| Mercedes Benz World Racing Facts : | ||
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| Mercedes-Benz World Racing ("MBWR") is the latest simulation from Synetic. I have always been pleasantly surprised by Synetic's work in the driving/racing sim realm; their previous effort, Mercedes-Benz Truck Racing ("MBTR"), modeled an incredibly offbeat road racing series which featured full-size Mercedes-Benz semi trucks (yes, semis, as in "18-wheelers," minus the trailers) running on a variety of real-world racing venues. This form of truck racing is actually a viable race series in Europe, and even though the top speed of the trucks is governed by a speed limiter, the racing is fast, close, and intense. Synetic brought these MBTR trucks to "life" for the sim racing world, and they did so using a physics engine that many said was second only to Grand Prix Legends, complete with a jaw-dropping graphics engine. Unfortunately, MBTR was never imported to the U.S., so many people on this side of the pond never really "discovered" this sim racing gem. I tracked down a copy via ebay, of all places, and even though I don't really "get" the allure of racing semi trucks, MBTR offers some truly great physics, and I often fire it up just to marvel at what Synetic has done, wondering what it would be like to see this physics engine used to model a more desirable segment of the racing world. When I heard that Synetic was involved with producing Mercedes-Benz World Racing, I was one of the first people to get really excited -- initially, it seemed that most people weren't all that enthused about MBWR; in one internet sim racing poll asking what the most-anticipated sim was, most people cast their votes for ISI's F1 Challenge '99 - '02, or for the original TOCA Pro Race Driver from Codemasters. I knew, though, that after MBTR, Synetic would not let us down with their latest Mercedes-Benz branded effort. The writing was on the wall, in fact -- MBWR was destined for greatness from the start: Licensed cars including some the all-time classic historic racers from the Mercedes-Benz historic archives, a great physics engine carried over from Synetic's last racing sim, and expansive drive-anywhere tracks that seem to go on forever. MBWR seemed like it had enough to offer to win over sim racers everywhere, and I jumped at the chance to write a review for the Blackhole Motorsports site. STARTING THE GAME AND THE USER INTERFACE Like a lot of recent releases, you will need to run an external "setup" application after installing MBWR in order to configure your graphics and your sound. Everything in the setup app is fairly straightforward, but there is one graphics card compatibility issue that you should take note of: If you have an older GeForce2 MX card or a newer GeForce4 MX card, you will NOT be able to enjoy the moving steering wheel when using the in-car view. Apparently the older MX versions of the GeForce cards lack some of the features and horsepower required to support the additional in-car animations. The in-car steering wheel animations worked fine with my GeForce 3ti 200 card, though, and newer GeForce FX and ATI cards shouldn't have any problems. The in-game MBWR menu is basically a carry-over from the menu system that was used in the MBTR title, and the best that can be said about this approach is that hopefully Synetic will take put some effort into revising the menu system for the sequel to MBWR, because once you get past the initial setup, the in-game menus are a mixed bag at best. The overall layout is confusing, and this is compounded by the fact that the only navigation method available is keyboard input -- like many other recent games released for multiple platforms simultaneously, MBWR does not offer mouse support for menu navigation. Overall, the menu system is poorly laid out, so my criticism here is not specifically that they chose a keyboard-only navigation method -- other console port menu systems that offer keyboard-only navigation methods (such as those in Ford Racing 2 or Race Driver 2, neither of which offer mouse support on the PC) eventually become familiar and relatively easy to use over time, but the menu system in MBWR just seems to be counter-intuitive from the start, and it never has gotten any better for me. It should be noted that although the menu structure can be confusing, the basic menu functionality is fairly straightforward, and most of the various in-game options and modes are relatively easy to figure out, but things like setting up races, selecting a track for free time, selecting your vehicle, etc., often seem to require an unreasonable amount of concentration.GAME MODES CAREER AND RANKINGS MBRW allows you to set up various different driver profiles - you can select your name (which appears on your cars' license plates), your gender, and your overall appearance by selecting from a variety of driver images in the "Profile" menu. You can also view the profiles of the various AI drivers that you will be competing against offline in career mode. Additionally, you receive positive and negative feedback during races in the form of messages that appear on the bottom of the screen, as well as post-race rankings showing how well you performed against your AI opponents. The AI is scalable, as are your physics -- when you