Star Wars: Racer Revenge (PS2)

Star Wars: Racer (PC, Dreamcast) was a true rarity -- an underrated Star Wars game. While it stuck to the conventions of the futuristic track-racing genre, it managed to really capture the Star Wars flavor with good track design and game mechanics.

Now comes the PS2 sequel, based in the time of Episode II: Attack of the Clones. We had high hopes for this game, but it seems to take a quality, if uninspiring, original and update with a host of new problems.

Racer Revenge suffers from a too-close camera, making it impossible to see the track ahead of you. Only by pulling back to the farthest of four options can even get some semblance of the space around you. The new tracks range from pretty to pretty ugly, with some very ugly textures popping up ever so often.

The frame rate is nice and smooth, with makes the next problem doubly vexing. When you hit your boost button, the game shifts into a quick motion-blur effect, which, while slightly cool-looking, totally throws the pace of the game off. It's almost like hitting the pause button for a second.

Another major problem is the lack of the original game's ability to flip you pod up on either edge -- good for getting through tight passages. It was a great touch in the original game, and is sorely missed here.

On the plus side, there are a ton of tracks and characters, with more unlocked with every win. You can take you winnings and use them to upgrade you pod racer in several key categories. Eventually, you can end up with a very tricked out ride.

Here's a strange aside. For some reason, Pod Racing seems to be a boys-only sport. Even in alien cultures, it seems, the girls don't get a chance to play. --SV

SCORE: 8.5