The graphics in Renegade Racers are actually relatively good. They move at a pleasant clip, and there’s little to no pop-up. However, the graphical design itself is much uninspired. The various vehicles for the racers look quite dinky, the tracks themselves are boring and very straightforward, and the terrain is drab. And driving over water or land makes no difference, so just pretend that the blue stuff is a sort of shaggy carpet that waves. It may as well be for the effect on the game. The character design when you select who you want to race as is pretty nice, but that’s about it.

The sound in this game is absolutely obnoxious. The characters have a single tagline, and whenever -anything- happens to them in the race, they say it. Over and over and over and over until you want to rip your ears out. It’s that bad. The music itself isn’t all that bad, but it’s not in any way shape or form memorable. And the weapon sound effects are the same weapon sound effects you’ve heard in every racer, ever.

When I started up the single player mode of Renegade Racers, I was thinking, “Wow, cool, 40 races!” And then I did the first race... ten times. The game forces you to be insanely tight with your timing, and there is no way to really pass up your opponents or shortcut through the level. The weapons themselves -- missiles, mines, shields, etc. -- are just as uninspired as those in Killer Loop, only nowhere near as cool-looking. Argh. So after toughing it out with these guys for about 20 minutes, I go to the next track.

Only it’s the same track. Over and over. The first few levels are all set in the same damned area, and they just change a few things around to make it more “interesting.” More like more “want to throw my controller at the screen.”

Everything about Renegade Racers screams mediocrity. The characters, although originally kinda cool, have no noticeable differences in driving styles. And where the hell did the Renegade license go? I didn’t see any correlation whatsoever. The game promises gameplay on land AND water, but as noted above, you won’t notice a difference. The weapons are generic and contrived, and the controls are soupy at best and utter crap at worst. There may have been redemption in the multiplayer mode, but even the party mode only allows two players at a time. Whee. I’ve had better times watching paint dry.

I’ve played worse games, sure. (Crusaders of Might and Magic comes to mind.) But this game is utter tripe in the competitive kart racing genre -- Crash Team Racing and the new Speed Punks offer so much more for your money that I can’t imagine spending anything on this game. It’s not any good.

Difficulty for Renegade Racers arises from cheap A.I., impossible controls, and uninspired tracks. It’s sort of like F-Zero for the Super Nintendo, only not fun. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The controls really suck. Oh, and the load times in Renegade Racers are absolutely atrocious. I could go on, but I really don’t think I need to. This is a game that you want to stay far, far away from. It is a disgrace to the racing genre, the kart genre, and the PlayStation in general. Do yourself a favor and pick up CTR or Speed Punks. But don’t spend a cent on this big stinking pile of poo.