Auto Modellista

Capcom — PS2


Remember Speed Racer? Remember Wacky Races? Remember the O.J. Simpson chase? (OK, never mind that one.) Auto Modellista’s candy-colored cars streaking across the screen to pulsing tunes will bring back fond memories of spacing out to all those classic automotive TV moments.

But take a look under the hood, and you’ll find as much substance as style. Hondas, Mazdas, Nissans, Toyotas — start the game by choosing a make and model from more than 50 choices, and then head to the virtual garage to customize it with turbochargers, mufflers, suspension, racing slicks and other options. Your tweaks will affect the way the car handles in play, so after you’ve souped up your ride, it’s pretty easy to dust your computerized competition on Japanese streets, mountain roads and racetracks.

But it’s much more fun to go online through PS2’s Network Adapter to compete with as many as eight human competitors, who customize their cars with bizarre colors, decals and graffiti. Real players are far more challenging than what the game provides — plus, you can hang out in the virtual parking lot, watching other races in progress and talking smack through text messaging.

Best of all is the “VJ Theater” option, which permits you to save and edit your race footage, selecting camera angles, creating split-screen visual effects and laying down a soundtrack for your own do-it-yourself a-ha video with trance electronica or guitar-heavy electronic grooves and amusingly cheesy exclamations: “Speedy!” “Oh, no!” “Keep on rockin’!”

Auto Modellista’s trippy details keep it laps ahead of the typical gearhead racing game. Up next — well, we hope: Auto Modellista DUI.