Graphically this game is decent, they are 3D but a bit dated and bland. After being spoiled by Dirt 2, this game is far from cutting edge. The cut scenes have an interlaced look with lines going across the screen. This gives it a bit of a retro console/arcade/old TV feel that I don’t particularly care for. The explosions look nice but the world and texture detail is a bit lacking. I thought it was funny that sometimes when the camera would pan in on the truck that there was no driver inside and at other times there was. You can change the camera view to be third or person view.

The game ran pretty stable and even alt-tabbed nicely. I haven’t come across any show stopping glitches. I thought it was funny that the boss character has his name spelled two different ways in the game text (Jorge vs. Horhe).

The audio isn’t bad; to be honest I don’t remember the background music but I’m sure it was fitting at the time…just forgettable. The voice acting is decent and I like how you can turn off or adjust the frequency of Jack’s comments. Even when it’s off, some comments still slip through.

There’s not much when it comes to re-playability. In the single player mode you can try to prefect your maps to get gold and unlock the best stuff for your truck. There is a multiplayer LAN mode that can support up to eight players. With the Sec-U ROM DRM in place, I could not test this mode out.

GearGrinders is a unique racing game. While I enjoyed the bomb threat races, I could have done without the senseless cop/oncoming traffic killing. The cut-scenes have an old school arcade feel to it but with the language I doubt it would have been appropriate for the arcade. The story isn’t all that hot and the audio won’t blow you away. The only positive thing I can say is that this game will be good for stress relief as long as you don’t get stuck on a level.