Do you have it? A need for speed? I do. It's hard to fulfil that need in an Escort though. In this high speed racing game you get to drive some of the most impressive automobiles to ever grace the roads of the world. You get to choose from eight of the most haulin' ass cars in creation plus a hidden car called the Warrior. It's so decadent that it puts the other cars to shame! There are three road tracks each with three segments. There are also three closed courses plus three hidden tracks (two of which are derived from the Rusty Springs course.) Plenty of road to run in this one. Every track can be run in rally mode which throws a bunch of dirt or sand on the track. BIG power slides! Most of the tracks can be ran at morning, mid-day, or evening. Evening is just plain bad due to the lack of headlights! Who the hell forgot the headlights? I guess someone didn't want to do the code for the little rectangles and the light shading stuff! There are four different views when playing full screen (alone or in link mode.) In car view shows the interior from the drivers point of view. Bumper view really makes yer butt pucker at 200mph. The outside views are just above and behind the car, the second is just a little farther back and up. In split screen mode you get bumper and the closer of the outside views. You have the option of running time trial, head to head, single race, or tournament modes when racing. Tourney mode is where you input the codes to get the extra car and tracks. There is a replay mode after and during the race but I've not messed with it. Watching myself driving just doesn't thrill me so I just don't bother with replay. 

I'll go ahead and list the codes that I know work. These codes are entered in the Password section of the Tournament Mode. After putting in the password just exit tourney and select the mode that you want. 

Codes:
TSYBNS gives you the Warrior car, Rally Mode, and Oasis (Rusty Springs in Rally Mode.) Press L1+R1 on the track selection screen for Rally Mode or/and on the car selection screen for the Warrior. Choosing car showcase then mechanical will allow you to change the down force on the front and rear of the car on the second slide by pressing L1 or R1. This will make your car handle better but it'll lose top end speed for the sake of handling. 

SPKSHC allows you to race on the MOON! Actually it's the Rusty Springs course with low gravity and cool graphics. You get a great (although distorted) view of the Earth as you come down the main straight stretch and you can see the Sun far off in the distance. After putting in the password, select Rusty Springs then press triangle (hold it) then press L1 and R1. You should see Lunar Springs in the window. Use start to select. You'll still have access to the Warrior and down force selections. 

FMV: There are two intro FMVs and one for each of the cars in the showcase. All are live action video and very well done. My favorite is a toss up between the one for the Diablo and the one for the Viper. 

Interface: Easy to navigate. Clear and concise. Load times are not too long. Whilst waiting for the track to load you are treated with a still picture of each car that is racing. In one player mode you get two pictures of the car you're driving and in split screen mode you get a picture of your car and your opponents. There are a few pictures of each car so it doesn't getting too boring. After race options allow you to run the same track again, continue on, replay or quit. You can restart or quit during a race plus the replay mentioned above. 

Graphics: A little grainy but smooth and fairly realistic. The graininess is more pronounced in split screen mode. It's disappointing that you cannot choose your car color but that's just aesthetics. 

Sound & Music: Pretty kickin' soundtrack. You can choose shuffle, shuffle techno, shuffle rock, or choose an individual track to listen to. The car sounds are very well done. You almost feel compelled to toss around in your chair when someone ass-ends you and you hear the chucks of very expensive plastic that was your tail lights shattering. 

Control: Digital steering and such. Supports analog control. The digital steering is pretty darn good. Layout of the pad is selectable. 

Game Play: A very well thought out design that gives you quite a bit of "feel" when running the roads. 

This is a good solid road racing game with plenty of road to roll out on. If you enjoy driving then you'll probably dig this game. The crashes are spectacular at times and I'm glad that I've not had to pay for all those transmissions and clutches. I've had many happy hours driving these machines in to the dirt.