World Driver Championship

    "The N64's Gran Turismo killer." This is how World Driver Championship was marketed as. There were many innovations in this game. But it's scale was just not nearly enough to keep up with Gran Turismo. I wanted this game to be good. I really wanted to be able to play a fun racing wgame on N64 that was something other than a 'kart' game. World Driver Championship is certainly fun, but not nearly as good as I had hoped.
    The gameplay is rather innovative. You are a rookie driver and you have to join a racing team. The way you perform depends on whether you will be offered new cars from your current team, or if you will be given an offer you can't refuse from another team. You must qualify for starting position on each race, and take practice sessions to prepare yourself for the big race. And, like most racing games today, you win money based on how well you finished. The money can get you new parts for your car, and most importantly, will buy your way into the next race. This career aspect of World Driver is handled very well, to drive the best cars, you have to BE the best. This makes the game much much deeper than most racing games. But there is a major flaw that spoils all the fun.
    The controls are really the only fault of this game. The cars control as if you are driving on ice. You slide all over the track, and taking certain corners a certain way will end in either you sliding through perfectly and winning the race, or you spinning out and ending up in last place. Of course, you get used to it. One thing the controls convey really well is that these cars are big, heavy, powerful rear wheel drive cars. Powersliding actually feels pretty realistic with this game. But if you don't get the slide started at the right time, your car goes out of control and slams into the wall. The controls seem really bad at first, but with some practice, you will find that it is no longer terrible, just annoying. But, sadly, the sloppy control really ruins the game for most people.
    The cars themselves are all modeled after real life cars. But, they are not officially licensed, so they have the look but not the name. Each car handles differently, but due to the "driving on ice" feeling, it ranges from really bad, to nearly acceptable. Each car also has a unique sound that you can really appreciate.
    The tracks in World Driver are well designed. They claim there are over a hundred tracks, but here's catch: there are around 20 tracks, but split into three sections each, and then mirrored. They all look really good, and different from each other, and thats what is important. Many of them are very challenging, and it's worth it to take a few practice laps to learn the tracks before you race.
    As far as graphics go, this game is amazing. Realistic backgrounds screaming by at 140mph convey a great sense of speed. The cars themselves look really good, and entirely like their real life counterparts. One thing included that I rather liked were the different graphic options. High or low res, as well as several options for shadows, and detail on the cars. This lets you either have a super fast framerate with good graphics, or have a fast framerate with amazing graphics. It's really a matter of choosing whether you want to play at 25 or 30 frames per second, and they are both pretty good and entirely playable.
    The sound is also very good in World Driver. Each car makes a unique sound. There are atmospheric sounds such as waterfalls, or cheering crowds. The announcer isn't too annoying either. One thing that has gotten some negative comments from other reviewers is the music. I personally like the sound of electric guitars, so the wanky metal soundtrack appeals to me.
    Overall, World Driver Championship is a fun game. Certainly not better than Gran Turismo (as Boss and Midway had hoped), and definately not better than Gran Turismo 2, but still a fun game. The control may drive you insane, however. But, if you play the game for a day or two, most people will find that they can live with the control. But, this is definately a game you should rent first. If you can get past the control, this beautiful looking and sounding game is definately worth a purchase.