Lotus Challenge

For the older video game series by Gremlin Interactive, see Lotus (video game series).

Lotus Challenge is a racing game developed by Kuju Entertainment and published in 2001 for PlayStation 2 by Virgin Interactive. Versions followed for Windows, GameCube, and Xbox from different publishers.

Lotus Challenge
Developer(s)	Kuju Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Virgin Interactive (PS2) Xicat Interactive (Xbox) Sold-Out Software (Win) Ignition Entertainment (GC)
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, GameCube, Windows, Xbox
Release	PlayStation 2 EU: 2 November 2001 Windows EU: 23 February 2003 Xbox EU: 28 March 2003 NA: 30 April 2003 GameCube NA: 4 August 2004 Mobile 20 September 2004
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

Lotus Extreme Challenge is a racing game featuring a variety of Lotus cars from different eras. The game includes multiple gameplay modes:

• Story Mode: Players start with a basic car and compete in races to earn money, build a racing team, and participate in championships. Over time, they unlock better cars and gain movie contracts for stunt driving challenges.
• Championship Mode: Racers compete across 17 tracks, unlocking and racing different Lotus models, with older cars competing against their era counterparts.
• Movie Stunt Driving Mode: Players perform stunt challenges for film productions, earning money and cinematic replays of their performances.
• Driving Challenges: Unique scenarios such as rushing passengers to a hospital through heavy traffic or evading speeding cameras on city streets.
• Damage System: Cars visually degrade and handle differently based on damage, adding realism to races.

The game promises realistic driving physics, authentic Lotus car models, and multiplayer split-screen racing.^[1]

Development

Virgin Interactive first announced the game for the PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows in August 2000 for an early-2001 release.^[2] The game was renamed Lotus Extreme Challenge in November 2000^[1] with a North American release planned to be published by Interplay Entertainment,^[1] although this never came to circulation. The game would eventually see its release under its former name. The PlayStation 2 version was later ported to Japan and published by MTO on 26 December 2002.^[3]

In March 2002, Virgin Interactive announced they would release the game on the Xbox under the name of Lotus Arcade^[4] before reverting to its former name, with the announcement that the Xbox version would feature major improvements over the PS2 version. The game was due for a release in Europe by Virgin in September^[5] but this never happened. In November 2002, Xicat Interactive announced they would release the game in North America instead as an Xbox exclusive,^[6] with a GameCube port also announced.^[7] In December 2002, Xicat secured a licensing deal with Motor Trend to rename the title as Motor Trend Presents Lotus Challenge,^[8] with the Xbox version originally scheduled for release in late January 2003,^[9] before it was somewhat delayed to the end of April. The GameCube version was due for a release in August^[10] but was pulled for unknown reasons.

In May 2004, Ignition Entertainment's website listed a title named Lotus Extreme for the GameCube.^[11] However, the game was renamed again back to its original title a few weeks later when it was officially announced by Ignition,^[12] and was released shortly after.^[13]

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
	GC	PS2	Xbox
Metacritic	N/A	N/A	61/100[14]

Review scores

Publication	Score
	GC	PS2	Xbox
4Players	N/A	71%[15]	69%[16]
Electronic Gaming Monthly	N/A	N/A	4/10[17][a]
Gamekult	N/A	5/10[18]	N/A
GameSpy	N/A	N/A	[19]
GameZone	N/A	N/A	7.3/10[20]
Jeuxvideo.com	N/A	8/20[21]	8/20[22]
Nintendo Power	1.5/5[23]	N/A	N/A
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	N/A	N/A	7.2/10[24]
TeamXbox	N/A	N/A	5.8/10[25]
X-Play	N/A	N/A	[26]

Reception

The Xbox version received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[14] GameSpy, GameZone, and Extended Play gave it above-average to mixed reviews while it was still in development.^[19][20][26]

The game sold more than 130,000 units for the PlayStation 2.^[27]

Notes

1. Three critics of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Xbox version each a score of 4/10, 3.5/10, and 4.5/10.