So you're a Mercedes-Benz test driver, and in order to drive all their models and classes World Racing gives you 7 large environments (up to 6km square) based on Nevada, Japan, Mexico, Australia, the Alps, a cityscape, and a test centre/circuit complex to race (or potter) around in each containing dozens of different circuits, both tarmac and offroad. You also get to free ride around them, at which point you really get a true sense of their scale - they're huge! Only the Smuggler's Run games have come close to supplying you with as much countryside to roam around in. The claims of 109 cars are a little misleading as the classes each have several different models which are cosmetically identical - only the badges are different, you don't even get a flashy set of wheels or a spoiler on the AMG versions or anything, which is disappointing. The cars can't be tuned as such but the handling and even the ability of your opponents can be altered on nice simple sliding scales.

   

WR is without doubt a polished looking game. The highly detailed cars look solid and shiny, but lack that certain something that fools the eye into thinking that they're real - they look like really good scale models rather than real cars. There are dust, smoke and spray effects aplenty, but a lack of suspension parts and dirt effects probably doesn't help things - the game is just too darned clean! Some limited damage effects look entirely unconvincing (minor dents and deformations front and rear, but no smashed glass or bits that fall off), and for some reason these half-arsed attempts don't even appear in the replays. The scenery is varied and impressive, superb lighting and shadow effects and some selectable weather effects (including a slightly overdone rain/spray effect) all look nice. Get too close to the plentiful trees and you'll notice that they're disappointingly two-dimensional, and even worse that you can drive clean through them. You aren't alone on these huge landscapes, apart from your opponents you'll come across various groups of people here and there (again, of the 2D drive-through kind), and there are all kinds of planes, hovercraft, boats, helicopters and even UFOs zooming around - but not a single bit of traffic a-la Need For Speed or Burnout, which makes the place feel terribly synthetic and empty.

   

An open ended career mode and championship made up of series' of races against five other cars mixed in with various missions (which are no more than one-on-one races or point-to-point rallies) is structured so that you slowly unlock faster and more exotic classes of Merc - but it's slow process and only the most dedicated drivers will see the lot.

World Racing is a bit of a strange one, Undeniably pretty to look at (stunning in places), expansive in scope and polished in presentation (apart from the confusing menus), it left me a bit cold. It may have been the sluggish and thrill-free way in which the first few cars handle (Gran Turismo veterans will be familiar with this syndrome) or possibly the confusing menus (although you do get the hang of them in the end), but it's one of those games that I found myself dipping back into from time to time rather than sitting for hours and playing. It's a real slow-burner that gets better the longer you play it. The game engine is extremely impressive, but everything's just a bit to clean and clinical. Some drone-like AI in your opponents and the vast circuits mean that races tend to be lengthy tests of concentration rather than seat of the pants dashes to the line. The game seems to be missing that vital fun or excitement quotient that raises a racing game into "must buy" status, but this is still a quality title that offers something a little different.