Wild Wild Racing (PS2) - PlayStation 2

Featuring a variety of courses in countries as diverse as America, India and Iceland, Wild Wild Racing makes a valiant attempt to climb to the top of the PS2 driving game tree, taking the now-standard selection of goal-oriented race modes and adding the sumptuous graphics of the PlayStation 2 to pep things up a bit.

In operation, WWR is great fun. The lighting and weather effects accentuate the wildly rugged landscapes and the handling of the racing vehicles is an interesting experience to say the least. The courses are long and winding, increasing the challenge required in remembering where to go and how fast to go there, but the openness of the course does give rise to the game's major annoyance--there just aren't enough roadside indicators to let you know which way to head next. It can be all too easy in the early stages to lose a race after mistakenly heading in the wrong direction.

This gripe aside, WWR rewards the aggressive driver and can seriously punish the slow, the dune buggies which provide the racing action are devilishly slow to accelerate and bumping a side wall or taking a incline too slowly can take seconds off your time. Although sideswiping the opposition into the barriers before making a ludicrously high leap through the air in your chosen vehicle of doom is well worth the effort.

WWR certainly isn't going to win any awards for invention but it's a tidy little title that provides sufficient challenge to make it worth a whirl. --James Gordon