A 2011 off-road racer that kept the original's objective-based races, added boost and parts that fly off, and divided critics.
Insane 2 is a 2011 off-road racing game from Targem Games, released as a sequel to Invictus Games' 2000 title Insane. Players drive 18 four-wheeled vehicles through ten game variations, four of them new to the series, and the career mode includes 170 races.
Insane 2 is an off-road racing game developed by Targem Games and released for Windows in 2011. It follows the 2000 title Insane from Invictus Games, keeping the objective-driven format while speeding up the pace. Players can drive 18 vehicles across fictional landscapes on four continents.
What is Insane 2?
Insane 2, stylised as In2ane, is an off-road racing game from Targem Games. Players drive one of 18 four-wheeled vehicles across terrain, racing or completing objectives in ten game variations. The game is both single-player and multiplayer, and it was first sold in Russia in 2011.
The maps wrap around, so a vehicle leaving one edge reappears on the opposite side, and the terrain allows a good deal of open exploration. The vehicles are modelled on real types such as buggies and Bigfoot-style trucks, but they carry no trademarked names or symbols.
An off-road sequel that sped up the original's pace, drew praise for its multiplayer and split the critics down national lines.
Where did the Insane series come from?
The original Insane was made by Invictus Games, a company based in Debrecen, Hungary. Codemasters published it for Windows on November 24, 2000, as the launch title for its online service, and a sequel was discussed for years before the trademark moved to another studio.
Invictus hinted at a sequel in an interview with a Hungarian magazine, and by 2007 it had laid out ideas for a second game. Codemasters, which owned the Insane trademark, held back from requesting the project at that point. The sequel was announced in February 2009, by which time Invictus had shifted its focus toward online racing games.
How did Targem Games develop the sequel?
Targem Games, a Russian developer, took on the project after Codemasters licensed it the trademark in 2009. The team built the game around a friendly driving model, graphics and multiplayer, then made it faster with a boost ability and a damage system in which parts fly off.
The team altered the mechanics to speed up the pace of play, accepting a loss of physical realism as the price. Boost and the looser damage model were the main tools for that change, and the vehicles were tuned to suit the faster formula.
Because the original's creators could not be reached for creative input, the designer, Nikolai Seleznev, said the team studied the first game in detail and read reviews from its launch. Shorter routes were given more obstacles, and the developers aimed for a balance between speed and realistic vehicle physics.
The game ran on an in-house engine, chosen for convenience during development. The release was first planned for 2010 but moved to 2011, while the team worked on vehicle appearance and multiplayer. Car tuning was simplified into an upgrade system, and only one planned mode, Destruction Zone, was dropped because of balancing issues, according to producer Ivan Bunakov.
What game modes and vehicles does Insane 2 offer?
Insane 2 offers ten game variations and 18 four-wheeled vehicles in six classes. Most of the modes return from the original game, while four are new to the series: Greed, Pursuit, Knockout and Zone Patrol. The table summarises each mode.
| Mode | Origin | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Off-road racing | Original | Traditional race across the terrain |
| Capture the Flag | Original | Carry a flag and score by reaching the active checkpoint |
| Gate Hunt | Original | Drive through as many gates as possible before rivals |
| Jamboree | Original | One gate is active at a time; crossing it scores a point |
| Pathfinder | Original | First to cross all the gates wins |
| Return the Flag | Original | Return a flag placed at random points to base first |
| Greed | New | Collect gold, silver and bronze packages dropped by parachute |
| Pursuit | New | Stay inside the cone of light from a helicopter for as long as possible |
| Knockout | New | Last place drops out every 15 to 30 seconds until one player remains |
| Zone Patrol | New | Claim gates for points; opponents can recolour them and take those points |
The vehicle classes are 4x4s, SUVs, pickups, trucks, monster trucks and prototypes, and up to eight players can take part in one race. Pursuit has a helicopter moving above the field while the players try to stay in its light.
Capture the Flag and Zone Patrol reward different kinds of driving. In Capture the Flag, a player can pick up a flag from the ground or steal it from the player carrying it, and extra points come from reaching the active checkpoint with it. In Zone Patrol, gates are claimed by driving through them, but opponents can drive through a claimed gate, recolouring it and taking its points.
How do career mode and upgrades work?
Career mode spans 170 races grouped into four championships, each with its own rules and required vehicle class. Players start with two off-road races and a single basic car, and they unlock more vehicles, races and modes by finishing in the top three.
Points are awarded for each placing, with higher positions earning more. They can be spent on upgrades for the body, engine and suspension, or on paint jobs. Upgrades affect five attributes: speed, acceleration, boost ability, off-roading and durability.
Boost is limited and recharges automatically after use, but it cannot be used while a player is carrying a flag. Damage makes parts of the chassis fall off without affecting performance, unless a wheel is lost. A damaged car can be repaired with a button press, and a total wreck repairs itself after a few seconds.
Obstacles include road trains, rail transport, rhinoceroses and stray lightning bolts that threaten to strike a vehicle.
Quick Race sits outside the career. In it, the player picks a location and rules, then enters a race with those settings.
Can you play Insane 2 with friends?
Yes. A second player can join in split-screen if they have an Xbox 360 controller, and online play supports up to seven other human players. The host of an online game chooses the map, mode, permitted vehicle classes and the number of computer-controlled bots.
Reviewers often praised the multiplayer, though many pointed out that online servers were scarce near launch. The variety of game modes drew praise as well.
When was Insane 2 released?
The timeline began with a playable demo on Russobit-M's website on May 30, 2011, followed by Russian retail on September 30 and worldwide digital distribution through GamersGate on October 6. The Steam release came on January 24, 2012, after the game had already reached several markets.
Other markets came later. Peter Games published a retail edition in Germany on May 25, and Overland distributed the game digitally in Japan on August 29. Game Factory Interactive held the publishing rights in Russia, while Codemasters handled distribution in the Western world.
How did critics receive the game?
Reviews were mixed. Critics often praised the multiplayer, the variety of modes and the vehicles, but some found the driving unchallenging, the sound weak and the sequel less engaging than the original. Reviewers in Hungary were especially unenthusiastic, and several of them preferred the first game outright.
Eurogamer's Czech division praised the driver AI and the graphics for the modest hardware they needed, but found the vehicles lightweight and advised buying the game only at a discount. GameStar praised the risk-and-reward of the open maps, while calling the driving unchallenging.
Romania's Level said the game remained as much fun as its predecessor, and Igromania found it easy to learn but short on originality. 4Players liked the Pursuit mode but grew bored of single-player after about 20 rounds.
Hungarian reviewers mostly preferred the first game. PC Guru criticised the flat courses and damage modelling, and PC Dome thought the vehicle physics were an unwelcome change from the original's relative realism. Game Channel went further, disparaging the music and the middling speed of the cars.
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