Gaming Target - Xbox: World Racing

Written by Matt Swider on March 14, 2003

First Impressions: My dream to drive a Mercedes of my own might not become a reality, but virtual-reality is close enough. Plus, I can crash without worrying about increasing insurance rates.

Owning a Mercedes-Benz comes with the satisfaction of getting behind the wheel and driving one of the world's finest automobiles. Of course while each vehicle has both comfort and class, not everyone is in a comfortable situation to ride with such luxury. But hope is just down the road for those of us that squander time building online models that never materialize. At the end of the month, TDK Mediative will bring World Racing stateside where Xbox owners receive an exclusive test-drive of over 100 Mercedes-Benz cars. Given the fact that these are German engineered cars, there's no one better to deliver a dead-on driving experience than German developer Synetic. It's obvious from the vehicle designs in World Racing that the studio has been working closely with the carmaker, which is paying off judging from the progress seen thus far.

Mercedes-Benz is known for producing some of the most prestigious automobiles to ever grace the roadway. With this in mind, the visuals of World Racing remain sharp enough to replicate the stylish nature of each model. Regardless of the actual sticker price, all of these nicely rendered cars sell themselves on the screen exactly like they do in real life. There are a total of 110 cars in the lineup, which includes current A through S classes, vintage vehicles, and even prototype and racing models. Likewise, World Racing features a massive number of tracks weighing in at 120 courses within 7 enormous areas.

Much like a typical racing game, World Racing pits players in the driver seat where they follow the layout of a given course and use arrows as guidance around sharp turns. While this game does all of that, there's much more to the environments than merely staying on track. In fact, off-road romps distinguish World Racing from its competitors on Xbox. Players are free to drive off towards the sunset or anywhere within the 3D landscape that reaches the bounds of 50 kilometers. The scenic route includes picturesque surroundings like canyons, mountains, flowing rivers, and towns. Exploring these immensely large areas is actually encouraged for later shortcut usage and to meet the demands of 48 missions thrown in for good mix. Also on hand to alleviate the game's realistic racing approach is light-hearted humor, especially noteworthy when taking the tour of Area 51 in Nevada.

How this game handles really depends on the car that's chosen and which one of the many climate conditions the course is fairing. Though controls improve progressively when unlocking cars father down the lot, every Mercedes-Benz model has been recreated using real-life driving physics. This lets us know that car design isn't limited to realistic looks, which may be the only thing grown men care about initially. At least, until they hop into the bed of an uncontrollable automobile. Since climate fluctuates on every track, players have the opportunity to adjust the 150 different variations to overall driving physics. These customizable settings prevent spinouts on icy surfaces, but more importantly provide either the tune-up for a sure simulation experience or the acceleration for an arcade adrenaline rush.

Since every Mercedes-Benz model costs a pretty penny in real life, there's no shame in a desire to virtually crash one of these expensive cars beyond virtual recognition. Like the data collected from Mercedes to construct all of these World Racing cars, Synetic also went into the records and recorded real time destruction of the vehicles. Going the extra mile for this information has lead to authentic collisions, which will make a big impact when racing against four friends in the final multiplayer modes.