Downforce
Score: 83% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Titus Developer: Smart Dog Media: CD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Racing
Graphics & Sound: In the world of the PS2, Downforce holds its own in both graphics and sound. Although neither really stand out, both help bring the excitement of racing home. Textures in the game are very smooth, and the cars themselves look outstanding. There are also those times when you, as a driver, have some not-so-pleasant moments, and the camera busts into a special view as your car breaks apart against the wall or explodes into flames as it barrel rolls through the air. Revving engines and upbeat background music help keep things interesting, and the sound never gets tiring. The music and sound fx in Downforce, along with the gameplay, help bring the arcade experience home.
Gameplay: As a true arcade racer, Downforce delivers the high-speed adrenaline rush needed to satisfy fans of this style of play. Downforce dials up two real modes of single-player mayhem. Trophy Mode pits you against the rest of the field in a series of single-race competitions. As you start out, you will work your way from Beginner to Intermediate, then finally becoming an Expert driver. In the beginning, you must achieve third place or better to move on, but when you reach the Expert stages it will take everything you've got, as you will need to place first in each of the races. Championship Mode is essentially a set of tournament races which makes up a type of Season. With each race, you earn a set number of points, depending on the place you finished. After the 6 track Season, if you earn more points than the rest of the field you will be crowned champion. Once again you will need to take each race in steps, moving from Beginner to Intermediate and then to Expert. Downforce isn't just for one player either. You can also challenge a buddy to one of two 2-player modes. The first is a generic Free Race (which is also a single-player mode, along with Time Trial). It's here where you get to see who's made for the road, and who is just road kill. The other 2-player game comes in the form of Time Tag. Here you try to keep so far ahead of your opponent for a 10-second period of time. Accomplish this, and earn a point. Be careful though, as a crash will result in your opposition earning a free point. As a whole, Downforce is a pretty solid arcade racer. But for those of you looking for realism, you will want to look elsewhere. Downforce does a decent job of being consistent, but there are also times when the game makes you feel like you've been cheated. For instance, in a moderate pileup of cars, it is possible for the computer drivers to end up underneath you. The problem is that they try to keep moving and you can't get your feet on the ground (or wheels, in this case) to start over, and they just drag you along causing you to lose valuable time in the race. But the cheapness doesn't stop there. Fortunately it is also in favor of the human drivers. Another flaw in the slaw is that when you are going fast enough, you can ram the computer cars from behind and they will be sent sliding to one side or the other every time. And finally, although the tracks have a reasonably good layout, the setting sun is used as another notch of difficulty when it blinds you around some of the tracks' turns. This is a cool effect, but it almost seemed overused, and in place of creating a more difficult overall layout.
Difficulty: Games like Downforce that offer different difficulty levels only if you play through the game deserve both cheers and jeers. On one hand, setting the game up so that a player must unlock everything to continue on does ease a player into the mechanics of the game, and allows for more replay value than if you could choose your own difficulty out of the gate. However, this replay value can also be deemed artificial, and a cunning way to make a game longer than it truly is. You can use your own judgement for this. With that said, Downforce does allow moderate racing fans a chance to grind with the big boys, while also offering a bit more challenge to veteran racers. Still, it all comes down to getting to know your track. Once you do, and know the best way to navigate it, Downforce shouldn't be overly difficult.
Game Mechanics: When you talk about the menu system and controller configuration of Downforce, it's very easy to both navigate and race. Menus are very straightforward, and you will basically only use two buttons (accelerate and brake) and the left analog stick to navigate your car (unless you use the manual transmission layout). The game itself is also very to the point and easy to comprehend how to get past each track, unlike some mission-based games. For those of you who appreciate a nice Career Mode and a realistic simulation of the art of racing, you will definitely want to turn the other cheek. But fans of arcade-style racing games will probably love Downforce's no setup, straight to the point gameplay. Because the game is geared more toward arcade-goers, other folks may want to rent the game first, as the replay value is basically limited to the increasingly difficult computer drivers.
-Woody, GameVortex Communications AKA Shane Wodele
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