called Submarine-X. Defeat the MTGP in Expert Mode and you’ll get the final hidden minigame called Motor Toon R. This is a test game that was created by the game’s designer to test the PlayStation’s ability to run [at 60 frames per second] in 640×480 resolution.

There are few competitions more exciting than the International F1 Grand Prix. From Monaco to Buenos Aires, drivers compete on a week by week basis behind the wheel of the world’s most glamorous machines. A tough nut to crack, the Grand Prix has been possessive with its subtleties and licensing (thus we see many more Indy and Stock Car games). But now, Bizarre Creations has re-created the F1 experience in every detail including car damage, commentary, and the full 1995 F1 race season.

Novice drivers need not be scared away, for F1 includes a rip-roaring, pedal to the metal Arcade Mode. The default settings will ignore car configuration and qualifying, leaving the driver free to race for first place through 17 tracks. Each track is a true replica of one of 17 different F1 circuit tracks. Teams such as Williams, Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz are all there, complete with their famous drivers.

Grand Prix Mode is where F1 truly shines. Almost a separate game in itself, Grand Prix will have players practicing, qualifying, pitting and drafting, all while collecting points through a 17 race season. Races can be up to 74 laps (approximately 2 hours), and with the steering and braking assist off, lightly touching the D-Pad or brake puts the player behind the wheel of a real F1 machine. Another unique feature is the Ladder contest, or what we refer to as the “Nemesis Mode.” Here, you will be assigned one racer within the pack to beat. You must beat a different team in each race, and your nemesis will be an individual driver with super AI. He will stymie your passes and force you off of turns.

F1 has so much to offer racing fans at every level. From arcade action to grueling seasonal competition, the wide array of cars, tracks and configurations will provide months of challenging gameplay.

Sitting at the starting gate you rev your engine up to 6500 RPMs and hold it there, waiting for the green lights to flash. Three… two… one… and your off. The tires squeal slightly as the tires catch and your speedometer climbs faster than in any car you’ve previously driven. As the first turn approaches you start thinking about strategy – take the car deep into curve, crank the wheel hard to the right and tap the brakes, slam back onto the accelerator and turn the wheel back to the right. Do it right and you’ll have shaved a few moments off of your lap time. Do it wrong and you’ll be finishing in seventh place again.

Ridge Racer, from Namco, does a better job of capturing the feel of high performance car racing than any existing driving game. From the scream of your fast revving engine, to the way you can slide around turns, to the way you can squeal your tires into 3rd, 4th, and 5th gear, everything about Ridge Racer radiates speed.

The first few times you play this game, you may get frustrated because you’re not used to the realistic style of racing. The problem, however, is not that the control is bad, its just that you have some skills to learn. Once you’ve picked up on how to countersteer, every lap becomes a challenge to shave a few parts of a second off of your previous record. Every turn is a practice in precision, making each lap much like executing a surgical procedure.

In addition to the four cars you can start with, you can add eight more cars to your arsenal by getting a perfect on the Galaxian game which plays while the game is loading. After you’ve beaten all the variations of the regular track, you get to go on to the bonus tracks. These tracks are the same as the first ones, but you race them backwards. This makes every turn different, and it’s like starting the game over again. Once you’ve beat these bonus tracks, you will get to drive Car #13 – a black Lamborghini-looking car that sticks to the road like glue and tops out at speed well above the other cars.

If you’re into serious racing, Ridge Racer is the game you want – it will challenge as well as entertain. On a final note, if you get tired of the music, simply pop in your own CD after the game is loaded and it will play YOUR music as you race.

The Need For Speed series has been rolling with PlayStation for a while now, with every sequel stomping its predecessor. Need For Speed: High Stakes (NFS:HS) once more takes it to the next level. Aside from the standard graphic and lighting improvements, NFS:HS has an overhauled physics engine, vanity plates, and the actual recorded engine burn of every car. Add in new modes, cars, tracks, and a player budget, and NFS:HS starts to make Need For Speed III look like a go-cart racer.

