Race Driver: Create & Race

Every gamer wants to develop games. Not all of us try to make a career out of it. Most of us don’t even bother creating mods. But we all have the dream of what the perfect game would be.

Developers have struggled to fulfill our dreams with a couple of adventure and RPG creation games (such as RPG Maker) for PSone, Dreamcast and PS2. The awkward gameplay, low-tech graphics and massive learning curve prevented all but the most dedicated developer-wannabes from jumping on board. Consequently, there are no plans for an RPG Maker on PS3 or Xbox 360.

On the console scene, the only user-created content that has worked is within games like Tony Hawk, which offered a terrific skatepark builder tool. Strangely, the same cannot be said for racing games. If any other genre was capable of allowing users to churn out great homemade content, I believe it’s this. Finally someone agrees. Codemasters, together with Firebrand Games, have built a new DS-exclusive that looks to be the start of a great franchise – Race Driver: Create & Race.

Race Driver is a simulation racer with very limited arcade elements. There are three exciting gameplay modes: World Tour, Pro Tour, and Challenge. The first selection is a semi-realistic championship mode with several competition tiers. Seven opponents vie for your victory. They’re not an overly strong bunch, but the steering mechanics are pretty strict. You won’t be able to turn sharply without slowing down.

Crash once and your opponents will take the lead – crash two or three times and your vehicle may need a pit stop. It’s very hard to regain the lead once it’s lost, regardless of how many laps are left in the race. Some courses are more forgiving than others, at least in terms of catching up. But the winding roads, track blockers and unexpected turns are an ongoing danger. There’s never a moment of, “Phew, I’m in the clear.” There is no clear. You’re constantly in danger of falling behind.

The game is not easy to pick up, but that’s hardly a flaw – Race Driver isn’t geared at the mainstream. Pro Tour is a harsher version of the World Tour mode that more strictly enforces the rules. You’ll occasionally have the chance to gain an unfair advantage by using a shortcut. The game recognizes this and will typically allow one such advantage per race (in World Tour mode). Gain any further advantages and you’ll be disqualified from the race. You won’t know it until the end, causing heartache to those who thought they were going to win by cheating. Pro Tour isn’t as kind, punishing players not only for cheating but also for crashing and reckless driving (bumping opponents, veering off course, etc.).

Race Driver’s mechanics are good, but there are a couple techniques that will need to be mastered before victory can be obtained. The most important is braking. Like other simulation racers, there are signs that indicate when to reduce your speed before entering a sharp turn.

Unfortunately, these signs are small, pixelated, and are impossible to read while driving at high speeds, which is when they’re needed most. The only alternatives are trial and error or glance at the map on the bottom screen. All racers and their locations appear on your map radar. This technique isn’t easy but is vital to your success.

The Challenge mode requires you to complete Gran Turismo-style objectives.

Creation Plantation

The Create & Race portion of Race Driver is outstanding. Tracks are built using a multitude of tools that allow users to create courses that are as simple or complex as they demand. No tutorial is necessary, thanks to the game’s straightforward interface. Using the free draw tool, players can lay down straight and curved pieces of track. The blank grid consists of 20 x 20 squares, which amounts to thousands of feet of potential track space.

Select the stamp tool to lay specific items: trees, overpasses, swiveled roads, buildings, parking lots, the race’s starting point, a stadium seating arena (for spectators), and several other pieces that will change the way your course looks and plays. Each piece can be picked up and moved anywhere on the screen. Pieces may also be selected together (a la Photoshop or Quark Xpress) and moved as a group.

These tools are great, but the game’s work couldn’t end there. To prove its prowess as a course designer, homemade tracks must translate to fun gameplay experiences.

After spending a few minutes laying track, I clicked the race button to cruise my creation. The results were uncanny. Visually, my course looked as good as the in-game tracks. Even better, my design – thrown together without any prior experimentation – was fun to race. I immediately noticed areas that needed improvement and got back to work. Twenty minutes later the course was done and I was ready to move onto my next creation.

Touch and drag to build your dream course.
The green shapes represent trees and the white shapes represent track.

Above all else, Race Driver is a great single-player game because the Track Designer and track results are equally fun. You don’t have to be the next mastermind at Codemasters to get the most out of this game.

Race Driver is also a great multiplayer game, allowing users to share homemade tracks and race against each others locally or via the DS’s Wi-Fi connection. It uses the pain-in-the-butt friend code interface (brought to you by the handheld’s maker, Nintendo), but it’s still a great feature. And for those of you without multiple game cards, Racer Driver can be played using just one copy. The catch is that you can’t use homemade courses or any other user-specific features (such as the car aesthetic customizations, where decals and other images may be added).

Gameplay: 8.4
Great simulation mechanics, courses, and vehicles are the expected highlights of Race Driver: Create & Race. The unexpected highlight, of course, is the Track Designer. This spectacular tool will encourage users to continue developing their own tracks for the next several months. It’s deep, easy to use, and is very engaging.

Graphics: 7.9
Glitches (transparent vehicles, odd collision detection, etc.) prevent the game from looking sharp at all times. Other than that, Race Driver’s graphics are very well constructed. For proof, head straight for the Track Designer, build a course, and test it out. You will definitely be impressed.

Sound: 6.0
There isn’t much to the sound. You’ll hear engines, more engines, and cheesy menu music.

Difficulty: Medium
You won’t master this one in day or a week. The same can be said for your own tracks, especially if they’re designed with the same level of craziness that I applied to mine.

Concept: 8.8
Anyone can develop a simulation racer, and anyone can add a track creation tool. But how many games can you name that succeed at both?

Multiplayer: 8.0
Multiplayer for all – single-card, multi-card, and Wi-Fi.

Overall: 8.4
The first hardcore simulation racer for the DS is also one of the best racing games made for any platform. You’ll have a blast designing and racing your own courses, and get a headache trying to master the World and Pro Tour courses. Despite the extreme challenge, Race Driver is a gripping, adrenaline-soaked experience.