Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2

"Easily the Best Racer on the Dreamcast... the Best Sim Anyway..."

Ok, fine fine, I may have gone a bit overboard with my Tokyo Xtreme 1 review, giving it a 10 and all, but that's only because I hadn't played this game. Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 is everything Tokyo Xtreme 1 was, only bigger, better, louder, faster, and flashier. It is without a doubt, one of the 3 best racers on the Dreamcast, if not the best. Game play will demonstrate that.

Game play: 10/10

Simplistic driving, combined with tuning galore makes this game's game play a winner. First off, the driving has been made more realistic from Tokyo Xtreme 1 in that when your car hits a wall, it no longer, "bounces and floats," off. Rather, it slows down as a normal car would. During a race if this occurs, you will lose a certain amount of SP (your car's life) depending on how hard you crash, and what part of the car you hit. As for the biggest complaint on the first Tokyo Xtreme, the track, it has now been lengthened over 10 times, with two way driving. The biggest and most pleasant upgrade though, is the tuning of your car. There are more areas of the car to tune, as well as customisable stickers that you can put on your car(!) As for the cars, there are now over 150 different vehicles to choose from, with new brands aside from solely Japanese vehicles. How is the story in the game?

Story: N/A

There really isn't any story in Tokyo Xtreme 2, thus it shall not be covered. Graphics will be though.

Graphics: 10/10

Wow. The car models look absolutely incredible. Bright, shiny, and very recognizable. The drone cars have been upgraded in the graphics department also, and they are much more realistic looking than in Tokyo Xtreme 1. The landscape still needs a little bit of work, however it too is very good looking, albeit not as good looking as MSR or Sega GT. The sound was also given a boost in this game...

Sound: 8/10

The vehicle sounds are much better this time around, and they sound much more realistic. The music is still mindless light Techno when driving, and it turns into heart-pounding Techno when racing, with a bit of guitar thrown in for good measure. Not much else to say about the sound, but there's lots to say about the replay ability.

Replay ability: 10/10

This is one deep game. You must upgrade your car to advance in the Quest mode, which includes buying and selling off your old cars, and buying new ones. Once you beat the game, there are more goals you need to attain after you activate the Keep Garage mode, and then you do it all over again. There are also the standard time attack, and free run modes. One glaring omission is the loss of the two player mode. Two players not playing this game is a major disappointment, however not big enough the outweigh the rest of the game.

Buy or Rent?

Being a Dreamcast game, it cannot be rented, though it is a must buy for any racing fan who owns a Dreamcast.

This game is pure gold, rivalling the Need For Speed series, and the Forza Motorsport series. An upgrade from the first game it is, and a damn good one too. Genki proves once again that it is the King of racing games. Who'd've thought so, with a logo like that...

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/29/08

Game Release: Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 (US, 09/01/00)