rec.autos.simulators

GRAPHICS: The graphics are fantastic. Especially on a large screen
tube. If this were a high resolution PC game you would probably need a
PIII 1000 to run it. Because of the low resolution of a TV display I
can't give the graphics an A+, so lets call it an A

SOUND: The engine sounds are surprisingly realistic. They do a very
good job of immersing you into the game with the combination of great
gpaphics and roaring engines. There seems to be a bug here though,
whenever you manage to get the tires to squeal, they don't stop
squealing until the next time you get on the brakes. A-

Controls: The controller layout is difficult to get used to. The brake
trigger is located right underneath the mini-joystick, making it
difficult to brake and steer at the same time. There is no way to
change the button choice for gas or brake either. Buying a Sega wheel
may be the only way around this problem. C

AI: The AI is the biggest surprise of the game for me. They have all of
the drivers from last years CART season in the game. From what I've
seen they drive like you would expect, Zanardi is fast, Tracy is psyco.
They really race you. They block you, they try to set you up for passes
by faking low and taking you high, they are just a blast to compete
with. A+

Physics: Almost non-existant. This game is pure arcade. The best way I
can describe it is if you've played Gran Tourismo, imagine driving a
4WD car with the aerodynamics of a CHAMP car. There is almost no way to
get the car to break loose. The physics seemed so arcade that I almost
put the game away before even trying to run a race. I'm glad I didn't,
because all the other aspects of the game make it a blast. D

Overall If you can get past the fact that it isn't really a sim you
will have a great time. You can race with another person head to head
(wife wouldn't race me so I havn't tried this yet) or run a full
championship season. They have all the real CART tracks, Homestead,
Fontana, Michigan, Road America, Milwaukee, Cleveland, etc. And the
tracks are beautiful. If there were a "simulation switch" in this game
I would give it an A, as it is, I give it a B

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I find the Sega controller fairly miserable for racing - it's hard to be
precise with the tiny little stick, and the placement of the
brake/accelerator buttons makes my hand cramp up something fierce.  Sure
wish there was a NeGCon for this system.  As I play console games
reclining on my couch, full-size wheels don't work for me.  I'm gonna try
to snag one of these 'Radius Racing Pad's asap, which seems NeGCon-ish...

http://www.ebworld.com/ebx/products/product.asp?pf%5Fid=168450&mscssi...
0JHNF6WLS12HSD000GVC6BAFAB92CD

Yeah, the 'tarpit' grass, the ease of passing, and overly-speed-sensitive
steering (the complete inability to turn at top speed!) were all very
disappointing.  I'm hoping that using a wheel will at least get rid of
the speed-INsensitive steering...

I'm enjoying the championship season thingy.  Haven't tried head-to-head
racing yet.  Another disappointment - the inability to do a single
'season' race at whatever track you want.  (ie, I want to do a single
race, but I want to set the race distance, car setup, etc.)  All you can
do is run a short 3-5 minute Arcade race.

--jhb

I highly doubt it.  Seen the import version of the Dreamcast.  Sure does
beat
the previous consoles, but yes the TV display does ruin the experience.
However
the very same card that powers the Dreamcast can be had for the PC, its
called
the PowerVR Neon 250.  Its a fairly impressive card in that it comes
somewhere
near the TNT2/Voodoo3 in speed, but only at 120mhz clock speed.

Most console controlers imo are best for sport games, or fighting games.
Yet
to see a sport game I like better than the ones on the PCs, but fighting
games
are about the only reason I like consoles. :)

Just a D?  I'd give it a G, if there was such a "grade".

Chris "Hollywood" Schletter wrote

I'm basing this on what I've seen with Bleem running playstation titles on a
PC (PII 333 w/ SLI). This game is far more detailed than Gran Tourismo but
when I try to run Gran Tourismo on my PC at 800x600 it slows to a crawl.
There is a HUGE difference in speed when you switch to higher resolutions.
Plus on a PC you have the overhead of a huge operating system vs. Windows CE
on the Dreamcast.

They do make a wheel for it, but I haven't got my hands on one yet. BTW, OT,
Ready to Rumble Boxing is fantastic!

I would have said F, but the game does one important thing well, it
simulates understeer. Most console racing games allow you to just drive in
to the corners at top end, get off the gas and slam the wheel in the right
direction. In this game, you actually have to use the brakes.

There are also a few setup adjustments you can make to get the car to work
better, or make your tires last longer. The best I could do with the default
setup was 6th at the opening race of the season, Homestead, but with a few
adjustments I got myself on the podium. I reserve that F for games that
don't allow you to make any adjustments.

G is the grade I would give the damage model, there simply isn't one.

The game isn't good enough for me to recommend buying a Dreamcast just to
play it, it's not Gran Tourismo, but if you  have a Dreamcast or are buying
one anyway and you are a CART fan, this game is $49.95 worth of
entertainment.

You can't compare emulators and native hardware Tracey.  Not to mention,
Gran
Tourismo was written for the PlayStation and all its art, polygon models,
etc are designed
for the PlayStation's limited specs.

Um, no.  Hate to say it, but the Win98 overhead is really not all that much
more than
the Windows CE, just that CE is far more limited.  However, because its CE,
you will
probably see more ports to the PC and PC to DC than before with consoles
that
look very similiar on both systems.

See, fighting games are just like the prefect type of games to play on a
console.

Or get the import version for cheaper. :)

That's just an uniformed statement. Win98 requires 16Mb minimum to run,
CE requires 2MB. Win98 still carries the x86 overhead to maintain DOS
compatibility, Windows CE doesn't. Of course Windows CE has far less
overhead. I'm sure you hate to say it because it's silly.

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--Tel

--
          Galley's guide to World Driver Championship
29 track maps, and data for all the events, teams and cars
           Also, codes, ghost laps, forum and survey.
                 http://worlddriver.homepage.com/

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