By:
Delphine Software International

When we first saw Electronic Arts' Motoracer 2 back at the 1998 CGDC in Long Beach, we were slightly taken aback by the graphics, sound and gameplay. Namely, they were almost a carbon copy of the game's predecessor, Motoracer. Where was the innovation? Where were the enhancements? It's foolish to pass judgement on an incomplete game, though. And besides, we weren't overly worried. At that point Motoracer 2 was still a good seven months away from hitting the market. We were certain that Delphine and Electronic Arts would clean up the game enough so that it wouldn't be mistaken as merely an attempt to capitalize on a successful brand name... Tomb Raider, anyone?

Unfortunately, our hopes are dashed. It's now seven months later and the completed Motoracer 2 lacks any major jump in innovation over the original. Note the word "major". Sure, the game was given a slight facelift. It now supports resolutions up to 1024x768 and shows off a variety of eye-candy, including lens flares, reflections and transparencies. To add visual complexity, the tracks have been buffed out with more peripheral objects like buildings, trees and billboards. The game's environments are a little more arresting as well. The courses serve up more jumps, tighter turns, steeper hills and longer tunnels than before. Even the rider and motorcycle models have been sent back to the drawing board and now feature more detail, a higher polygon count and fluid animation.

Any addition in innovation that Motoracer 2 does have, however, is worthy of an expansion pack, not a stand-alone sequel. Let's break it down.