When the first came out, it was very suitable for little kids. The tracks were playful, with walls so it was easy to stay on track, and power ups so that if it got to hard, you could cheat a little and get back to having fun.

So the lego people thought, "Hey, they like it. Let's make a sequel and REALLY impress them!" They thought that if the game was fun currently, it would be much more fun with better AI, cooler bosses, destructible cars, etc. They boldly sent the game into perfection. The result, though, because it lacks the cuteness of the original, is less apealing to kids.

There are no walls on the tracks, just a green direction arrow and some signs and checkpoints to mark out the track. This means you can get off track, so the racing seems more real. The cars can slide, shunt, skid, and spin, so they behave cooler. Little kids ran out and bought it, then began racing, realising, to their horror, that the racing was more complex and harder.

To the kids who liked racng games, though, the sequel was a major improvement. The random power up thing increased strategy and tactics.

In short, a great game if you like racing, but not as good as the first if you like the charming lego and cuteness.

"A major improvement"
I undertsand why people would think Lego Racers 2 is not as good as the first. I have played both and I think the second is wa better. The first one was more playful and you listened to silly music while you steer your car aroun and listen to him make funny noises when you crash. you are either behind everyone or in front of everyone.

In the second, the game has a better racing system. Little kids who like the original will be disapointed that the racing is more difficult. To me, that makes it better, because you go to more exotic places, have the option to explore and chat with people, play hidden bonus games that come in two levels, and upgrade your car.

First off, the cars behave realistically, shunting each other and skidding as they turn corners. The opponents are not perfect drivers like in the first, but the tougher ones like cassiopia and Mr. Cunningham are. Then, there are the worl bosses. This includes Sam Sinister, a superfast driver who drops oilslicks, Reigel, the martian king who drives a giant mech robot that is indestructable, and The Berg,a crystallic ice monster who cheats and raises giant stalagmites behind him.

The adventure mode is more plotted out. You hop from world to world, paying for passage with golden briks, which you win by winning races or finding them hidden in the worlds. On each world, you race on five tracks, then take on the boss.

In the actual races, the system is much better. Your car gets damaged as it slams into things, and if you are not careful you could lose your car altogether and end up running! Luckily, uou have pit stops, which repair your car. You have a new and powerful variety of powerups, and each one is chosen at random, so you don't know which one you are getting! Each of these is an improvement on the ones from the original. This includes the lethal bloodhound homing missiles, the swift powerdisks, the powerful drill missiles, the slippery tornadoe, which doubles as a super sheild which protects your car, the awesome Storm Cloud, which has double use for if you are in the back or the lead, the invaluable invisiblity, which allows you to sneak past other cars like warp did in the original, or steal their powerups. And lets not forget the almighty Dissolve Car, the most powerful, with absolute domination of the track.

You also get speed ups. It's called a brick boost, earned as your car is damaged.

You can go to Arctic World, Dino Island, Mars, Xalax, or the lego town of sandy Bay.

The two player mode is much improved. You can do a leage race, like in the original curcuit race, or a standard race, or even a battle, where there are no tracks and the goal is to destroy the other guy's car! In one player, you can race on any track with up to seven other racers, or do a time race against yourself as a ghost car!

The builder has been improved, featuring racer parts from every new world, and a significantly upgraded car builder, allowing you to put up to 20!!! bricks on your car, as opposed to the meager builder in lego racers 1, which only allowed 10 bricks. In addition, your car drives better depending on weight and balance, so building a car can be educational!

In addition, any driver can go on any car, leading to almost limitless racer configurations. Also, you can practice a test run on any track, and the computer will determine which car is fastest by way of lap time! The bonus games are fun, and you can use them to win car upgrades for power, grip, and sheilds. They range from serving as taxi driver on sandy bay to collecting fuel cells for the astronauts or training on Xalax. Watch out for the guard cars!

The tracks are much more difficult, with no walls but checkpoints and a direction arrow to maintain a track. Race over a rickety bridge, run from a dinosaur in the jungle, explore a fiery volcano, but don't fall in! Race up a raging river,Dodge molten rocks as you cross the magma lake on Mars, and watch out for giant mech robots! Explore the icy caves up north, and a trapped ship in the ice, a cave inhabited by an icy monster, and go over loop de loops and ramps or power rings on Xalax as you race against ramas in a crazy stunt ralley!

Includes a new catch up mode, so there is always a challenge in every race depending on your skill!

In short, a major improvemt, with the only drawback being there are some steep requirements.