The original Lego Racers is a fabulous game – simple, addictive, fun. I spent a lot of time with it myself. (You can pick it up for under ten bucks now. Do it!)
Lego Racers 2 just hit the store shelves, and it’s got a nasty problem. The hardware requirements are simply out of sight. In addition to a fast processor, it requires a 16Mb 3D accelerated video card. It won’t run on less. That’s not the main system memory, it’s the memory located on the video card itself. The video cards aimed at gamers in the last year or two have gotten more and more powerful, with more and more onboard memory – the current high-end cards have 64Mb of memory just for the video card.
But 99% of the computers sold to families in the last two years do not have a powerful video card. (Don’t worry about checking your video card – I can tell you with some confidence that your video card doesn’t meet the requirements unless you already know that it does – meaning you added it later or you paid close attention when you bought your system.)
Lots of copies of Lego Racers 2 will be returned to the store. Big mistake on Lego’s part. When you buy games, pay close attention to the hardware requirements!