dial-in100% simulation mode for the physics MBWR begins to shine, exhibiting a lot of the goodness that was inherent to Synetic's previous Mercedes-Benz Truck Racing title. At lower realism levels, MBWR becomes an easily accessible racer suitable for the Need For Speed crowd. Add in the fact that you can increase or decrease the AI skill level, and it becomes apparent that MBWR can be scaled to offer a suitable challenge for a broad audience. The career mode and rankings aspects are obviously intended to make the career mode more engaging, giving it something of a role-playing aspect, but the execution is rather "flat." With no in-game cut scenes, all you get are static race reports, and your opposition never exhibits (or develops) any discernable personality traits via their driving styles, so you never develop any sense of rivalry against your AI opponents, and the rankings never take on any real meaning within the game. FREE TRAINING AND INDIVIDUAL RACES This mode is exactly what it says -- you can train at various tracks, running an unlimited number of laps (up to 99, actually, which is quite a lot, given the size of some of the track configurations). You can also choose individual tracks to race against the AI outside of career mode -- the only downside here is that you must first unlock tracks . . . or you can track down the necessary cheats to unlock the tracks in advance (which is what I finally did after logging about 500 miles' worth of track time in career mode). MISSIONS The Missions consist of timed challenges and waypoint-type events run over a wide variety of terrains using assigned vehicles. This portion is slightly reminiscent of the Factory Driver mode in Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed, but I didn't find it as engrossing, comprehensive, or engaging. The missions are not really linked in any way, so they are really more like a series of unrelated "challenges." There are a total of 48 missions in all, but you only start out with a few of them unlocked and accessible, and you must work through them one at a time in order to unlock the rest, which can get tedious. There is a lot of good stuff here, though, ranging from offroad runs to themed challenges, and the replayability of the missions is good. This portion of the game makes for great "fun runs" when you're in the mood to do some sim racing but not in the mood for anything too serious. THE RACE SCHEDULE (CAREER MODE) The Race Schedule selection is in effect your career mode -- this is where you compete against the AI players to improve your rankings, and win races to unlock cars and tracks. There's not much to be said about the career mode except that the really expansive (and I mean EXPANSIVE) tracks and environments which set MBWR apart from virtually any other racing/driving sim tend to work against it in career mode. Even though there are only seven different driving environments (Alps, Australia, City, Japan, Mexico, Nevada, the Test Center, and Hockenheimring), there are so many different variations of tracks (117 variations in all) and quite a few championships (16 total) -- this makes for a lot of variety, but given that there is only one real-world track (Hockenheimring), it can take quite a while before you become familiar enough with the tracks to really compete with the AI. Add in the fact that most career mode races are 2 or 3 lap events, plus the fact that most of the tracks are VERY long (three-to-five minute laps are not uncommon on some of the layouts), and you may find yourself feeling quite lost early on. That makes for a fun driving experience, but if you've got the AI difficulty level set high and the realism set to max in order to enjoy the physics engine, and then the expansive racing environment runs headlong into the inherent need to become quickly familiar with the racing environment. This is somewhat compounded by the fact that most of the environments tend to model road and street conditions that you might encounter in the real-world, rather than dedicated racing venues, which makes it even more difficult to become quickly familiar with the various "tracks." Basically, there's no time for sightseeing, but plenty of sights to see -- which seems to make MBWR's method of unlocking tracks and cars even more annoying.MULTIPLAYER The online multiplayer aspect for the PC version was promised from the beginning, but it wasn't available in time for the retail release. Even so, Synetic promised a multiplayer patch from the start, and although they did a great job of maintaining communications with the gaming community while trying to get the patch together, it took much longer than expected for them to get the multiplayer component working properly and ready for release. Initial projections were for the multiplayer patch to be released roughly a month after the retail version of the game first appeared, but the multiplayer patch wasn't released until May of 2004 (almost 6 months late). As they say, though, better late than never -- and Synetic did a very good job with the multiplayer aspect, teaming with GameSpy to provide multiplayer support and game matching. The initial multiplayer release featured an incompatibility issue with Windows 98 systems (yes, some folks still use Win98 for their gaming platform, including me), but