Publisher
Namco

Developer
Namco

Released: December 9, 2003
Genre: Racing
Players: 2
ESRB: Teen

7
8
7
8
7.9

Supported Features

Rather than relying on their tried and true racing formula from the past decade, Namco has gone back to the drawing board to create a new more in-depth racing experience that is part Pro Race Driver and part APEX. R:Racing Evolution is a bold move in a new direction and one that is certainly necessary for Namco to compete in the deluge of racing titles currently available for the Xbox, but can Namco escape their own legacy and will gamers accept a racing game that deviates from their once successful formula?

R: Racing Evolution is unique action-racing experience that for the first time uses licensed cars and authentic, real-world tracks. R: Racing Evolution also tells a story, one that chronicles the intense competition and deep rivalries found only within the professional racing circuit. New exciting features such as the Interactive Driver AI System and in-game radio communications bring players closer to racing action than ever before.

R: Racing Evolution Features:

• Licensed real-world vehicles allow for upgrades and modifications
• 14 tracks from real-world and fantasy locations.
• 8 different racing styles, including GT, Rally, and Drag.
• 4 game modes including Racing Life (Story Mode), Time Attack, Arcade, and Versus.
• New “Interactive Driver AI System” enhances realistic racing situations
• In-game radio communications – incoming transmissions from crewmembers and rival drivers!
• Reward Point System allows for power-ups and unlocking new cars.

For any racing game, control is paramount and Evolution plays well enough with a standard gamepad, but it gets significantly better when you hook-up a wheel. I hooked up the Mad Catz Universal Wheel and never looked back. It worked great and gave the game a more precise level of control when played from the bumper cam – sorry, no cockpit/dashboard. There is a rearview mirror which gives the game an immediately edge over Pro Race Driver and allows for some defensive driving, a required tactic in the later races. Overall, the controls are an odd mix of simulation versus arcade gameplay that probably won’t feel right for anyone looking for a game at either end of the spectrum.

One innovative gameplay twist is the new Pressure Meter that appears when you approach a car. This meter slowly fills and changes color to indicate the level of psychological pressure the other driver is under. The more pressure the more likely they will make a mistake and give you the break you need to pass and win the race. It’s a great concept and adds much to what would otherwise be a traditional racing experience.

Much like the gameplay and control, physics are a unique blend of realism and arcade. Evolution is in its own “reality” that is slightly more sophisticated than Ridge Racer but pales in comparison to the more serious racing sims. You can draft behind cars and slingshot around them, you can drift through turns, and you can tweak settings to assist you with braking and shifting. Much like Project Gotham Racing you earn points for skillful driving and placing at the top of the roster. You can then spend these racing points (RP) on new cars and race events. There are dozens of cars to purchase and more than 160 separate racing events to unlock.

Standard racing modes apply including the Arcade and two-player Versus mode along with Time Attack and the new Racing Life, the story mode that follows the adventures of Rena, a sexy ambulance driver that gets the break of a lifetime and ends up racing with the big boys (and girls). The story element is an interesting twist and the movies are visually stunning, but the plot doesn’t really affect the racing and the entire story is not that long. It falls short of the soap-opera epic quality of Pro Race Driver, which is a shame because this game has a better racing engine and I would have enjoyed a longer story.

Again, in an attempt to mirror the gameplay from the PS2's Gran Turismo series, Evolution covers racing on GT circuits and rally “dirt” racing and even tosses in some drag racing. This mixes up the tracks and your style of driving and does a good job of keeping you on your toes. While the rally racing is nowhere near the realism of RalliSport Challenge it' s still nice to powerslide through most of a race and kick up a dust cloud from time to time.

The racecars themselves are much nicer than any of the previous Namco racing games, probably since they are now based on licensed vehicles and had to meet manufacturer approval. The tracks are based on several real-world venues, and racing aficionados will certainly recognize many of their favorites from other racing games.

Some of the environmental effects are breathtaking. Racing through a canopy of trees you can see sunlight filtering down through the leaves. Racing on dusty rally tracks kicks up a brown dusy trail behind your car. There are also real-time reflections on the shiny surfaces of your vehicle.

The Xbox manages a blistering 60fps throughout the entire game regardless of how many cars are on the track or what special effects are being pushed through the CPU. The draw distance is impressive and there is little if any pop-up.

With so much speech I actually get to comment on voice acting, something I normally don’t get to talk about in racing reviews. The performance of Rena is excellent as are those of the supporting cast and even the random voices of the other drivers. There is one guy near the end of the story that got on my nerves but he only appears for two chapters and you won't have to listen to him anymore. The movies are particularly well scripted and the in-game radio chatter is usually dead-on with the action and even a bit humorous.

Sound effects include a variety of engines noises, but all of the cars sound very similar and all have that high-pitched super car whine that drones and wears you down over time. There are realistic sounds of tires burning out and squealing around turns and the metallic thump as you bump other cars or scrape the wall. The Dolby Digital surround mix presents a very open and realistic racing experience. You can literally hear the cars coming up behind you and from which side if you have a 5.1 surround system.

The music doesn’t deviate from the standard ethereal techno tracks we hear in just about every other Namco racing game. There is a descent selection of tunes, some good and some bad, and you can pick or disable the background music before each race. The music started to get repetitive near the end but it's so passive you can easily tune it out.

R:Racing Evolution is a unique racing experience that isn’t quite arcade and certainly not simulation. As long as you know what to expect going in you won’t be disappointed and you might even be a bit surprised.