Race Driver: Create & Race

Right out of the box, Race Driver: Create and Race has fairly simple controls and not a whole lot of variety to catch the eye.

However, once you get into the track creation mode and experience the wide variety of cars and race modes, this racing sim transforms into a high quality game with incredible depth.

Start of the Race

The graphics are reminiscent of the original Playstation's Gran Turismo, focusing on realism over style. Though each course is modeled after a real race track, they all have the exact same grassy environment, and the redundancy of the tracks combined with the lack of weather or damage effects make this game aesthetically shallow. The cars provide the only exception to this lack of visual depth, as each one is accurately rendered with authentic decals and more. Unfortunately, the different cars sport mostly cosmetic differences and only feature simplistic variations in responsiveness.

If you can ignore the aesthetics, get a feel for the controls, and get into the game, Race Drive takes on a new form. Racing enthusiasts will be happy to know that the game uses actual racing tours spread over many gameplay modes. These championship tours are what give this game an immense amount of depth that will keep the racing fan engaged for hours.

The main gameplay mode is World Tour, in which you can compete in several tiers of varying difficulty, with more difficult ones to unlock as you progress. Within each tier is a set of championship tours. For example Tier 2 is initially composed of three tours: USA Muscle Car Tour, Super Truck International and V6 European Championship--each requiring the use of a different car.

After mastering the World Tour you can move up to the Pro Tour, but this is only the beginning of the fun. Simulation mode allows you to race in any venue, with any car--after you unlock them, of course. You can even design your own championship series by choosing a set of tracks. Along with the standard time-trial mode is a challenge mode that teaches you how to execute both simple and complex techniques with varying rewards judging performance.

The Checkered Flag

The star of the game, however, is the game's most ingenious feature: the track creation mode. Players can use the stylus to free-draw sections of road or choose pre-made sections to use as stamps. I found the best method is to use both systems together; stamps provide a variety of different kinds of road, while free draw saves time and relieves some tediousness. Once created, these tracks can be entered into a custom championship or traded over Wi-Fi for other custom tracks.

In all, Race Driver: Create and Race is a fairly simple racing game with tons of extra content and options that keep the game fresh and challenging. It's packed with small details like a funky soundtrack and factoids about real-life tracks. If you're a racing fan and are having a hard time deciding which DS game to get, definitely put this one towards the top of your list.

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