Rumble Racing was the first racing game to make its mark on the PS2, and for good reason. First off, the graphics were some of the best yet on the PS2 with stunning cars, detailed enviroments, and cool effects. The sound is good too, with nice music, and outstanding sound effects, like weapons and engines. The radio DJ is a little annoying, but you can turn hm off.

The best part of this game is the gameplay. The controls are very simplistic. This game is definitely NOT standard racing. The physics are very realistic, but there is no powersllides, customazation, or multiple game types, like in those games. In Rumble Racing, there are weapons, shortcuts, stunts, and obstacles. There are 12 weapons, ranging from a freeze missile, to a bomb, to a shield, and to an oil slick. Each track has from 1 to 3 shortcuts that can quickly change the tempo of a race. Stunts are easy to pull off and reward you with a nitro boost, but are punishing when you wipe out. There are sometimes random obstacles in the middle of the racetrack, like boulders, mud, catci, or even cows that will slow you down.

There are around 25 cars in the game and 15 tracks. The cars are very creative, and many of the best ones are EXTREMELY hard to collect. Some are best at stunts, some handle the best, and some are the fastest. My personal favorites are Thor (a missile shaped car), Interceptor (tricked out cop car), Dragon (normal blue car with the coolest paint job ever), and the XXS Tomcat (fighter plane with wheels slapped on). The tracks are varied, with cities, deserts, farms, and even a volcano. There is multiplayer co-op, and normal.

This game does have a few flaws however. First is the enemy AI. There are 3 difficulties, normal/kinda easy when you beat the game, extremely hard where you'll never place 1st, and so hard that when you dont come in last, it'll be the apocalypse. Also, there is really no startegy to the game, and it can feel a little too arcady at times. The biggest flaw is the memory bug. Periodically, the game will just erase your saved file for no apparent reason. This happened to me twice. Overall, this is still the first great racer for the PS2, and should not be missed. You could probably pick it up for under $20 at EB Games.