Total Immersion Racing, Electronic Games

Near Christmas, the industry sees all manner of racing games leaping onto the shelves for the annual boom in sales, and Total Immersion Racing is quite possibly Empire's greatest attempt yet at the ever-popular racing genre. Should it be top of your wish list? A career-based racing game, but not quite as overwhelming as Polyphony's Gran Turismo 3, Total Immersion Racing has its rookie racers beginning on the bottom rung of the ladder with a bunch of other racing legend wannabes. There is a heavy focus on personality and opponent AI, not just on track, but off it as well. The safest route to take through the game is to simply stay clear of other racers and avoid upsetting them at all costs. In similar vein to Electronic Arts' SSX Tricky, friendly competition can soon turn into an explosive feud, and you'll have a hard time winning races if your enemies keep steering you off course. Watch out for those grudges. Bottom line though, Total Immersion Racing is a hardcore racing game and not a sequel to The Sims. To emphasise this, the award-winning Razorworks development team has created an extensive and accurate game engine for realistic car physics. There are 18 fully licensed GT class cars, a fine selection of real race circuits and a whole plethora of real-time particle and weather effects. Total Immersion Racing is a fine looking game for Xbox, but it's also a fine simulator. It's not overly serious and will appeal to both racing veterans and newcomers alike.

Buy Total Immersion Racing for 7.99 GBP

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