D1 Grand Prix (PlayStation 2)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.0 stars Mediocre
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 4.3 (2.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Brian Ekberg
• Reviewed on: 08/25/2006
• Released on: 08/15/2006
• Originally published on GameSpot: D1 Grand Prix (PlayStation 2) Review

D1 Grand Prix is notable for several reasons. First, it's the racing debut for Yuke's, a development studio primarily known for its Japanese and American wrestling games. Second, it's a racing game that's less about traditional speed than driving with style. Unfortunately, D1 is also notable for a learning curve that will be prohibitive to all but the most devoted virtual drifter, and even then, there are enough presentation problems to rule this game out for casual and dedicated racing fans alike.

Drifting--the technique of expertly sliding your car around turns at extreme angles and speeds--isn't anything new. It's been around in video games for a while, and movies such as The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift have put a big spotlight on the admittedly cool techniques of surfing your car around the asphalt. What sets D1 apart is its single-minded devotion to drifting, not just as a neat way to maneuver a car around a race course, but also as a means of competition. In D1 races, it doesn't matter who crosses the finish line first; the quality and quantity of your drifting is what will earn you wins. From a gameplay standpoint, success in D1 will require a shift in your racing mindset. Even when you are fully tuned to the finer points of e-brakes, clutch kicks, and feint drifts, you're going to find a game that is too specialized and bland to offer much fun.

Carrying a full D1 Professional Drift Grand Prix Series license, the game features a number of real-life D1 pros and their distinct rides. Before you start competing against the pros in D1's series mode, you need to complete the game's training missions, which range from simply learning the basics of drifting to more complicated sequences of turns that will test both the limits of the cars and your patience. It's understandable that a tutorial on advanced drifting techniques is difficult, but by restricting access to the main mode in the game until you've completed some rather harrowing driving tasks is cruel and unusual punishment. Ironically, while the tutorial does do a good job of giving you the basics of drift maneuvers, you'll still feel caught out on many of the courses in the season mode, which feature a variety of dramatically different turn types. A quick-access practice mode, which would let you practice and repeat any turn or sequence of turns on any course in the game, would have been a more useful addition than the tutorial.

When it comes to the D1 series mode races, the events are split along two different race types. The first section gives you three chances to attack a particular course solo and acts as a qualifier for the actual D1 races. Should you qualify for the races, you'll compete in at least two head-to-head races--in one leg you'll be leading the race, and in the other, you'll be chasing your opponent. And while the idea is to drive as quickly as possible, these D1 head-to-head races aren't a dash to the checkered flag. Instead, you'll be judged on your drifting style along a number of different criteria: drift length, angle, and speed, as well as how closely you stick to your competitor (if you're following) or how much distance you can open up with the car behind you (if you are in the lead).

As you drift through turns during events, you'll earn drift points based on the above criteria. A trio of annoying commentators will also give their thoughts on your drifting style. Should you run into a car ahead of you, spin out, or leave the track, you'll lose a huge amount of points and kiss your chance of winning that event good-bye. While the scoring system makes sense in theory (in the same way that judging figure skating makes sense) its execution in D1 seems haphazard and sloppy. Sometimes your drifting maneuvers earn you no points; other times you might have your points taken away from you for reasons that aren't entirely clear. The remarks from the commentary team don't offer much in the way of help, either--one second they're impressed with your drift, and in the next, they're chastising you for screwing up, sometimes in the span of a single turn. In all, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of consistency, and it makes for a frustrating experience.

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