Sure, multiple track, car, and detail variations are expected these days in this overcrowded genre, but what if you were to add a spectacular story mode to the game as well? That is what you get in Pro Race Driver. You not only have many modes of game play, but a rich detailed story mode to boot. You play as Ryan McKane, the son of a great driver, who was the son of a great driver, and you are trying to follow in the footsteps of greatness in your bloodline. You are treated with cut scenes, upgrades and pit crews, all while competing to become World's Champion. Codemasters dubs this title as the first ever "CarPG" and they couldn't be more correct. However, depth, options, cars, tracks and modes don't mean a thing if the basic aspects of a game are lacking. So does this title have enough under the hood to do the immense depth justice?

For starters, Pro Race Driver isn't going to win any beauty contests. The game is far from ugly, but there are some issues worth noting. On the downside, the colors are washed out and provide a blurry effect, and the tracks, while plentiful, are nothing to brag about, as they lack any real animation or abundance of detail. There is also a hint of draw in on the straight roads, and throw in some nasty jaggies to damper the graphical enjoyment. On the plus side, the car models are fantastically detailed, with the state of the car changing with real time damage effects. The game also boasts a great sense of speed, especially in the higher-grade vehicles. The cut scenes and the 3D front end keep the game fresh and appealing on each play. Weather and particle effects are pleasantly accurate as well. While graphically a mixed bag, the game doesn't make you want to cringe while playing, it just seems that with this caliber of detail and realism, the developers should have taken more time to tweak the little visual details.

Audio is very decent, but nothing you haven't already heard in most racing games. The car engine sounds are deep and strong; tires squeal, and damage sound effects are done adequately. The voice acting during the cut scenes isn't comical in the sense of bad, but they don't provide that emotion to get yourself really involved in the story. Thankfully the ingame music, while made up of popular bands, can be silenced, as this type of game relies on hearing the ambience and cars that surround you to be successful. It should be noted that Dolby Surround Sound is supported as well. While nothing really stands out as superb, the sounds aren't bad in any way... just not completely new or original.

Game play is where Pro Racer Driver leaves most games behind. The computer A.I. is top notch, and reacts like a real driver and not just robot drones that are either set in one pattern, or trying to wreck your car purposely. Instead, each race is very competitive and you don't feel cheated in anyway if you lose. The handling is also very tight and responsive. What's more, is the car reacts accurately to the damage done to it, so tweaking your driving may depend on what shape your car is in. The physics seem very realistic even in the weather differences. You'll not only play this game many times in multi player, but also in the story mode as well.

As mentioned before, Pro Race Driver has a wealth of options for many hours of driving excitement. 42 licensed cars from the touring and racing divisions, 38 circuits along with 13 Global championship rounds to compete in, a deep customizable set up mode for your vehicles, deep story mode, up to 4 players in multi player, and real time damage to round off the wealth of options. Easily enough to keep any racing fan busy for days on end.

Codemasters has a great tradition in the racing field with the Touring Car Championship and Colin McRae series, and hopefully they will add this series to their already impressive lineup. If you like playing racing games, and you've yet to pick up this masterpiece of racing excitement and drama, then you are missing a sure fire winner in Pro Race Driver.