Synetic followed up with an improved multiplayer patch within a couple of days (proof that as a developer, Synetic pays attention to their customers!). In multiplayer mode, MBWR will only support up to six (6) players, so the competition can be sparse, even with a "full" field to race against. Overall, the multiplayer code seems to be solid and very stable, and I have seen very little warp or lag while racing online. You can get online using GameSpy or GameSpy Lite, but it's much easier to use the MBWR Multiplayer Lobby utility -- this makes for easy race matching without having to wade through the GameSpy environments. Online races seem to be sparse so far -- at any given time, I haven't seen more than three or four servers online at once, but this may pick up over time (especially if/when Synetic finds a U.S. distributor for MBWR). CONTROLLER Controller setup is very straightforward -- all the basic options are there, such as the ability to assign your control inputs and adjusting your deadzone, but you cannot calibrate your analog input device, nor can you adjust your range or saturation for your controller. The only controller options is the ability to choose between "Wheel," "Keyboard/Gamepad," and "Joystick" for your controller types. MBWR does not support multiple controllers, so if you're using a wheel on your game port and high-end USB pedals, for example, MBWR will not recognize one of your input devices. Logitech wheel users have reported good results with split-axis pedal inputs, though, which is a plus (I am a right-foot braker in games like GPL, so my TSW2 pedals don't have the split-axis option, for what it's worth). SOUND This is the one area of the game that is truly painful for me -- overall, the sounds in MBWR are decent enough; all the basic stuff is there, including engine noise, tyre squeal, etc., but the implementation is so poor that it actually detracts from the otherwise outstanding physics engine. For me, sounds and physics are tied very closely -- I am not an audiophile by any means, but a good physics engine with good engine cues can provide an outstanding sim racing experience (think Papyrus, ISI's F1 Challenge, or SimBin's ISI-based GTR demo). I find that sounds actually become more critical as physics engines become more sophisticated, because the sounds help fill in for missing physical sensations that you cannot achieve with a fixed racing platform, including things like lateral Gs being pulled (via tyre sounds), or acceleration/deceleration rates (via tyre sounds combined with engine note and gear/drivetrain sounds). With MBWR, we have a fairly sophisticated physics model (apparently a direct descendent from the Mercedes-Benz Truck Racing physics model) paired with one of the poorest sound implementation schemes since some of the less successful titles from the "Test Drive" and "Need For Speed" arcade racing franchises. I have a Phillips Acoustic Edge sound card, which provides rich, high-end sound and works great with all of the games that I have installed, so I'm 99% sure that I'm not experiencing any sound issues related to my sound card. The biggest problem with the sound implementation for MBWR is the occurrence of unforgivable audio "dropouts" that I have been unable to compensate for. The in-game menus do allow you to set the volume levels for engine sounds and ambient sounds, but I have been unable to find any combination that will allow me to hear my engine note drop to idle under hard braking -- in situations where tyre squeal becomes a major factor (hard braking or significant lateral Gs), the engine note becomes undetectable, making it seem as though you have killed your engine by not engaging the clutch, then it suddenly reappears once I'm done braking and I'm back in the throttle. This may be somewhat realistic to some degree, but I find it rather jarring, and it ruins my suspension of disbelief and spoils the overall sim racing experience because it does not seem realistic to me at all. The annoying thing is that this does not seem to be caused by tyre sounds that are too loud, or engine sounds that are too soft -- the engine sound just cuts out entirely when the tyre sounds kick in under certain circumstances, and it seems as though the sound implementation doesn't support enough different sounds simultaneously, but I don't think this is the case at all, given all the different ambient sounds that are going on in the background. Even more frustrating is the fact that Mercedes-Benz Truck Racing didn't have these sort of sound problems, so Synetic obviously does know how to get these sort of things right. One of the recent patches from Synetic supposedly addressed some sound issues, but I didn't notice any improvements to this audio "dropout" issue. This is one area I hope Synetic devotes more attention to in the MBWR sequel, because it's probably the most disappointing aspect of the game for me.GRAPHICS The MBWR graphics are vibrant and richly textured; car details are good, and the simulated racing environments are rich with detail -- perhaps too much, at times, given all the things going on in the background (including airplanes, helicopters, and even UFOs on the Nevada tracks), but all of this makes for a lively and engaging sim racing environment, especially when combined with the