The PS2's analog thumbsticks provide exquisitely tight control. Turns require a refined touch and it's impossible to make it through a single course by merely slamming the wheel hard in one direction or the other. But a great game demands more than just technical prowess. It requires artistic virtuosity. Or enough bells and whistles to completely snow players.
Players get little say over how their cars are configured.
The courses, which generally share top billing with cars in a racing title, are nothing special either. For starters, they're too short. And they're dull to look at. The tracks cut through generic cities and countrysides that look like the backdrops for countless other racers. Most of us get plenty of dull scenery during our commute.