Previously, races had to be won to unlock better cars. In NFS:HS, all your dream autos are going to cost you a pretty penny. A new player starts off with just enough cash to buy a no-frills BMW Z3 Roadster or Mercedes SLK 230. From there, the long road to the $500,000 McLaren F1 GTR begins. A variety of tournaments and special events can be entered (for a price), with prize money given to the top three finishers. In some special events (like the Corvettes Only race), a one of a kind boss-mobile will be the prize for the winner.

The economic system, coupled with having to pay for the damage caused during a reckless run, brings a new level of thought to the track. A player can use earned money to purchase one of three upgrades for the car he or she has, sell a car off, buy a new car, or maybe save a little extra in case a difficult tournament, along with the entry fee, is lost. With one memory card, players can assemble a garage full of nice toys.

Once you’ve built up an impressive array of cars, it’s time to risk it all in High Stakes mode. Two players enter their memory cards and race what they think are their sweetest rides. The winner steals the loser’s car, keeping it for bragging rights or selling it for spite.

The popular Hot Pursuit mode also makes its much improved return. Playing as the law; call for backup, lay road spikes, or set up a road block. Luckily for all would-be perps out there, a police scanner spouts all the info a well-trained ear would need to avoid trouble. Best of all, Hot Pursuit can be played in 2-player split-screen, either as a team or as law vs. law-breaker.

Standing on its own, Need For Speed: High Stakes is the best there’s ever been for the series. The only question is, how does it compare with the multitude of other PlayStation racers out there?

The PlayStation has succeeded in covering every genre from head to toe. If you want an RPG, take your pick. If you want a sports game, they’re all here. If you want racing, hundreds of titles await. However, if you get really specific and crave a character based racer, then get a Nintendo 64. It’s hard to believe, but the PlayStation has not landed a decent character based racing game yet. On the Nintendo 64, Mario Kart sold incredibly well, as did Diddy Kong Racing, yet developers didn’t jump at the chance to make a game like this for the even larger PlayStation market.

On October 19, Naughty Dog is dropping a piece of gold into this overlooked genre. With three straight action/platform releases, Naughty Dog has succeeded in turning Crash Bandicoot into a legend. Now Crash’s fame will propel Naughty Dog’s latest project, Crash Team Racing, to the top of the charts. If you want Mario Kart on your PlayStation, then here it is. Crash Team Racing is an almost identical twin to Miyamoto’s classic, but instead of a wacky plumber, players will buckle up with a rascally rodent.

While Crash Team Racing shares a similar look and a gameplay style with Mario Kart, the inclusion of a sophisticated turbo system makes the game feel truly unique. Turbos can be acquired in four different ways. Catching big air rewards the player with speed. Timely tapping a turbo button through powerslides grants the player one to three turbo blasts. Just like Mario Kart, turbos can also be acquired by running over a turbo grid and via a turbo pick-up. When you truly master the system in which these turbos work, your racing style will forever change. You’ll hunt for hills to catch massive air from, and you’ll even powerslide through straight-aways to gain additional speed.

Crash Team Racing features all of the characters from the Crash universe, minus the warthog and Tawna. This means that Pinstripe, Ripper Roo, and even Papu Papu are making a return. If you conquer certain tasks in the Adventure mode, like winning cups and collecting Gems, you’ll unlock these wacky personalities. Even Crash’s alter ego, Fake Crash, makes an appearance as a hidden playable character.

Crash Team Racing is just as beautiful as the platform games, and the gameplay is even more intense, forcing the player to get in the zone and turbo until they’re blue in the face. Racing fans and followers of the Bandicoot will love this game to death. Crash Team Racing is also home to a slew of exciting multiplayer modes that 4-players can compete in without experiencing slowdown or background pop.

Destruction Derby turned the racing market upside down and insisted that the only way victory was possible was through the means of complete annihilation. Thus, gamers were finally able to smash, bash, and obliterate their friends without being hassled by their parental figures or peers. Destruction Derby unleashed the lion in all of us and made senseless destruction easy and fun. The only complaint about this asphalt destroyin’ title was it didn’t merge the ideas of true racing with the smash `em bash ‘em concept very well. Now, Psygnosis and Reflections have combined the elements of the two racing genres into Destruction Derby 2. The crashes are more intense, the racing is ten times as realistic, and the attention to detail is near flawless. Enter now into the world of carnage unbound.

