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Porsche Challenge review

Game: Porsche Challenge
Platform: PlayStation
Genre: Racing
Developer: Sony Imagesoft

Reader review by bigcj34

April 06, 2008

Let’s be blunt. There’s more of a chance you know that the American Samoan islands have a soccer team than knowing this PlayStation not-so-classic ever existed. A title that stinks of sheer forgettable-ness has the only redeeming factor of driving around in Porsche’s. Still, that’s nothing like the real thing.

But let’s be fair. Porsche Challenge isn’t a bad racing game, and far worse do exist, (Big Rigs anyone?). The car handling is no disgrace, but when it tries to simulate the Porsche experience you’re in fact driving cars that have a turning circle speed comparable with a freebie spin-top from a box of cereal. Even as you’re braking, it doesn’t stop the car swivelling in whatever direction you choose should you attempt to turn it. The AI opponents are impossible to race against on anything above easy, and even on that the challenge is only kept alive by one other racer who can pull superhuman comebacks.

The features here are about as bare as a white tile. There’s nothing more than a championship to compete in, and while this may sound fine, the tracks on offer are even less than those who would dare challenge Chuck Norris. That’s four. The cars on offer are limited to just the one Porsche Boxster, but colours are variable depending on which character you’ve chosen. Personalities range from a mechanic and a Dj to a journalist and model, each who react differently to each other in race. Some will not be impressed by you overtaking them!

The track designs are one of the high-points of this title. Scenery is vibrant and bright while being realistic and the tracks starkly contrast. The generically themed courses vary from an evening run in a US town, a midnight dash through a Japanese city, a cruise through the German country and a skid-fest on an alpine road. Each track has their share of challenging twists and turns: the US and Stuttgart racks aren’t too difficult, but the Japan track is notoriously curvy and the alpine track is an icy nightmare, as you’ll skid over the ice not wondering where the road is. The music, while nothing special, provides cool background accompaniment to the racing. However, a 24 race challenge mode that involves racing round variations of the same tracks soon transpires into an endurance drive down Route 66.

Porsche Challenge is a very average cookie-cutter arcade racer that although playable, you’ve probably seen it all before. The car driving is unrealistic and the AI is too perfect, and trying to beat a very stingy clock is quite an arbitrary feature when racing opponents. A few good tracks is better than lots of rubbish ones but it’s not good enough here, as track variations don’t fool anyone. If you happen to encounter this title, just leave it and let the good old dust do the work. A forgettable ordinary racer that does nothing new, you’d do better to buy a real Porsche instead. Or even Gran Turismo.

Rating: 5/10

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