Square take a shot at the racing genre on PlayStation2. Find out if Namco should be worried

After dropping the ball with the disappointing Racing Lagoon, Square have decided to take another stab at a white-knuckle driving simulation with Driving Emotion Type S. Driving Emotion follows the 'race real-life cars and gain money to buy stuff' formula that drove the kids crazy in Gran Turismo. But can the gameplay hold a candle to Polyphony Digital's latest masterpiece?

One thing's certain, it sure looks pretty. With a frame rate locked at a solid 60fps, Driving Emotion is smooth as butter, and though the car models and environments aren't quite up to the level of Gran Turismo 2000, they'll do at a pinch. There are some unique effects that are put to use too: from the inside cockpit view there's motion blur on the car dash and the steering wheel, effectively simulating a driver who's had one too many lagers before getting behind the wheel. In the night tracks, lights and high-contrast billboards leave subtle light-blur trails behind them, creating an image similar to when filmmakers smear Vaseline on a camera lens. This game is a special effects paradise and will hopefully pave the way for more innovative visual trickery in future Square games.

Then there's the gameplay. One of the biggest questions tossed around at the Tokyo show was, "Did Square finally fix the control in Driving Emotion?" Apparently, the Square Millennium demo featured slippery control, making high-speed handling obnoxiously difficult. It pains us greatly to report that the slip-o-rama control was also present in the PlayStation2 Festival demo, leaving most gamers slamming into walls, flipping around and simply dropping the controller to go and play Ridge Racer V instead. While the handling in GT2000 and Sega GT is appropriately sensitive, Driving Emotion's control is simply a mess.

With Driving Emotion set for release on March 16, there's always the slight chance that Square will fix the controls in the coming weeks, but anxious importers may want to skip this altogether and wait for the more playable Ridge Racer V. You have been warned.

Courtesy of IGN.com