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Racing games are already a dime a dozen on the PlayStation 2. How do developers expect to make money on a game, within such a crowded genre? One way to do that, is to develop something exciting, new or just plain good. Wild Wild Racing is probably not the best way to go about doing that, however. Rage did a pretty good job in putting together a solid off-road racing title, but it just doesn't stand out in any way, shape or form. The visuals aren't all that bad, but they are definitely not what would be considered PlayStation 2 quality. Actually, Wild Wild Racing best resembles a very pretty PlayStation game, though not much more. The vehicles are nicely modeled and textured, and they spit out various amounts of convincing purple exhaust. The tracks on the other hand, are just very bland and generic. Also, those flat angular surfaces that your off-road racer seems to frequently get stuck on, can very quickly annoy. With the small amount of vehicles on the courses, and the simplisitc course designs, I didn't expect much fogging or slowdown, but they both rear their ugly heads. Nothing terribly distracting, really.
The music and sound effects, more or less, blend into one entity. As with the rest of Wild Wild Racing, both hover around the average range. The ambient effects like chirping birds and wind are nice additions, but the music has a tendency of drowning everything else out. The play control in Wild Wild Racing tries hard to simulate racing in loose gravel, dirt and other assorted rough surfaces. Even vehicles with supposedly better handling characteristics seem to under steer horribly, which as a result, usually sends you sliding into the track barriers, which then in turn, hangs you up. Annoying, especially when those CPU vehicles seem to adhere to a somewhat different level of physics, and just zip around the courses without problems. Overall, the control isn't all that bad really, but there are plenty of other racers that play much better. Play modes are all pretty standard. Single player modes include Championship, Time Attacks and Challenges, all which help unlock new vehicles, and challenge levels, etc. The 2 player mode would have been a nice addition, if it weren't for the insane amount of framerate drops. When it hits below 20fps, which it does very often, the game becomes unplayable. With better racing games, like Ridge Racer V, Midnight Club, Smuggler's Run and Moto GP, there isn't much need for an average off-road racer. But those who just can't get enough of the genre, Wild Wild Racing may be a decent addition to your library.
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