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March 24, 2003 - There's no denying that the developers at Codemasters
know the racing genre inside and out. With Pro Race Driver, Xbox owners
are treated to the most recent edition of the company's TOCA (Touring
Car Championshp) series and it may, in fact, be the best of the bunch.
We give it this designation despite several shortcomings, because they
were shortcomings borne out of unrealistic expectations.

Taken for what it is, Pro Race Driver features one of the most
impressive racing engines available on any system. As a supposed hybrid
of the racing and role playing game genre (the so-called "car-PG") and
as an Xbox Live compatible online racer, PRD comes up a short. We'll
touch on the role-playing and racing elements later, but the Xbox Live
disappointments require a bit of explaining. It certainly isn't against
the law for a racing title to remain offline these days, but if that's
the case, then that racing game shouldn't be delayed for the sake of
adding Xbox Live functionality and then be released without that online
component as Pro Driver was. It could've been the four-wheeled
equivalent of Moto GP, technically brilliant racing online, but Xbox
owners will have to simply settle for regular old technically brilliant
racing.

Gameplay

The presentation elements take over as soon as you boot up the game.
You're given the story of Ryan McKane, from his father's death to his
beginnings as the next big thing in racing. When it's all over you're up
to your jumpsuit collar in McKane's world navigating around the
office/garage complex that serves as the game's front end. It is from
here that you can choose to run free races solo or with buddies or
embark on the game's career mode and see what becomes of Ryan McKane,
the sensitive bad boy of tour racing.

The career mode has you competing in racing championship seasons made up
of six races and divided into territories like Northern Europe, the
Americas and the Pacific Rim. Hopefully, you'll be earning championship
points and money by placing sixth or better in the different races. The
challenge here is that you're always progressing forward one way or
another so there's no do-overs or quick save and reloads. If you quit in
the middle of the race, you finish 20th and get no points but you're
still in the middle of the season so it's on to the next race for you.
But all is not lost for that championship series, because points are
cumulative and you can still earn your ten points per victory in the
remaining races. Winning a championship means you're good enough to face
off against one of the other pro racers in a one on one race for his
car. These one time only events can be restarted and run until you win
so it'll only be a matter of time before you can add his car to the
available list in free race mode.

The points you're earning are also being applied towards the
championships tier system. You have to earn a certain amount of
championship points (ie, be consistently competitive) to open up the
next tier of championships featuring better drivers and more powerful cars.

The interface for all of this is Ryan McKane's computer system that he
logs onto from the office. You'll even see it boot up and be able to
pull up email offers from different racing teams. The offers from racing
teams vary because you're being offered a car and a chance to race in a
specific championship at the same time. In fact this is one of the areas
where Pro Race Driver seems limited because your choices for
championships (as in the new tracks you want to race on) are directly
tied to the car you want to drive. There's no picking the best car for
the right track like we've seen in so many other racing titles. Instead,
the task is to get to know the power and handling of whatever car you're
in and take the time to listen to your crew and customize the vehicles
setup for the tracks that you're racing.

In some cases you'll have to audition for a racing team who are
interested in you because they want to make sure you're up to the task
if racing for them. They'll put you in the new car you'll be driving and
on a track that's in the circuit that you'll be racing on should you
join them. You will have to race a lap under a certain time to make the
team. These invariably turn out to be the best cars, like the
Mercedes-Benz CLK AMG'd with 450HP, and can present the toughest
challenges. In the case of that Benz, if you don't qualify in four
tries, they rescind the offer.

While the structure of Pro Race Driver's car/track unlocking system can
be a bit confusing, the racing itself is pure joy. The cars themselves
are simply gorgeous and will leave you very impressed the first time you
run a race. The tracks get progressively tougher with complicated
hairpin turns and elevated turns to the point where your first lap is
spent just getting to know the course. The AI of opposing drivers is
excellent and definitely something to contend with over the course of an
entire championship. On the leaderboard, you'll notice the same guy
finishing second or even first in every race and then you'll start to
recognize him on the track. Some are more aggressive than others and
will have no problem jamming you into a barrier or sending you skidding
onto gravel. Most of the 19 other racers however are cuddly puppies and
won't do much to you if you play the role of bully smashing them into
obstacles and using them as cushion when you go inside on a tight turn.
Your car shows damage and sustains damage however so you may not want to
be too much of a demolition demon.

The most challenging races are the ones that require you to pit between
specified laps, say 2 and 5. While running a good race remains universal
(fast on the straights and smart in the turns) the psychological
pressure of pitting is considerable. Even though you know everybody has
to do it, the process can be unsettling as you watch other racers pass
you while you're getting your tires changed and oil checked in a cool
little cut-scene.

The greatest strength of Pro Race Driver is how it handles your
screw-ups and superior moves. The game does an excellent job of making
you feel bad about yourself when you spinout onto gravel or crash head
on into a barrier because something like that is your fault and you
should feel bad watching 11 other racers fly past you. The course is
laid out right in front of you and the burden is on you to know the
limits of what your car can do in terms of stopping distance,
acceleration and turning radius at different speeds. However, the game
also does an excellent job of rewarding excellent driving. If you were
to get "in the zone" after your head-on crash and drive like you're
supposed to, you will get back into contention provided there are enough
laps to go. If you wipe out and proceed to try to win the race on every
turn, you'll only make things worse for yourself. Conversely if you've
been an iceman on laps 1-4 of a five lap race and then lose your
concentration that last time around, chances are you'll do something
that will cause you to lose the race, maybe even at the last possible
instance. This is the essence of the sport that so many other racing
games miss, but that Codemasters seems to build their games on.

