World Racing

What's with this whole single-car manufacturer thing in racing games lately? Why limit a game to a single brand? It only leads to forcing gamers to race SUVs and crappy compacts instead of giving them a wide selection of great vehicles to choose from.

Even being limited to the Mercedes Benz license probably wouldn't be that bad, though, if this game were any good. Unfortunately, this isn't the case. World Racing has some of the worst opponent A.I. ever seen in a driving game.

Most racing games feature an elastic A.I. (slowing down lead cars and speeding up back markers) to keep the field tight, and it's bearable when it's done right. Not only is it done poorly in World Racing, however, but it's also totally broken. In this game, cars ahead of you seem to speed up, while cars behind you seem to slow down. It's stupid and frustrating; it's hard to believe that a sports car can't pass a huge SUV down a straightaway.

One thing World Racing does accomplish is having the most confusing menu system of any game, ever. Honestly, memorizing the manual and holding a Master's degree in Game Menu Navigation isn't enough to make things like starting the next race easy.

If nothing else, when you do get out on the track, the game runs smoothly and each car handles like it should. So at a very basic level, this is a competent racer in desperate need of a better interface and better A.I.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Xbox Nation.