Games for Lunch: Race Pro
In a nutshell: Just another racing game.
4/20/2009 6:50 PM | 7 Comments | Page 1 of 3
Developer: SimBin
Publisher: Atari
Release Date: Feb. 17, 2009
System: Xbox 360
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site
0:00 When a game has a name as incredibly generic as "Race Pro" you know it's going be a train wreck or transcendent. Either way, should be a fun hour.
0:01 A bunch of animated logos precede a plain, gray metal title screen, complete with ultra-shiny "RACE PRO" logo. The menu has some grainy stock racing footage running along a bar up top and some generic synth-pop thumping in the background. It's the NASCAR version of a rave!
0:02 The speedometer defaults to metric units. You're in America now, bub! Speak American!
0:03 The control settings include the most detailed analog sensitivity settings I've ever seen. Steering sensitivity is divided into three sectors, plus I can set up "dead zones" for the throttle and brakes. A bit much for most players, I'd imagine, but someone might appreciate it.
0:05 "In Career Mode, become a professional racing driver and earn a living by racing for different teams." OK, I will! First there's the tryout, then races, where I can earn the credits I need to buy new contracts, cars, etc. Let's start at the start with "Group A." It's a Mini Cooper race! Awesome! Like
"The Italian Job"!
0:06 To qualify, I have to beat the set lap time. Before we start, I try to turn on helpful options like traction control and ABS, but the game won't let me. For some reason, everything is locked at the highest difficulty. At least it lets me have an automatic transmission...
0:07 During the loading screen, I can peruse a map of the track, complete with tips on how to take each turn -- when to brake, when to gun it, where to watch for spin outs, etc. A nice touch.
0:11 If there's one thing this Mini Cooper doesn't seem to want to do, it's turning. If there are two things it doesn't want to do, it's turning and braking. I think I went into the sand/grass on every single turn. Despite this, I only missed the required lap time by five seconds or so. Let's try that again, with some slower, more cautious turn-taking this time.
0:13 Sure enough, staying on the track for the second lap gets me a qualifying time. Each turn requires a ridiculously severe braking to manage, which I suppose is realistic, but in this case just feels a bit annoying.
0:14 Somehow it costs me 100 credits to sign up for my first contract. Race 1 is on the same course I just completed solo.
0:16 Wow, it took me way too long to figure out that the color-coded numbers that appear overhead just before each turn indicate which gear I should shift to. This info helps more than you might imagine.
0:18 I leap into first on the early straightaway, then fall back into third after taking a turn too fast and going in the grass. There's no real penalty for bumping against other cars ... neither car takes any noticeable damage. This fact lets me use the "bumper car" method of cutting off the opponents inside to retake the lead.
