World Racing 2

How successful is this sequel to one of the most underrated PC racers?

However for me the real letdown in the game is the choice of view angels you can use while racing. The original game had wonderful cockpit views, the kind perfected recently in Project Gotham Racing 3. World Racing 2 has ditched these and instead we have a selection of views, none of which I found particularly good. The bonnet cam is my most natural choice without a cockpit view, but the view angle arc makes it seem like you're playing through a fish-eye lense, so bonnets seem ridiculously long.

Another beef is the choice of locations for racing. They just don't seem as interesting as those from the first game. Take World Racing's Alpine course for example, it provided so much variety and visual splendour. There's nothing this good in World Racing 2. Yes the actual graphics engine is vastly improved and you will be impressed with the high level of detail and speed with which the images are thrown around. But the best engine in the world is of no use if the art direction is not up to scratch and it does feel sadly lacking here in World Racing 2.

So there we have it, I'm pretty disappointment with this sequel. I think if you can find a driving view that suits you, then you will get a lot more out of the game than I did. But I found World Racing 2 a huge letdown having been looking forward to this sequel for so long. I expected it to be a step forward, not seem like a step back. Yes we've more cars and more graphical splendour, but it feels like a smaller game due to the lack of freedom compared to the original. It's by no means a poor game, there's plenty of fun to be had, it's just really not up to the standard of games such as Project Gotham Racing 3.

This review comes courtesy of our friends at www.boomtown.net . The home of harcore PC, Xbox, PS2, GameCube and handheld gaming news, previews, features and reviews.