There are a decent number of “good” driving games out for the Xbox now. I consider myself a driving enthusiast, as I really love racing games. Therefore, I eagerly waited for my chance to see how this one measured up to its peers. Well, it’s not terrible and is probably above average. The game has 19 cars to choose from (Subaru WRX excluded = weak), 20 tracks, and 9 environments to drive in, all of which are pretty typical of this genre. The uniqueness of this title is based on the Michelin Race of Champions (RoC). This is a different spin than most rally games, in that it is more head-to-head where a winner is crowned after a series of “challenges” on the same track where you are racing against another racer, but alternating courses of the same track. The game is built around this concept and it adds a nice new dimension to the typical rally game.

This game also includes all of the other typical Quick Race matches like: Rally, Rally Cross, Circuit, Elimination, Extreme Hill Climb, Follow the Leader, Relay, Checkpoint, Custom Championship, World Tour Mode, and World Tour Extreme Mode (phew!). Now, compare this list to what is available in the RoC Challenge Mode and you won’t find much difference at all. This becomes the downside of the game. Why are there so many modes for two different styles of play? The uniqueness of the RoC is quickly lost as it doesn’t seem that much different from the normal mode. Also, the track for the RoC becomes boring and repetitive even as you progress up in level.

So, how’s the gameplay? The graphics are actually fairly decent, but not as good as Microsoft’s Rallisport Challenge. The audio is par and slightly interesting as you can get the co-driver to say bad words that are bleeped out. The only real strange part is that the interface is really painful to use. You have to confirm tasks at least one million times. Oh, you want to quit? Are you sure (default No)? Auto saving. Game saved. Loading. Press Start to Begin….errrr, right. The best part is that after losing I must start from the main entry screen as if I just booted my Xbox. Seriously, are you kidding me? I can’t restart a race halfway through; I can’t replay a race if I lose to my competitor. Nope, in RoC mode you either win all races or you start from the very beginning. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to sit through 5 screens after finishing a race to realize I have to go back and press Start to begin, load the mode, load the character, confirm the settings, and pick the race - yeah now I can race again…

Bottom line: the game isn’t terrible. It gets points for the RoC mode and the graphics are good. Even damage is realistic as parts often fly off when you hit objects! But, the interface is frustrating to use and the gameplay becomes standard and unexciting fairly quickly. It isn’t as good as others and definitely isn’t a first choice for racing games. This game is good for hard-core race fans and no more.