The car-PG elements of Pro Race Driver end up being a misnomer for what
is basically a good story fueling a great racing game. You get to pick
your racing teams and championships, but other than this there isn't
much for you to determine as far as development of your character. We're
given McKane's motivation when the game first begins and from there we
see him interact with unique characters like mechanics, managers and
foxy lasses. They're all brought to life with outstanding voice acting
and definitely make the game more interesting but it's not as if we have
any responsibility for Ryan McKane beyond racing him around race tracks.
Call it a racing game with a heart but don't confuse it with Final Fantasy.

The Time Trial, Multiplayer and Free Race are all self-explanatory and
are a great way to enjoy the fruits of your labor by racing on tracks
and in cars that you've unlocked in the career mode.

Graphics

This game wouldn't be half as appealing if it didn't look so damn crisp
and clean. The car models, made up of many thousands of polygons, are
among the most impressive vehicles of any type, that you'll see on Xbox.
But the fact that they can be ripped and smashed apart in real time with
animated body parts flapping and flying around puts the cars of Pro Race
Drive in another category and makes the cars of Rallisport Challenge
look bland by comparison.

Attention to detail and authenticity are what Pro Race Driver is all
about and you get it in every visual element in the game from the tracks
and cars to the office/garage interface. Sponsorship paint jobs and
decals on the race cars are accurate right down to the Shell Oil and Del
Monte logos on the fenders. Racing Mexico, not only do you see ads for
Herdez food products, but you're encouraged to get to know La Nueva
Dodge and sign up for Telmex on the race track's billboards. It's the
combination of details like these that really get you into the world of
Ryan McKane. Real-time reflections mean you'll see that ad for La Nueva
Dodge on the overpass flash across the rear-window of your car as you
race under it in third person perspective.

In most racing games the only animations you'll see on the car models
themselves would be the front wheels turning and maybe the drive inside
manipulating the steering wheel. Pro Race Driver gives you that but damn
near encourages you to bash into walls and other drivers just you can
see how cool it looks as your vehicle disintegrates piece by piece with
awesome real-time damage animation. Spoilers and windshields are usually
the first to explode off of your car if you're rear ended by some
reckless driver or slam into a barrier too fast. Losing your tires and
rolling on pure metal rim not only looks cool because they're extra
wide, but there can be a certain sense of accomplishment finishing a
race in such bad shape.

The real visual treats come when you tear up your rear bumper but not
enough to totally rip it from your car's body. It'll barely hold on to
one attach point on the rear of your car flapping and dangling until you
do something else to break it completely off. The American vehicles in
the game are the usual suspects when it comes to dangling bumpers. The
overall effect of all this is that you'll feel compelled to avoid big
crashes and wipeouts because a) you don't want to lose the race and b)
you don't want to trash your car to the point where it shuts down.

The cut-scenes and racing garage/office are all well done and suit the
rest of the game's level of authenticity, even though some of the
characters look blockier and fuzzier than others. Every time you get
ready to race or hop around the facility you'll see different characters
doing slightly different things. Before a race McKane will be somewhere
in the garage doing something appropriate like talking with his crew or
goofing off.

Sound You can believe all of what you see and all of what you hear in
Pro Race Drive because Codemasters doesn't take shortcuts when it comes
to the audio department either. In full Dolby Digital surround sound
you're hearing competitors coming up behind you on the left and right,
putting those rear surround speakers to great use. Furthermore the car
engine sounds could be the very best we've ever heard because they're
many and varied and make us feel a bit more familiar with cars we're
never going to own.

It's easy for anyone to tell the difference between say an old school
Mini Cooper S and a Corvette Z06 when you've got their engines revving
down a straight away. But car-geeks, especially those outside of North
America, will appreciate the subtle differences between the 320HP Toyota
Supra and the 276HP Toyota Chaser because it's there.

The voice acting is actually top notch and helps make up for some of the
inconsistencies in the characters' look. The accents are right even when
you're listening to broken English with a German or Japanese accent on
an answering machine in the Pro Race Driver Challenges. Although it
doesn't happen often enough, the furious outburst from one of your
competitors confronting you in your garage is made all the more
hilarious by the fact that he never takes his race helmet off. Muffled
outrage is an underutilized comic instrument but the team at Codemasters
sure made it sound realistic.

Because it's an Xbox racing game, custom soundtracks are expected and,
sadly, are missing in Pro Race Driver. The tips you get from your crew
during a race can be somewhat helpful since they tell you how you're
doing on a lap and what position you're in, but it's nothing critical
like you'd find in a rally game. In fact, chalk that one up to PRD's
Colin McRae heritage.

Closing Comments
Pro Race Driver is easily one of the top racing titles on Xbox even if
it doesn't have Xbox Live functionality and role-playing elements. The
racing engine carries the entire thing but it's so refined that this
isn't a weakness. In fact with the beautiful graphics and damage
effects, PRD gave me the style and the substance that I feel more games,
in any genre, should have.

If I had to point out a weakness it would be the structure of the career
mode and the way it limits the player to choosing racing team, car and
racing circuit all in one shot. There are plenty of each to choose from
but being able to mix and match a bit and still have it mean something
in the overall career could've lead to some interesting combinations. As
it is though, the game shows off all of its cars, tracks and beauty in
due time as long as your good enough and patient enough.

-- Aaron Boulding

Presentation
All you do is put the disc in your console and you're thrown into a rich
racing storyline supported by cut-scenes and a great front end.

9.0
Graphics
Nearly photo-realistic cars and dynamic damage system will have you
drooling and wincing at the same time.

10.0
Sound
Great surround sound and voice acting but there's a little something
called music missing from the sound equation.

8.0
Gameplay
On the race track we're talking near perfection. The structure of the
game can be a little misleading and hard to follow.

8.0
Lasting Appeal
With 42 cars and 38 tracks and plenty of losses waiting for you, there's
some real depth here.

8.0
OVERALL SCORE (not an average)

8.9