go-anywhere environments in MBWR. The in-game ambient lighting can seem a bit otherworldly at times, and the color palette can seem a bit "cartoony" when compared to Papyrus sims or the graphics in Race Driver 2, for example, but there is nothing displeasing going on in MBWR, graphics-wise. If anything, the colors and lighting used in MBWR just serves to give it a unique flavor, and for some people, the lighting and color choices may actually seem more realistic than in some other sims. Personally, I think the graphics in Mercedes-Benz Truck Racing came very close to setting a benchmark for sim racing graphics, while MBWR's graphics tend to appear a bit less realistic. Even so, I would still rate MBWR as outstanding in the graphics department. GRAPHICS PERFORMANCE The MBWR graphics engine is a good performer overall -- I originally ran the game on a Duron 950 system using a GeForce2 GTS video card, and the graphics were outstanding and framerates were very good even though the Duron CPU was at the low end of Synetic's hardware recommendations. I did the majority of the testing for this review on the following system: AMD Athlon 1.1 GHz processor Nvidia Geforce 3Ti 2100 64MB (AGP@2X texture) 256MB DDR RAM Phillips Acoustic Edge PCI sound card 7200 RPM ATA133 40GB hard disk Matshita 2X DVD drive Lite-On LTR-1610 CD-RW drive With this system, I experience almost no graphical slowdowns, and MBWR runs very, very smoothly; on more modern hardware with faster processors and graphics cards, MBWR should be an even smoother experience. INTERNET MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT As I mentioned earlier, the long-awaited Internet multiplayer patch for MBWR performs very well, although it is limited to a maximum of six players per session. This does lend a certain "club racing" sort of feel to MBWR, but with a maximum of only five other opponents per session, I don't see much opportunity for online leagues to form up using MBWR as the basis. This means that as good as the online multiplayer aspect is, MBWR does not seem to be suited for much other than "pickup"-type races. PHYSICS The physics engine used in MBWR does seem to be descended from Synetic's Mercedes-Benz Truck Racing title, which is a good thing indeed, especially with the physics setting at 100% full simulation. As I mentioned earlier, though, the poor sound implementation does seem to work against the physics engine to some degree, because it makes it hard to really gauge when you're at the ragged edge of adhesion. Driving around with the AI difficulty level reduced to around 70%, the driving experience can be very good at the 7/10ths to 8/10ths level, but when you push the cars to the jagged edge and get up around the 10/10ths level, the poor sound implementation will leave you wondering just what exactly is going on, physics-wise. Even worse is the fact that Synetic has built in an automatic counter-steering tendency into the MBWR physics engine -- something that did not exist in their earlier Mercedes-Benz Truck Racing title. I suspect that this was done to provide the necessary assist for the console versions of the game, but the bad news is that this apparent steering assist is not selectable -- you get counter-steering whether you want it or no, even with the physics set to 100% full simulation, and there is no way to disable it. When you're just driving around, you probably won't notice it, but the closer you get to the edge, the more noticeable it becomes. What's worse is the fact that sometimes it will actually work as an assist, saving you from situations where you might not have been fast enough to effect a "save" on your own, but this ultimately lead to sloppy driving techniques for me, and I eventually found myself unable to drive effectively at the edge because I had become used to being able to use gentle inputs to correct for slides and such, when in reality it was the game's automatic counter-steering "assist" which was doing the work. Many times when driving at the edge of adhesion, this unwanted "assist" often seems to either get in the way, or it's not fast enough to do its thing when I'm driving in a more "lazy" manner because that's what the game has "taught" me to do. Most folks don't seem to notice that this "assist" even exists, but if you're like me, once you notice it, it's hard to ignore, and it's annoying as heck. One other annoying aspect of the MBWR physics engine is that it seems to be rather under-utilized; even though there are a wide variety of cars in MBWR, the performance of the varying models is quite often virtually undetectable. There are eight (8) different C-Class T-Model wagons, for example, ranging from the C 200 T CDI to the C32 T AMG, and while the AMG model should definitely be an improvement over the "base" model, there difference in handling isn't that noticeable, even though the in-game Handling / Top Speed / Acceleration graphs indicate that the AMG model should handle much, much better than the "base" C 200 T CDI model (the acceleration and braking is definitely better in the AMG model, though, so perhaps the "Handling" statistic is being used to convey overall braking ability). Overall, though, despite these minor annoyances, I would have to rate the physics in MBWR as slightly superior than Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed (NFSPU) -- the main problem with MBWR is that it features few cars that are as engaging and as exciting as the cars featured in NFSPU. I still have to grin whenever I fire up NFSPU to take a spin in a 550 Spyder or a 356 Speedster, and even though there is a solid physics engine under the hood, few cars modeled in MBWR offer that level of visceral enjoyment.CONCLUSION Unfortunately, after much anticipation of the final product, MBWR has failed to really grab my attention as I hoped it would. As a follow-up to Mercedes-Benz TRUCK Racing (MBTR), I expected great physics and the type of engaging gameplay and replayability available in Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed (NFSPU) from MBWR, but the physics have seemed somewhat "stunted" to me due to the unwanted steering "assist" and the poor sound implementation, and the playability just doesn't seem as immersive as NFSPU. So, even though the basic physics model is very nice, there just don't seem to be any real "hooks" for me in MBWR to keep me coming back for more -- the historic cars are nice (perhaps the nicest and most immersive part of the game), but why didn't Synetic start the career with the historic cars and then work more progressively towards the more modern cars, a la NFSPU? That type of historical retrospective is something that I find truly engrossing, as a sim racer, and as a marketing tool, this approach also helps foster a greater degree of respect, admiration, and desire for the marque. Along those lines, given that the game focuses on a single marque -- in this case, Mercedes-Benz -- MBWR did a rather poor job of "opening up" the world of Mercedes-Benz cars for me. MBWR comes off as nothing more engaging than an extended interactive commercial for the Mercedes-Benz brand, and in that respect, NFSPU and Ford Racing 2 served as MUCH better "interactive advertisements," in my opinion. In fact, NFSPU left me lusting for Porsches in general (historic, vintage, modern-day, etc.), and Ford Racing 2 even made me wonder what it would be like to own a Ford Focus SVT or a Mustang on occasion -- and I'm not what you would call a "Ford guy." As a marketing tool for Mercedes-Benz, MBWR has just left me feeling curiously like it just simply missed the mark. Additionally, a game's menu often becomes "home" for me while playing the game, and the ability to feel comfortable with the menu system is somewhat critical for my enjoyment of the game. The fact that I've never been able to really get comfortable with the clunky menu system used in MBWR has been an annoyance that just hasn't gone away, which is a first for me - although I've never cared much for the menu system in the EA/ISI F1 sims, they have become somewhat intuitive to use after a while. Even other menu systems that are console ports that offer keyboard-only navigation methods - such as those in Ford Racing 2 or Race Driver 2, neither of which offer mouse support on the PC - have eventually become familiar and relatively easy to use over time, but the menu system in MBWR just seems to be counter-intuitive from the start, and it never seems to get any better or any easier to use. Despite my criticisms, I do have to say that as a relatively realistic racing sim with a decently solid physics model, MBWR really does have a lot to offer for the casual racer, and now that the long-awaited Internet multiplayer support patch has arrived, it has even more potential as a "fun" racing sim. Hardcore sim racers who are looking for a more solid racing experience, or for a "lite" sim with engaging features along the lines of NFSPU may be disappointed by the overall execution, but MBWR is still worth a look given the expansive tracks that seem to go on forever. So while MBWR hasn't earned a spot on my "all-time favorites" list, I would rate it as a "must have" title for the serious (and semi-serious) sim racers. There's a lot of depth here, and with new cars being released on a more regular basis, combined with solid multiplayer support, MBWR offers a lot of bang for the buck, and it is definitely a solid and unique offering. The tracks alone are worth the price of admission, and I have heard that Synetic is currently looking for a U.S. distributor, which means that MBWR may soon be available for those of us on the other side of the pond. If you enjoyed NFSPU and you're looking for a "lite" racing sim with a solid physics engine that won't force you to re-learn how to drive your favorite hardcore sim after spending a little time behind the wheel elsewhere, then MBWR may be just the thing you're looking for. |
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Comments : |
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| Author: AK-47 | 07-07-2004 |
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That's the most true review I've ever read....especially the physics section. Outstanding job !!! |
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| Author: Racer_X | 07-07-2004 |
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This shouldn't even have the word "sim" attached to it in any way, shape, form, or fashion. Its totally arcade imo. I like the tracks for being new and different but thats about it. Oh yeah, my wife liked the music, I guess I did too. Won't be spending my hard earned money on this. |
