Russian Car Driver HD

Driving can be a very enjoyable activity, especially when you do it for fun. However, being stuck in traffic is anything but fun, so unless you go for a joyride on the coast or you like to race around a track, driving is more of a chore nowadays. Thankfully, we have video games to help us have fun behind the wheel without the consequences.

Russian Car Driver HD is a driving simulator with arcade physics and basic graphics, in which you get to choose from a variety of modes and drive basic vehicles on off-road terrain. You can also go on tarmac roads and deal with traffic, but that’s not as fun as cruising the forests around the roads themselves. The car physics are a bit disappointing, although the game is clearly designed to be enjoyed by casual audiences.

Not all the game modes are available in the beginning, since you have to complete a few missions in order to unlock them. The free roam mode is accessible at first, and you can also choose whether to play through a story and earn points or just drive around aimlessly. To make things even better, there’s also the possibility to pick one of two maps, as well as change the weather conditions.

The cars are quite simple to drive, at least if you keep yourself from going too fast. Annoying understeer makes your life hell on the road if you try to negotiate corners, not to mention the slow and AI-deprived traffic. Even so, you can still have a lot of fun in the right conditions, especially if you avoid the tarmac and explore the woods as you see fit.

Lastly, the graphics are nothing out of the ordinary either, but it doesn’t make too much of a difference anyway. However, at least you can switch between multiple views, including a cockpit camera. This should help with immersion, but the poor animations and low-quality textures might take their toll on your eyes after a while. The music is poorly chosen as well, but at least that can be turned off entirely and with little effort.

At the end of the day, it’s the overall experience that matters the most, even if the physics are unsatisfactory and the graphics are basic. Thus, it doesn’t take much to help you have a bit of fun after a hard day at work.