Golden Age of Racing PS2 Review

There’s no shying away from it, there is no point in coming up with some creative intro to this review. In fact there is very little point in writing this review at all; even the mildest effort of stringing a few words together would be more hard-work than all that was invested in the production of Golden Age of Racing. What does ‘Golden Age of Racing’ mean anyway? Supposing it’s a time period where the sport of racing is at its peak. So it stands to reason that such a period requires (from the creators) a love and grace when attempting to recreate it in a video game.

Anyone interested in vintage racing should look elsewhere, as Golden Age of Racing will anger you more than most. Most gamers’ passive interest in motor sport will swallow this and forget about it, providing they got it for free. In fact the very fact that GAOR is available to buy is an insult: It’s not near finished; feeling more like a ropy beta demo than a fully finished playable full game.

To call GAOR ‘full’ is laughable too. There is very little to actually do. Race modes comprise of Exhibition and a Tournament. There is no network compatibility and can’t get more than two players in a game and even then it’s head to head as opposed to a actual race – then again you wouldn’t want to inflict this torture on anyone else anyway.

It looks awful.

Poor workmanship resumes when you actually get to play the game, with shoddy graphics and, would you believe it, stuttering frame rates: While racing down a stretch you’ll get a pretty smooth line, but approaching a corner results in a bunching of cars and the game chugs to a temporary halt, which often results in you careering off the track. Which nicely leads on to the difficulty. Golden Age of Racing is a hard game, but not so much through the intention of the developers, but more because of the way it plays. It doesn’t feel like you’re driving a race-car (it barely looks like one), nor does it feel like the game reacts to your instruction. You’ll be quitting in frustration more than being beaten by the game.

This is certainly the worst racer made in a long time, and could even be considered as one of the worst games ever made. It offers no escapism, no realism, no gratification and no quality. This really should be avoided. There really isn’t anything positive to add: perhaps…no there really is nothing.

1/10