Well, going strictly by the presentation, it fares quite well. PRD manages to capture a very movie-esque direction and narrative, hitting all the stops, from licensing very well-known songs tailored to particular scenes to individually modeling a sizeable cast of very lifelike characters who have no other use but telling the story during cut scenes. Direction is all for naught without a script, right? Well, kind of. The story here isn't exactly mind-bending, nor is it even very compelling, but it works in the same sense that the plot in a Vin Diesel movie works: it's shallow, somewhat entertaining, but obviously only a device to carry the action.

It all starts with a glimpse from the lead character's past. Ryan "Octane" McKane witnesses firsthand the death of his father, a famed pro race driver who is side-swiped by another driver as he is nearing the finish of a race. Flash forward. Ryan has now grown up (and become quite the cocky fellow, to say the least), and has followed in his father's (and older brother's) footsteps, becoming a pro race driver himself. With the premise set, all of the typical clichés ensue. You've got your sibling rivalries, your know-it-all veterans, the hard-to-get love interest; it just goes down the checklist one by one.

Luckily, the meat of the game - the gameplay - isn't quite as mediocre. The mode you'll be spending most of your time in is the career mode, in which all of the story elements take place. From the outset, after performing a simple test run to get some attention, you're given a number of paths to choose from (in the form of e-mail proposals to your computer from various racing teams), each with different scenarios to play out, cars to use, opponents to race, and requirements to meet. As you complete each series, more paths open up to you and new cut scenes further develop the story.

The actual races play like a combination of sim and arcade-style racers. While turning and drifting is handled in a much more arcade-y fashion, car damage is handled extremely realistically. On that note, it's worth mentioning just how realistic that is, as the car damage and crashing in a racer like this has never before been carried nearly to the level it is in Pro Race Driver. The game doesn't provide you with the easy outs of using outside walls as brakes like most racers do. The slightest touch can completely total your car if you're not watching. And what's more, damage takes much more of a toll upon your car's performance than in most games, making strategic pit stops and cautious driving very important.

Now back to the arcade-y part, which is really where PRD loses me at times. For some reason, the game doesn't seem to be able to find a sweet spot for itself, so while you may think you've got your timing down pat, pulling off multiple turns easily and smoothly, many times you'll go into another turn expecting the same results, but ending up watching your car fly off the side of the road - even with proper braking and caution applied. Thankfully, the game's very in-depth manual tuning provides you the resources to override this in many cases, but if you're a rookie racing gamer, you're likely going to find yourself at a loss often.

PRD also features all of the standard racing game modes that'll keep your busy once you've conquered the career mode, such as a free race and time trial modes, as well as multiplayer for up to four players (provided you've got a multi-tap handy). All of the extra modes are available right from the get-go, although career mode is how you go about unlocking the multitude of cars and tracks for use in the rest of the modes.

Though certainly not the most important aspect, graphics are always a big factor with racing games, and in Pro Race Driver's case, it's a bit of a mixed bag. The car models themselves look fantastic. High-poly, high-resolution, and with plenty of glossy shine, the car models look good just driving around, but watching them crumble so distinctively in real-time makes them ever more impressive. On the other hand, most everything on the outside of the car, looks largely very plain and dull. Extremely flat, almost single-colored asphalt and grass textures and generally boring scenery almost make the sense of speed slow to a sense of crawl.

Sound-wise, the game is again somewhat of a mixed bag. Genuine car noises and very impressive damage sound effects highlight what is otherwise a very sound-less competition - literally. There are some well-suited licensed clips leading into and out of cut scenes, but the actual races are without background music - definitely a bummer for this type of racer. Also notable, however, is the large amount of voice acting undertaken for each of the cut scenes. While not Metal Gear-quality here, the actors have largely done an admirable job with the story that they were given.

In the end, Pro Race Driver is an impressive attempt at something new, and while it's certainly not without it's problems, it's still an interesting take in a genre that many consider to not have had many innovative ideas in quite some time. Hopefully PRD will set the blueprint for more refined titles in the same vein, but for now, if you're looking for a racer you can watch as well as drive, this is about your only choice, and that's not such a bad thing at all.

· · · Andy