IHRA Drag Racing 2005 Review (no fat)

Game Description

If being the best in a line without competition counts, the bestselling Drag Racing game on the XBox returns with improved graphics and gameplay. Going through a ton of changes, IHRA 2005 marks the most advanced Drag racing game on any system.

IHRA 2005 Gameplay

A series that once took a Masters Degree to play now is more user friendly, and handles with an Arcade-ish feel. The new edition to the IHRA series is remarkable in how Bethesda listened to consumer complaints and reviews about the previous game to make it more of a worthwhile title.

There is less focus on all the technical jargon and more on the race, but not to the point where tuning is meaningless. Among the new customization options is the wonderful task of decorating your car to how you see fit. More than a handful of options add to the play off of the track… where the gamers will spend most of their time.

IHRA 2005 Modes of play

Among the modes of play there is the mini-mode, which is not really that useful other than to test your reflexes. Then there is the welcome and much needed Arcade mode, which is as simple as picking your car and racing.

The arcade mode by itself should make the title worth looking at, but the real reason to purchase the title is the simulation mode. Borrowing from other successful titles before it, IHRA 2005’s simulation mode takes you through a full season starting with earning one of the licenses (Pro stock, Pro Mod, Funny Car, Top Fuel) or easy, medium, hard, and super hard.

Each set of licenses has different cars to go along with it as well as different seasons. After earning your license you are loaded with a measly fifty grand to purchase a ride, with an obvious choice for a beginner vehicle. But through clever racing, and placing high in the rankings of the point based system, earning that extra cash to beef up your ride or buy a new one becomes a lot easier than expected.

IHRA 2005 Ego Boost

Xbox live support has been completely dropped instead of being upgraded, and regretfully so. What could have made IHRA 2005 even stronger now stands aside and has to be added to a later offering.

But while Bethesda cut out a big part of the game they added just enough of the little things to make it a worthwhile play…at least for drag racing fans. Also included is the crib, similar to the NBA live series. Here is where players can show off all their accomplishments and awards, giving the gamer a sense of accomplishment.

There are a lot of unlockables in the game, with the easiest being cars. Upon unlocking a car in simulation mode it will become available in all modes, completing the gaming experience.

Some of the more complex racing functions from 2004 are now handled by the AI, meaning on the track the most a user has to do is ready their vehicle and race. The loss of interaction is not as bad as it seems, and may serve as a nice beginning tool for novices. It still would have been nice to have some thick documentation in the manual on what everything does, but it seems as if the whole point of the 05’ version was to downplay any hard thinking.

The game is fairly easy, but satisfying to play once you can get into it. Hopefully in future versions multiple season modes will be available after completing the schedule, or a ‘franchise mode’.

IHRA 2005 Graphics

The graphics in IHRA 2005 still suffer and really haven’t improved that much from last years title. Along with the poor graphics are unbearable loading times, which from a technical aspect of a visually poor game would be laughable to hear in detail. Well designed cars still doesn’t give an excuse to why the title is years behind other Xbox titles.

IHRA 2005 Sound

The sound truly earns an annoyed shake of the head this year, but the audio tracks are pretty decent. More of the same or a variety would have been better, but what is in there is pretty good and does its job.

On another sad note, Bethesda has yet to provide the sound effects necessary for such powerful machines. You really don’t feel the power of the cars when playing this title and it almost seems as if what should have been the best part of the game is being overlooked. This is two years in a row, so it still a mystery to everyone.

IHRA 2005 Summing up

A step in the right direction for the series, IHRA 2005 is not that bad and slightly entertaining. The more automated approach that was taken on this one was overdone, and should be toned down or at least made optional.

Online multiplayer support is not included, and probably never will be since it would be pointless to host a server for a genre this small. The fanbase isn’t exactly a huge one, and because of the extra features that should be included it will not even make the cut.

We said it before and will say it again, Drag racing fans love the sport because of the strong sense of power and speed it exudes in real life…something IHRA has failed to achieve even in its second go. To top it off, starting a race after high loading times and finishing it a few seconds later without having to make any maneuvering at all can only be so interesting as to put you to sleep.

The overall need of purchasing this title depends strongly on if the gamer can cover all of its costs with nothing but couch change.

IHRA 2005 Cost

At the time of writing, IHRA 2005 costs only $14.99 more than what I’d be willing to pay.