PAX 2013: Taking A Spin With 2K Drive

I've been very excited about 2K Drive since the news broke that it was in development. So, I was even more anxious to try it out at the 2K booth while attending PAX Prime in Seattle. As expected, and because I always like a good racer, it was rather easy for me to have a good time with what was offered in the 2K Drive demo. I was first shown the sharp color-coordinated menus that separates challenges, mini-games, and real-life racing news from each other. After that I was able to jump in the driver's seat of a car and get my first taste of action.

Playing my first race was very easy to do since I was playing with speed, break, and turning assistance on high. I didn't realize it at first and thought it was a little too easy to handle, so I turned all that nonsense off as handling the vehicles with no assistance is always the way to go. Still, it gave me a chance to learn the London course and better prepare for it with the assistance turned off. I still hit the walls a few times with zero assistance, but the gameplay feels very smooth in motion and handles quite well once you get a good sense for the vehicle. Who knows how this will be with a much faster vehicle though, but I did find myself appreciative of the good handling with the thumb control for steering.

After a few concrete races I decided to take the demo and head to an off road course which was quite the bumpy ride, but a ride that is well worth taking. The off road course that was available was pretty simple with a couple of easy turns and a few decent jumps. Again, one of the beginning courses that help ease players into the game. I'll be hoping for more difficulty and rougher courses to race on when I unlock and purchase my F-150 Raptor. I can't wait to get dirt all over it!

I also demoed a couple of the mini-games, including a rollercoaster that forces players to drive a rollercoaster-like course without falling off the sides and a survival course that has players avoiding missile strikes from a helicopter. The rollercoaster was quite the challenge that will be both tempting and frustrating for the perfectionist. However, the demo of the survival mode was by far the least exciting thing that I played as it just wasn't fun to maneuver around the course while staying out of the helicopter's strike zone. Maybe it was an easy difficulty level thing...

Something that is always simple yet still fun is the customization options available in games for your vehicles. 2K Drive offers your typical customizations like color, hubcaps, and more, but also includes other unique features like dashboard items, window stickers, and things to hang from your rear-view mirror. They don't affect the gameplay or even matter much to most racers, but are still interesting enough for those that become big fans of the game and would like to show off their rides. Someone I met loved putting a hot dog on the dashboard.

2K Drive is shaping up to be a nice package for racing fans, based on what I experienced with the demo. There is still time left to see a number of changes or enhancements to sections of the game, but the most important factors are already present with good racing and challenges, a number of gameplay modes, and even reading material on the latest happenings in the real-life racing world.

I can't wait to spin my wheels throughout the entire game this fall!