Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 Update Will Help Channel Your Inner Brian Spilner

I recently competed in Gran Turismo 7's online time trial. I tried to set a fast lap around Suzuka while driving the McLaren Ultimate Vision Gran Turismo. With over 150,000 registered for the challenge by the end of it, I was quicker than almost 80% of them. And that gives me hope that I'm at least a slightly above-average sim racer.

The latest time trial involves a classic Jaguar and a very famous racetrack from Brazil. I'll give it a go soon, but I'm more eager to see the upcoming DLC pack for the game. It should arrive later this month, and three more cars will probably come for the game. In the meantime, sim racers can experience the thrill of a different game: Hot Wheels Unleashed 2.

Two months have passed since the latest update, the Made in Italy Expansion Pack. That allowed players to experience the Lancia 037, the Fiat 500D Modificado, the Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI, and the Vespa 90 SS Super Sprint. I haven't driven these myself to see how different they are, but I hope there's more to it than just the visuals.

Now, you could say that the newest DLC is all about family. Or you could think of it as activating your inner Brian "Earl" Spilner or Dominic Toretto. Either way, Dom's garage is the newest environment where you can build epic tracks for some in-game action. One thing boggles me: why doesn't any studio build a realistic Fast & Furious game that allows you to relive the adventures of your favorite heroes since the first installment?

I suppose the media franchise has more than enough resources to make it happen, and I'd be the first to jump inside the green Eclipse to race it against Ja Rule and Dom in LA. You can enjoy that in Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 (kind of), thanks to the four cars in the DLC. Call me old, but I couldn't care less about the W Motors Lykan HyperSport.

At least the studio got it right with the other three cars, two of which we saw Brian driving. I'm unsure if it's interesting or annoying that the Skyline is a replica of the Mainline series model. I understand it means promoting the toy car, but a virtual Premium version would have been much more exciting.

I would most likely spend my in-game time driving Dom's 1970 Dodge Charger R/T and Brian's '95 Mitsubishi Eclipse. And we can only assume that if this DLC is successful, we'll see the orange Supra and maybe Johnny Tran's S2000 in a future release.