Obviously it's good for companies to brand as many different forms of entertainment as possible, simply to raise their profile, and that's just what BMW has astutely done right here. But in the midst of licensing and inter-corporate micro-management, it seems BMW Racing has lost its way, and although we have a grand selection of motors to drive, we've got nowhere to drive them.
Available in any colour, so long as it's greyWhat the developer evidently failed to ask itself when getting to work on BMW Racing (or, more likely, what the licensee refused to allow it to ask) is what is it that actually makes driving games fun. Because as important as they are to the game, it's not the cars.
You're offered a fine selection of German engineering to get behind the wheel of, such as the Z4 M Coupe, M5, M6, Sauber F1.07 Formula 1, M3 and 135i, and there's a noticable difference when you take them out onto the virtual roads.
Unfortunately, these are the most sparse, unimaginative roads we've seen in a racing game for a long time. You're the only driver out there, and the massive lack of detail makes the races a tragically uneventful affair.
Driven to distractionThe one redeeming feature of the race tracks in BMW Racing is their construction. These roads are drawn line by line, and scroll smoothly without ever repeating themselves. The underlying lack of detail or interest (plain grey surfaces lined throughout with nothing more than a few trees, and more than half the screen filled with empty sky) does nothing to add any interest to the timed races, and the whole game becomes an exercise in carefully driving around simple bends.
There isn't even any threat of crashing, since the roads feature no obstacles. The worst that happens is you don't cross the finish lime before the time limit runs out, or you stray from the track a moment too long and the car stops.
With nothing else to do, no car customisation, no other traffic and nothing in the way of invigorating high speed sensations, BMW Racing never progresses beyond being branded mobile content, and it's definitely not a strong enough advert to sell you a car.
BMW Racing
A racing game without the racing reveals itself to barely be a game at all. Whether it's the branding that reduces the game to nothing more than test driving toy cars, or the empty design work, it's hard to say. Just don't waste your time trying to figure it out
Spanner Spencer
Yes. Spanner's his real name, and he's already heard that joke you just thought of. Although Spanner's not very good, he's quite fast, and that seems to be enough to keep him in a regular supply of free games and away from the depressing world of real work.