D1 Grand Prix - PS2 - Review

"The real drifting game for real drift racing fans." That tagline couldn't be any more accurate. While D1 Grand Prix will sit on the store shelves next to Gran Turismo, and Need for Speed, it is not like either of those titles. In fact, unless you've experienced drift racing for real, chances are this game will be unlike anything you've ever experienced.

Anyone who's seen real drifting in action has likely been wowed by its excitement and amazed at just how seamlessly the racers perform each move. It's not the kind of thing that can be done with an average vehicle – you have to tweak it first, which is part of its lure. A fair amount of training is also involved. Though anyone can cut you off on I-75, only a professional can do it with style.

 

With drift racing slowly growing in the States (partially credited to the movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift), D1 Grand Prix is the first of its kind to come to North America. Japanese players have been engaged by the series for years, as have a select few who chose to import the title. When Yukes decided to expand the series and bring it to new markets, they got some much-needed advice from the developers of the upcoming game based on The Fast and the Furious franchise. They were told that if they're going to bring a Japanese racer to America gamers, they must also involve the American drift-racing scene.

Wishing to capture the essence of drifting in North America, they accepted the advice and turned out a game that wishes to capture the essence of the sport. Skilled drifting is literally emphasized at every turn. When battling for points, you can't screw up. Period. When battling for first place, you can't screw up.

Courses are short and have more sharp turns than you'll ever see coming. All cars have been tuned specially for drifting (says the game - I'm not a mechanic so I can't confirm nor deny this claim). The game warns that this tuning could make some of the cars hard to drive straight. This turned out to be the case, especially for the high-end professional models.

Grand Challenge

Races are divided into two main sections: race and battle. The former sounds like the easiest. It's certainly the most familiar – cross the finish line first in a one-on-one battle for speed supremacy.

The other mode, battle, pits you against a racer who is likely much more experienced. Your goal this time around: to drift to the highest score. Crossing the finish line first doesn't matter as much, but you do have to worry about who is in front and who is behind. Going slow means you're less likely to hit a wall, and are as a result less likely to lose points (hitting walls can dock you a couple hundred points). At the same time you have to worry about hitting your opponent, or vice versa, as it could dock points from your total as well.

To increase your point value, show off your masterful drifting skills. Slide through every turn while maintaining a solid speed. It sounds a lot easier than it actually is to perform, thanks to the game's attention to detail, which makes it one of the most realistic drifters on the market.

Nearly every mistake leads to a deduction in your overall point totals. It's very important that you don't run off course – every second off course knocks several points off your total. What if you haven't gotten any points yet, or have already lost every point earned? The game will then put you into point debt, with a maximum debt of -999 points. Think you can come out of that and win the game? Not likely. But who knows – stranger things have happened. To be safe, re-start.

Interestingly, players will have to apply these same skills to the actual races, as it's nearly impossible to make it out of the course otherwise. If you tackle it as you might a typical racer, driving as fast as possible, screeching in and out of turns, etc., you'll lose. But by hugging the track – by drifting at every turn, long or short, sharp or wide – you'll be able to overtake your opponent and claim the top spot.

 

Tenacious Tutorial

A goofy, frustrating (and at time condescending) tutorial mode blocks your progress at the start of the game. I suppose they thought that if they forced you to master the basic maneuvers before delving into the game that it wouldn't be nearly as difficult.

They were right, but the tutorial is still an aggravating hurdle that can be skipped by cheating your way out of each requirement. This is not the best way to do things – you'll pay for it later. But why would anyone want to spend an hour or two perfecting their slides when they can fool it into thinking you've done well and actually enter the main race?

Here's an example of how I bypassed some of the tutorial annoyances. In one scenario I was asked to perform a long, steady drift. I had no desire to do this at the time. Hitting the wall resulted in my "teacher" (the annoying voice who tells you what to do) asking me, repeatedly, if I was "being silly." I suppose that's better than if the game came out and said, "Stop hitting the wall you fool!" But it's still annoying, and nowhere near encouraging.

Rather than hold the slide as I was told, I performed a bunch of smaller drifts – without turning my car too far to the other side – and the game knew none the wiser. It told me "good job," when it should have told me I failed, or at the very least that I hadn't completed the task as required.

 

For Enthusiasts Only?

D1 Grand Prix has realistic driving physics, winding courses, and plenty of challenge to keep anyone from ever accusing this racer of being a cakewalk. It's also a nightmare that will make you want to take the disc out of your PS2 and never return. The developers did the right thing focusing on realism, when others would have dummied the experience to an arcade-level to make it more user-friendly.

However, I don't think the average gamer – and perhaps not even the average drift racing fan – is ready for a game of this caliber. Die-hard drifters should give it a go, especially those who have done this for real. Everyone else should proceed with caution. There are as many reasons to be frustrated with this game as there to have fun with it, and unfortunately, the frustration comes first.

Review Scoring Details for D1 Grand Prix

Gameplay: 7.0
D1 Grand Prix’s style-over-speed gameplay is perfect not for those who enjoy watching the sport, but for those who actually do it understand its persistent challenge.

Graphics: 5.0
Unimpressive backgrounds, plain colors, grainy effects, few car reflections, etc. The vehicles themselves look alright, but the destruction effects are a joke. I understand that manufacturers don’t like the idea of having their cars get banged up in a video game. That’s Ok, just scrap all damage and pull a Gran Turismo (in which no vehicles are harmed). D1 goes for bumper damage – likely the only area car manufacturers didn’t complain about. Unfortunately that means players will lose their bumpers repeatedly, with the same animation occurring every time. It isn’t pretty, eventful, or exciting.

Sound: 5.0
Nagging commentary aside, D1 Grand Prix’s sound is dated and repetitive. Music tracks are nothing more than annoying beats that repeat, while sound effects barely go above the quality of games that are six years older.

Difficulty: Hard
Much too difficult for the average player. The game kicks off with immense frustration, making the player struggle through a confusing tutorial mode and unfamiliar mechanics without any initial reward.

Concept: 7.0
A solid, realistic take on the world of drift racing.

Multiplayer: 6.0
More of a single-player experience, D1 Grand Prix isn’t fast or intense enough to keep two players equally entertained.

Overall: 6.8
This is the first D1 Grand Prix title to make it to the states, and there’s a good reason for that: the series was designed exclusively for die-hard drifters. There might be other gamers out there who will get into the slip-and-slide-heavy gameplay, but it’s a style geared toward a specific audience. If you’re not that audience, I urge you to give the game a lengthy test drive before taking home the keys.