Insane 2

Like the original Insane, Insane 2 is a racing game where players drive on terrain, vying to be the first to complete objectives. The races are set in fictional locations on four continents of Eurasia, North America, Africa, and Antarctica, and the maps permit a considerable amount of open world exploration and are wrapped around so that vehicles exiting one side of the map reappear on the opposite. Up to eight players each drive in one of 18 four-wheeled motor vehicles divided into six classes: 4×4s, SUVs, pickups, trucks, monster trucks, and prototypes. The vehicles' models are based on real-life automotive brands, such as buggies and Bigfoot trucks, but otherwise do not carry trademarked names or symbols.

There are ten game variations, most of which return from the original Insane. Besides traditional off-road racing, they are Capture the Flag, Gate Hunt, Jamboree, Pathfinder, and Return the Flag. The remaining four are new to the series: Greed, Pursuit, Knockout, and Zone Patrol. In Capture the Flag, players score points by carrying a flag by picking it up from the ground or stealing it from the player carrying it, scoring extra points by carrying it to the active checkpoint.

The first Insane game was created by Invictus Games, a video game company based in Debrecen, Hungary. It was published for Windows by Codemasters on November 24, 2000, as the launch title for its online service, the Codemasters Multiplayer Network, coinciding with the European launch of the PlayStation 2. Invictus had indicated in an interview with Hungarian online magazine PC Dome the possibility of a sequel by stating that it would continue using the game's style for future racing games. By 2007, Invictus had laid out ideas for the second game, but Codemasters, who owned the license to the Insane trademark, decided not to request the project yet.

Insane 2 was first announced in February 2009, when Codemasters licensed the Insane trademark to Russian developer Targem Games to develop the sequel, as Invictus had shifted its focus toward online racing games at the time. Codemasters also granted Game Factory Interactive the rights to publish the upcoming title in Russia, with Codemasters to distribute the game in the Western world. After extensive analyses, surveys, and conservations with players, Targem saw it best that their game be characterized by a friendly driving model, graphics, and multiplayer. The game's designer, Nikolai Seleznev, told Igromania that dynamics, or pace, was factored in Targem's development.

The Czech division of Eurogamer generally praised the driver artificial intelligence, and was impressed with the level of graphics it deemed sufficient even when using required hardware, which the website noted was low. However, it felt that the vehicles were lightweight and the sound effects and music unimpressive, and criticized the lack of a speedometer or rear-view mirror in the user interface and the presence of only two camera angles. Eurogamer concluded that the shift to an action-packed and arcade-like formula might repel fans of the original Insane, recommending that it be purchased only at a discount. GameStar lauded the risk-versus-reward aspect of the maps' open nature, the split-screen multiplayer mode, and also the AI, but considered the driving to be unchallenging and the maps to be missing landmarks or sights.

In a positive review, the Romanian edition of Level praised the vast expanses of wrapped land and varied selection of vehicles, graphics and soundtrack, game modes such as Capture The Flag, and local and online multiplayer. However, it also criticized the AI and the absence of local area network support, considered the user interface unpolished and the music potentially repetitive, and also noted a dearth of servers at the time of the review, but the magazine concluded that the game "remains at least as fun as its venerable predecessor and brings crazy, fun racing back to PC that is hard to put down." Another positive review by the Italian magazine The Games Machine praised the level design and variety of game modes, despite missing one called "freeride".