Ryan McWho?
V8 Supercars featured an in depth storyline, which has not been repeated in this game. Whilst the story of Ryan McKane was an interesting idea, it just didn't work as well as Codemasters would have hoped (partly because Ryan was utterly unlikeable). V8 Supercars 2 still has a story when you follow the Career mode, but this time you see cut scenes through a first person perspective. With you is Scottish friend Rick and a slick agent who tell you what you have to accomplish and who you need to beat in order to advance your career. It is unfortunate that you can't smack them across the face and go on alone, though. They guide you through a series of levels, each one containing several championships, which lift your profile, in turn allowing you to race higher profile cars.
These championships/race categories are many and varied. Most prominent (obviously) is the Australian V8 Supercars championship. The German DTM championship is the other big name in here, along with a host of other smaller championships. There are some other off-the-wall events too, most noticeably being the semi-trailer (minus the trailer) races. They generally aren’t particularly good though, with the vehicles being slow, heavy, plodding and generally not a whole lot of fun to drive.
If you follow the Career mode through to the end, you will see most of the championships the game has to offer. It isn't a pushover, though. Many of the races will take several, many or countless attempts to pass your race objective.
Like a glove
The handling in the game varies with each model of car. Low to mid powered front wheel drive cars - such as the Mitsubishi 3000GT - are quite simple to control, even through severe oversteer. On the other hand, rear wheel drive vehicles with more power - such as the open wheel formula fords - can be a complete nightmare, as even the slightest hint of sideways movement will result in a spin. Each car feels genuinely different to drive. Because of this, there can be an incredibly steep learning curve between championships. You may go from driving a very low powered car, to driving an absolute monster. It takes a lot of adjusting, as some cars can be incredibly unforgiving. This will deter many players from playing through the entire game. Those who managed to grit out the first V8 Supercar title will have no problems though, as despite the fact that handling is still tricky, it is much better this time around.
Computer AI is also quite good – if not evil. Your opponents will see no problems with attempting to push you into the grass/nearest wall, or pull out from the pits in front of you causing a massive pile up. The big problem here is that should you spin and block the track, your opponents won’t try particularly hard to get around you. If there isn’t a huge gap they will simply wait for one to become available, rather than stray from the tarmac onto the grass. It’s ridiculous.
You know you what to hit that wall
Keeping with the TOCA tradition, an upgraded damage model over V8 Supercars has been provided. It tends to be slightly questionable, though - a slight tap in a rear corner often smashes every piece of glass in the car. Visual damage doesn't seem to reflect the state of the mechanical damage, either. You may have a car that is horribly bent, dented and lacking anything resembling glass, yet the damage indicator only signals some slight damage to a wheel. Whilst no, a bent panel won't slow down the car, the impact that caused the dent probably broke something else in the process. It just seems ridiculous that you can finish the race in what is a virtual rolling shell. Aside from these few hassles though, it certainly is among the better of the damage models out there. Driving head on into a wall WILL end your day – none of this limping to the pits on grinding rims business.
Whilst racing, you will undoubtedly notice that there is no notification of positive/negative splits in your nearest cars. WHY!? It’s necessary to know just how much you are gaining on the opponent in front on you every sector. How did this tiny yet important detail slip through? Sigh.
What, no grid girls? Bah!
In the light of Gran Turismo 3 being over three years old, you would have thought that Codemasters would have had the time to ensure that the graphics rivalled the racing game measuring stick. Unfortunately, they don't even come close. The textures are a bit bland across the board, giving the game an all too smooth look. The tracks themselves are also rather lifeless, with the backgrounds being extremely boring. However, they are still a huge leap from its predecessor, and by no means bad. The frame rate is constantly at the 60fps mark, with basically no slowdown to be seen. Races are fluid and fast, despite the lack of detail.
Another unfortunate aspect in the graphics department is the omission of in car dashboards. All cars now have a generic left/right hand drive look from the windows, which is a disappointment considering that it is something that the TOCA series has always done well.
VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!
The engine notes delivered in V8 Supercars 2 are among the best ever heard from a racing game. Each car sounds relatively authentic, with, of course, the V8’s being the pick of a bunch. Crashes are also quite satisfying, with glass shattering and panels crunching convincingly. All music has also been sacrificed from the game. Whilst this is understandable, it would have been nice to have had the choice.
Going the distance
Make no mistake - the career mode is TOUGH. It’s not as long as, say, Project Gotham Racing 2, but the amount of times you will re-try races makes it seem twice as long. It’s certainly not something you will finish in a few days. On top of this are your standard time trial and free race modes. With the number of cars and tracks available here, there is plenty of room for these modes to receive a hefty work out. Of course, there is a multiplayer mode, but if things will get one sided if one player has experience over the other. Online is also an option, should you have a network adapter.
Just misses the podium
Unfortunately, V8 Supercars 2 doesn’t make the podium of the elite racing games. Whilst it is the #1 stop for V8 fans everywhere, it still falls some distance behind the mighty Project Gotham Racing 2 and Gran Turismo 3. This game is much more simulation than arcade based, so those expecting to be able to powerslide corners at high speed should look to OutRun 2 or Burnout 3 for their arcade racing fix. There is still a very enjoyable game here though, if you are prepared for what can often be a frustrating ride. Racing fans, check this out.
...and it's been what? 12 years?
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