Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero Hands-On

If you've lived anywhere near an urban area in past decade, chances are you've seen a Honda CRX with $500 rims, a spoiler that looks like a whale's tail, and windows half covered with stickers. While it's easy to chuckle at someone who spends $15,000 on parts to upgrade a $10,000 car, in Japan, this sort of activity has become a subculture unto itself. In Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Zero for the PlayStation 2, these car enthusiasts take their hobby to the Tokyo highways at night and prowl for some action.

When compared with the majority of console driving game franchises, the Tokyo Xtreme Racer series takes a unique approach. In Zero's main mode (the quest mode), there is just one large highway track with more than 100 virtual miles of on-ramps, straightaways, and hairpin turns to race on. Instead of competing in races that have a definitive beginning and end, you must prowl the network of highways surrounding Tokyo looking for competition. Suitable opponents are represented on radar by color-coded arrows. After you track down an opponent, a few flashes of your high beams lets him or her know that you're looking for some action. If the opponent obliges, a short real-time cinema shows the two cars line up and prepare to get it on. Winning a duel in Zero is more than just a matter of outrunning the opposition. Both cars have a meter that gradually dwindles while in second place. The closer you are to the leader, the slower the meter dissipates. The loser of each duel is determined by whoever's meter expires first. Waiting until an advantageous stretch of track lies ahead before engaging a rival can often mean the difference between victory and defeat.

You begin the quest mode with enough money to buy a car from the lowest of the three classes and a plentitude of extra parts. The engine, drivetrain, body, aerodynamics, muffler, and appearance can all be altered for a price. Before heading out to race, the handling, acceleration, brakes, and ride height can all be adjusted in the garage. As you win duels, you accumulate credits that can be spent on some of the 200 car upgrades or be used to purchase one of the 60 unlicensed cars. There are a few licensed vehicles included, and the majority of the unlicensed cars bear a striking resemblance to real production automobiles but have different names. There are dozens of spoilers, ground effects kits, stickers, and stripe jobs to add to your machine to give it that personalized touch and some street racing credibility. Choosing your first car should be done with extreme care. New cars don't come cheap, so you'll spend a great deal of time with your initial purchase. After you make easy work of a few drivers on the circuit, boss characters will approach you and challenge you to a race. Winning these races garners a great deal of credits, but if you haven't been upgrading your car regularly, they can be a humbling experience. As you complete duels, you are awarded with a battle ranking nickname based on your driving style and skill.

In addition to the quest mode, Zero includes a host of other gameplay options, in which you're allowed access to 48 of the 60 cars in the game. The quick race mode allows you to cut to the chase and jump straight into duels with a lineup of the game's bosses. The time attack mode requires that you take on four traffic-free sections of the highway system in an attempt at setting stage and lap records. The free run mode allows you to cruise around the track at your leisure and aids in learning new sections of the highway. Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Zero is the first edition of the franchise to include a multiplayer mode. However, the only multiplayer option is to race head-to-head on any of the game's highway sections.