When I reviewed the first World Racing game a long while back, the game wasn’t on most racing fan’s radar and it wasn’t backed up by an impressive ad campaign like, say, Project Gotham Racing 2. It was, however, an arcade-styled racer that brought to mind arcade-racing games like Outrun only with gorgeous scenery and a garage filled with Mercedes Benz vehicles. The game was also loads of fun so it wasn’t surprising to find news that a sequel would soon be in the works. World Racing 2 is a return to the fun arcade-style racing and this time more cars manufacturers have been invited.

As I mentioned above, the first World Racing game only featured a lineup of Mercedes Benz cars and that’s was fine but there were gamers like myself that wished we could take a different model out on the tracks. Well, Playlogic International heard our prayers and included VW, Alfa Romero, Lotus and PGO just to name a few European automakers. I mean, who wouldn’t want to test-drive a VW Concept T or a 300 SL Rallye? There are 90 cars and the best part is that you can also modify them. Yet before you begin to imagine a car mod system similar to Midnight Club 3, you will be in for a disappointment. The upgrades, although minor, is still nice to have. You can not only add a new paintjob to your favorite car but also add vinyls and cooler rims.

Yet this game is all about the arcade racing action and World Racing 2 has no shortage of racing events in the main Career mode. You start by picking an avatar that can be male or female (it doesn’t really matter since you won’t actually see your avatar during a race) as well as what you want on your license plate. From there you begin your career by completing a series of tasks to complete the Aptitude Test and the License Examination in order to become a professional racer. You will be test driving a car for a car rental service as well as competing against a few racers handpicked to make a car magazine look good. After successfully completing each racing task, you start your career by attempting various races each with their own qualifying restrictions such as completing a race without aggressively slamming into other racers or try not to exceed a damage percentage of 4%.

Control-wise, the game hasn’t changed at all and that can be both bad and good. Using the Xbox controller is a good way of maneuvering easily past your opponents but it still a pain to make sharp turns without either hitting the barrier or losing speed. There are now colored arrows on the barriers that turn green when you’re at the right angle to make a turn or yellow if you’re coming in too quickly and finally red when you’re just too stubborn to use the handbrakes. Thankfully, you can use an Xbox racing wheel and it works beautifully in this game and does make sharp corners less of a threat although you should take a few practice laps before jumping into the Career mode races.

This time around there is traffic and it not only poses a challenge to swerve past an oncoming truck while attempting to make a turn but it also gets in the way of your rivals and thus giving you something of an advantage. However, the little annoyances from the original are still very much present in this game. Your opponents still recover from crashes very quickly while a crash for you means you will be stuck upside down or in a ditch without being reset on the racecourse again like most games do. Nitro boost does help even the odds a little but expect the computer-controlled opponents to anticipate your next move and speed past you right when you thought you lost them.

As you advance in your racing career you earn Speedbucks good for purchasing race courses as well as vehicles for Free Ride. It is in Free Ride that you can take on a friend in Single Races or go through a training race, a Default Race, a KO Race and even a Waypoints Race. It’s a bit unfortunate that you have to spend Speedbuck on opening race courses you’ve already raced through in Career mode but then again who doesn’t want to take a free ride into Italy, Hawaii, Miami, Egypt as well as the Test Center and the Hockenheimring. Sadly, there is no Xbox Live multiplayer mode, although you can download content on Live.

Graphically, World Racing 2 is still a great-looking game with gorgeous environments that will often have you stopping during a test drive to admire the scenery. The best part is that you will be racing through some delightfully exotic locales with birds flying in the distance, boats sailing away and hot air balloons floating away slowly in the horizon. The car models also look wonderfully detailed and while they don’t take realistic damage there’s some decent damage effects here.

The game’s sounds effects range from the you-heard-it-once-you-heard-it-before variety when it comes to the car sounds to the surprisingly detailed environment sounds coming from your surrounds. In the countryside of a track in Italy where cows graze you will hear their mooing. I once lost control of my vehicle in a residential area in Hawaii and I could hear barking dogs come from the houses. The game’s soundtrack is also the same from the first game with techno and rock music that isn’t bad at all.

The changes made to World Racing 2 do make it a better game than the original but then again what has changed isn’t enough to make this a game that would give other more well-known racing games a run for their money. It might not be as amazing as Midnight Club 3 nor does it comes close to reaching the greatness that is Forza Motorsport but it is still a fun budget racing game you will want to play if you love the racing genre.

Gameplay: 7.5
It is all about the arcade-styled gameplay that makes each race actually highly entertaining as well as enjoyable challenging. Career Mode adds variety to the racing scenarios but - for the most part - the races become quite repetitive. Luckily for us, though, there are a number of different cars to test drive and oncoming traffic makes races even more challenging. I highly suggest using a racing wheel since it actually helps make smoother corners.

Graphics: 8.2
Like the original World Racing, this sequel looks great on the Xbox. The environments are actually quite pleasing to the eye and filled with plenty of eye-catching details. The car models are superb and the damage made to them might not be wonderfully detailed but you will catch a fender fly off once and awhile.

Sound: 6.5
As far as the sound is concerned, the soundtrack isn’t bad at all and the environmental sound effects works perfectly, but the sounds of engines revving and screeching tires is nothing we haven’t heard before in other games.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Your opponents must have Jedi mind powers because they always seem to anticipate your next move during a race and they also seem to recover far too quickly from a mistake. Certain races require objectives to be met like keep the damage to a set minimum or to make it before the time runs out.

Concept: 7.0
Unlike the first game, you will find a number of other car manufacturers like VW and Alfa Romero as well as the familiar Mercedes Benz cars. You can also modify your car and personalize your license plate but don’t expect too many options.

Multiplayer: 5.0
The continued lack of online play still hurts this game considerably even though you can use Xbox Live to seek out friends or download new content. Four players can take each another on in Free Ride mode and the racing action is good but it could have been better.

Overall: 7.5
World Racing 2 might still not be the most realistic racing title available but its arcade-styled racing action is still good enough to warrant yet another test drive for those who like their racing games fun. With a few improvements over the first game and the lack of online play, this title might not have what it takes to go head-to-head with better Xbox racing games like Forza or Project Gotham Racing but it’s a nice alternative to the more serious racing game.