Rumble Racing

"In the same vein as SSX EA tries to make a fun arcade racer with lots or replay value, so what are you waiting for check it out"

In the same vain as SSX EA tries to make a fun arcade racer with lots or replay value, so what are you waiting for check it out

I have to say I never really enjoyed these arcade, trick racing games till I played SSX. Sadly enough I had never really enjoyed EA’s Sports Big games till I played SSX. So when I heard EA was making a new extreme arcade racing game with a trick scheme similar to that of SSX I thought, “man this could be a great title.” Although this time EA has traded Snow Boards for muscle cars, ramped up pick up trucks, beamers etc. While this game fails to live up to or exceed SSX in its fun factor it is still a valuable and fun addition to your PS2 library.

Graphics:
While Rumble Racing has some excellent visuals those who have played stunning titles like Onimusha or The Bouncer may find that RR is lacking in this department. Background textures and road textures are often bland and undetailed. The cars are nice but lack the visual flair of many other racing titles. Although while this may seem tiring and boring RR runs above and never falling below 60 Frames Per Second. This makes it the fastest racing game available. The game runs smooth and never slows down keeping you on your toes the entire game. Next to that RR features one of the coolest effects yet on the PS2, the tornado. Turn this POWER UP on and the sky turns black and a huge twister hits the track throwing the race leaders everywhere. All this equals poor detail but some seriously fast frame rates and cool special effects.

Sound:
The sound in RR may aggravate some but complements the mood of the game well. During some of the tracks in RR you get a nice techno beat surrounded by cool and ambient back ground sounds. These levels sound great and the music is really cool. Although on other tracks you get banjo and fiddle music accompanied by comments that just spell “REDNECK” the whole way. Although through the entire game you are treated to an entertaining announcer who was actually a voice actor on “THE ANIMANIACS.” All this comes together to produce some great sounds that truly complement the mood of the game.

Game play:
Well here is where EA seems to take the gold time and time again. Luckily RR does not disappoint. Like in SSX RR is divided in to separate parts. You have Championship where you race on a variety of tracks striving for 1st place so you can unlock new racing venues and cars. Next you have stunt challenge where you race the games stunt tracks in order to earn a serious amount of points. Then you have single race (the same as in SSX) and showdown (where you race one other car in a battle type race). Each track contains power ups like the twister, bomb, etc. and its own series of shortcuts. The powerups can be turned on or left off and the difficulty can be adjusted to accommodate the more advanced player. The variety or cars ranges from a sopped up mini van to a tricked out beamer. All this adds up to an extremely fast, fun, and furious racer.

EA has once again made a game with a huge fun factor. Rumble Racing is fun and fast and the best racing title currently available on the PS2. Not only is it the best racer on the PS2 but the fastest racer on any system. So what are you waiting for check this one out it will not disappoint.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/02/01, Updated 05/02/01