| |
| Abbreviation | DR |
| Developer | Attention to Detail Mobius Entertainment (GBA) |
| Publisher | Electronic Arts LEGO Interactive THQ (GBA) |
| Universe | Racers |
| Starting Level | Novice MCR 1 |
| Starting Characters | Max Axel |
| Release Date | November 20, 2002 (North America; PS2) |
| Rating | 5.1/10 |
| Systems | PlayStation 2 Microsoft Windows GameCube Game Boy Advance |
| Categories | Characters Levels Episodes |
| LEGO Racers 2 | Drome Racers | ||||
Drome Racers is a racing video game developed by Attention to Detail and was the final game they developed. This is the second LEGO game to not use either minifigures or the Bionicle figures, instead the characters are regular humans while the cars are based on the Drome Racers sets that were out at the time. The player can do a Quick Race, which starts a race with a random car and track, enter Arcade mode or start a Career, the game's equivalent to the Tournament cups from the first game and the story mode from the second.
Career[]
The game takes place in the year 2015 and Max Axel is planning to win the Drome Championship, he does this by completing what are known as Multi-Challenge Races or MCRs for short. After the first race, Max's race time will be carried over and if he's behind in any time on the next race, he won't be able to start driving for that amount of time. Overall the winner is decided in the final race of who crosses the finish line first, so getting good times is necessary.
Max is helped by Shicane, the chief mechanic who handles the car's upgrades and for buying new wheels, chassis or body parts for the car, Slot, whom saves the player's data or can load a different game and Rocket, a retired racer who offers driving tips and practice races. Select Shicane to either start a race or upgrade the car in the garage.
The player starts out as a Novice and works their way up to Intermediate and finally Expert. Each MCR has a Qualifying stage as well to determine Max's position in the race depending on his best time. Unlike the kart racers from before, Drome Racers is drag racing which focuses entirely on the player's skill with shifting gears and adjusting their throttle on the road. Skipping the Qualifying stage will cause the player to simply start at the back of the race. There are only six racers on the road and each MCR stage starts with the route taken, how many laps the race has as well as the time and weather accounted for.
Along the racetracks are green boost panels that will speed up the car and red balls marked with an X that provide the player with a different powerup and after each race, Max will be rewarded with credits that he can use to buy upgrades for his car or replace old parts. The upgrades are for Engine, Aerodynamics, Turbo, Armor, and Tires. As well as Max being part of Team Nitro, there are also teams R.E.D, H.O.T., Maverick, Zero and Exo Force.
As well as the MCR races, Max can also compete in one on one challenge races against rival teams by selecting Rocket and talking to him. Rocket will explain to the player what each challenge will be like and any obstacles to avoid, Max will race the challenger four times, the first being a regular race, the second uses a different, off road path and the final two being reversed versions of the tracks. The challenges will also reward the player with credits as well as Build Tokens that can be used to build new racecars, Tires will determine how fast the car goes, Chassis will determine the weight and the Body Type will be different for each tire and chassis combo and the player can change the colour of the body. Each car's stats include Top Speed, Handling, Acceleration and Toughness.
Intermediate MCRs are unlocked afterwards and everything goes the same as the Novice MCRs, only with faster opponents and tougher courses to drive on, as well as unlocking new challenge races against the other opponents, including Shicane herself. After beating all of Expert Mode, all that's left to do is complete the challenge races.
Arcade[]
Arcade mode features the standard races that the player has done throughout Career mode, only now they're only one off races rather than part of the MCR and a Time Attack mode. The GameCube port also features a Battle mode similar to Capture The Flag where the players shoot each other with powerups in order to claim a flag and hold onto it the longest.
Gallery[]
Version Differences[]
GBA[]
- The career mode is replaced with Championship Mode, where the player can pick a team to join and partake in cup with a prebuilt car.
- The green boost panels are replaced with yellow arrows floating above the track the player can drive through for a boost