Destruction Derby 2 still has the raw concept of the first, but adds a completely redesigned graphics and gameplay engine. The cars are now larger and can actually flip completely over, spin through the air, drive on two wheels, and start on fire. When you take a hit from a competitor, you’ll really feel how smooth and silky the control is, and how much faster the game moves. Psygnosis incorporates seven completely new tracks and four new bowls into this massive title. These tracks are full of jumps, crossovers, tunnels, and banked corners. Racing flawlessly on these tracks is near impossible with the track obstacles and bothersome competition always popping up around every turn. The bowls are more cartoon-like and feature deadly pits, mounds of dirt, cliffs, and a coliseum audience.

Gamers can compete on these tracks through the Wrecking Racing, Stock Car, and Destruction Derby game modes. All of these modes have multiple options including a useful Practice mode. When entering the Championship, stats track individual records and league standings. The numbers used to accumulate these scores come from destruction and race points. Finishing in first, second, or third delivers the highest scores. Flipping and killing the competition also receives big points.

Destruction Derby 2 is in many ways the same as the original with a brand new look and feel. Those who enjoyed the first will not want to miss this second offering. Psygnosis has just delivered the ultimate hack and bash racer for the PS-X. Don’t be afraid to compete; it’s only your head on the line.

Sony Interactive Studios has gained notoriety by developing simulations that revolve around traditional sports like basketball, football, and hockey. Although Sony has gained a solid following in racing with their non-traditional Extreme Games series, Rally Cross is their first attempt at motor sports. A racing style made popular by legendary off-roader Ivan Stewart, Rally Cross mixes the bumps, jumps, and closed circuits of moto-cross with the changing terrain, surfaces, and vehicles of rally racing.

Graphically, Rally Cross is filled with rich artwork and ingenious course designs. Besides the racing surroundings, Sony has incorporated an impressive physics model to the 18-plus vehicles that can be acquired throughout the game. Each of the four-wheel drive vehicles bounce, jostle, and launch into the air in reaction to the ever-changing terrain. Take a turn too wide and the car will pop onto two wheels or go into an uncontrollable roll. Mix in some mud, sand, snow, water, and ice, and it will take precision control to drive your machine to first place. Maneuvering the car involves some standard controls that are found in most racing titles. Gas, brake, and shifting options (including reverse) are the basics, but Rally Cross also has controls for rocking the car. Using the L and R shoulder buttons (or other configurations) shifts the center of gravity on the vehicle and is crucial in making speedy turns and keeping the car off its roof. However, if you happen to make a mistake and your car ends up on its topside, using the rocking buttons will flip the car back on its wheels.

The bread and butter of the game is the season mode. Successfully completing the series of races that make up a season will open up new courses and vehicles. The preliminary rookie season gives access to the first eight of the 18 vehicles and three of the courses. Winning the rookie season will then give you another track and six additional cars that can be used in the veteran season. Winning the veteran season will open the remaining two tracks and six pro vehicles. The season game can be played in normal mode with races consisting of a pack of four cars, head-on mode with a car racing in either direction, suicide mode with all three opponents racing in the opposite direction as the player, or mixed mode which is a grab bag of the other modes.

There are a number of off-road racing games for the PlayStation, but none come close to Rally Cross. If you’re in the mood for some mud-slingin’, four-wheelin’ action for one, two or four-players, then look no further. Rally Cross’ action, speed, and jumps would make the Iron Man proud.

Driving little cars in real-life environments is not a bad concept. Unfortunately Re-Volt is a horribly executed game. The physics are so poor that I often found myself spinning out or just popping into the air for no identifiable reason on a straight-away.

The game is so choppy that you can see cars teleporting on the replay screens. The weapons are interesting, but aren’t very effective unless everyone on the track is gunning for the player on the more challenging levels.

To aid you on the tracks, a little arrow points to where you need to go, but it’s so jumpy that you will occasionally be led in the wrong direction before it suddenly spins 45 degrees to the proper area you should be driving towards. In its favor, the game’s level design could have been somewhat interesting if not for all of the other problems, but I’d rather play the “pour-Tabasco-sauce-on- a-fresh-paper-cut” game than spend any more time thinking about this one.