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| Author: Cherub | 07-07-2004 |
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Great review. MBWR is awsome when playing with friends in split-screen mode. I hope split screen will be also in MBWR2 ;-) |
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| Author: Aapo Peltola | 07-07-2004 |
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It's a hell good game! :) Mercedes isn't my favorite car, but it doesn't matter here. |
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| Author: Warpedcow | 07-07-2004 |
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Author should have tried other sound cards, the sound effects are great on both my SB Live and nForce2 audio, I can hear the engine while tires are squealing during breaking... also, get a newer PC and newer video card, and tell us what screen resolution and settings you use. Any game will run fine at 640x480... tell us more specifics! I do agree the game runs great, it's silky smooth at 1280x960 with 4xAA and 16xAniso on my Athlon 3000 with Radeon 9800 Pro, though 1600x1200 on same settings gets choppy. Anyway, I love the game, but I don't think your review was all that great... |
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| Author: kooldakracing | 08-07-2004 |
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I wish all reviews were written as well as this one was. Great job, jbodin! The one item that he missed was a mention of the "Free Ride" mode. This game mode allows you to drive over the terrain outside of a racing environment. A Sunday drive, if you will. The depth of the terrain and scenery quickly become apparent when one chooses to try this mode out and one sees how much work really went into terrain mapping. |
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| Author: ruckus | 08-07-2004 |
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Nice review :) I agree about the menu system and it's something Synetic really have to work on (MBTR was a bit strange 2 IIRC). Good points about the career mode etc. I just wish they could have left out, toned down on the choppers, UFOs and some of the fantasy scenery. Still a good game over all. |
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| Author: sielm | 07-08-2004 |
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I liked the review, it was pretty accurate. I have to admit this game impressed me when i first played it, and still have fun from time to time with it. I don't think the sound is that bad, and (with 100% slider to the sim side) i would say it is way more realistic than NFS:PU. I simply LOVE the inside views, they are so real. The amount of cars is overwhelming, but some are not very different and that is a bit sad...i wish they did what the reviewer said: a chronological career mode. I have to say this is the 1st game that runs PERFECTLY (no slowdowns at all) at 1024x768 with 4xAntiAliasing on my GeForce FX5600!!!!! Normally, with those settings games are a bit choppy but this one performed really really well. As for the guy who said he didn't like the UFOs and stuff...well, i liked them! i liked those guys on the factory on Zone Industrielle in NFS:PU too, and all the things on the tracks in games like 4x4 Evo. I think they add to the athmosphere (sp?) of the game. Overall, i like this game a lot. For me its way better than NFS:HP2 and i'm looking forward to test the online patch. Cmon MBWR owners! Go online & play! |
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| Author: Andrew Croft | 02-09-2004 |
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Really informative - thanks! |
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| Author: Sir William | 23-09-2004 |
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A very good review! This is one of my favourite games. I love making a sunday ride through all the beautiful landscapes. I hesitated at first to buy this game, though, as I don't like Mercedes Benz cars. But luckily there are other cars to download: Over 70! See the link: https://worldracing.ath.cx/downloads/cars/ |
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| Author: Cant Find it! | 24-09-2004 |
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Where can you buy this game!??? Ive looked everywhere, no one carries it anything other than Xbox form, what gives? |
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| Author: Gonadular | 05-10-2004 |
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Its in Asda for �5 at the moment |
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| Author: trybik | 16-02-2005 |
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Nice art |
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| Author: Paul | 13-07-2007 |
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I think this is a fantastic game. I've had it for a while now and still not finished it, it is very vast. I think driving the regular Mercs around is cool beacause when you get to drive the monsters, you really appreciate it as you have to wait a while until you at that level. There is a oval at the test track and I had the one Merc at 429km/h, awesome stuff. This game for me gets a 9/10 |
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