GameSpy: Pro Race Driver - Page 1
By Zach Meston | Apr 14, 2003
Codemasters' long-running TOCA Touring Car series gets a new name and a cheesy storyline.
Pro Race Driver is the fourth in Codemasters' series of touring-car games, which goes by many different names around the world -- none of them as stunningly generic as Pro Race Driver, but I digress. Originally released late last year for the PlayStation 2, on which it suffered by unfair and inevitable comparison to the unstoppable Gran Turismo 3, Pro Race Driver deserves a second chance at commercial success on the Xbox; it's an excellent racing game, with tight control and great AI that transcends its gimmicky "storyline" angle.
The hokey plot revolves around the trials and tribulations of rookie driver Ryan McKane, an annoyingly cocksure young man whose fate (along with a Controller S, if you know what's good for you) is in your delicate hands. In the game's overwrought opening animation, Ryan watches as his superstar-driving father is immolated in an explosive collision. Instead of heeding the karmic warning and pursuing a career in cosmetic dentistry, Ryan follows in Daddy-O's footsteps and takes to the track, with the goal of becoming a more skillful racer than his flame-broiled pop ever was.
The in-game story is advanced by the occasional cutscene in which Ryan flirts with a hot chick, or gets dressed down by his crew chief. Credit to Codemasters for trying something different, but the awkwardly rendered characters, cheesy dialogue, and weak voice acting only detract from the gameplay instead of enhancing the experience. (At least these cutscenes are much less painful than the Sylvester Stallone movie Driven.) Also, McKane comes off as an arrogant jackass, a personality type I try very hard to avoid in real life; if you're going to force an alter ego onto the player, at least make it a pleasant individual, as opposed to somebody you want to punch in the face.
The semi-linear career mode is cleverly structured. In the first of three racing "tiers," you have to earn at least 132 points during seven tours of six races each; not too terribly difficult, even if you're finishing in second or third (6 or 4 points) instead of first (10 points). In the second tier, you have to earn 162 points during five tours, which virtually demands that you take a healthy share of checkered flags. And in the third and final tier, you're gunning for the LOLA championship. Each tour has its own licensed cars and tracks, for a total of 42 and 38, respectively. You'll also receive the occasional one-on-one challenge from another driver, and while these don't make a damn bit of sense from a narrative standpoint -- why would McKane fly thousands of miles to race against, and possibly lose to, a rival? -- they're entertaining because they place you into various American and European muscle cars. Additional modes include multiplayer challenges, single races on any track you've opened in career mode, and time trials.
Before each race, you can change your car's settings, following the track-specific advice of your crew chief or rebelliously tweaking on your own. While you can alter gear ratios, downforce, et cetera, you can't change the cosmetic appearance of the car. The races themselves are brisk affairs, with most of them lasting only three to five laps. There's no qualifying sequence, either; you automatically start each race in the 7th to 10th position, guaranteeing you'll have to work for your win.