Indycar Series

Published by Codemasters
Developed by Brain in a Jar
Platform: PlayStation 2
Released - Out Now
Price : £39.99

It's been a long time since we had a decent Indycar racing simulation. Perhaps the last one of note was Indycar Racing 2 on the PC, which was a very impressive title at the time and for me it even eclipsed Grand Prix 2. Of course that was a long time ago and there are many gamers here in the UK who will not have played an Indycar simulation. To those bought up on Formula 1, Indycar racing can seem a little strange. The biggest difference is the nature of most of the circuits, as most are an oval (or at least an oval of sorts). At first glimpse it seems like the races will be easier but you have to balance the simplicity of most of the tracks against the increased speed and the difficulty of overtaking at such speeds. Thanks to Codemasters we can once again experience the delights of these high speed, and mostly oval, races. This review looks at the PlayStation 2 version of Indycar Series.

It's fair to say that right from the beginning it's very obvious that this is a game aimed squarely at Indycar fans and those interested in Indycar racing. I'm not claiming this is a problem though and it's refreshing to see a racing simulation that doesn't water the experience down to pander to the arcade racers. There are 3 set levels of difficulty though so if you don't want your car to take damage, it's possible to race on the easy difficulty setting and you'll have all the driving assists available to you. Choosing the pro difficulty level will throw you in at the deep end. Your tyres will wear, there is a full damage model, fuel is realistically consumed and you have no assists avaliable to you.

There are a variety of gameplay modes open to you in Indycar Series. You can take part in a quickrace, compete in the Indianapolis 500 or take part in a whole Indycar series. Competing in the Indycar series, and acheiving certain career goals, will allow you to unlock certain bonuses and extra game features.

The handling of the cars is always a top concern in simulation such as this and Indycar Series does not disappoint. The control feels just right without feeling too lose or too tight like it can often do in a console racer. It's pleasing to see the tutorials encourage you to use the manual gears and thankfully it is easy to change your gears as they are mapped to the R1 and R2 buttons. On the subject of tutorials they have to be the best I've seen in a racing game. Being used to mainly Formula 1 racers, I appreciated these tutorials as they highlighted the difference between driving in an Indycar race and actually helped me improve my driving in the game.

Indycar Series won't set any benchmarks for the quality of it's graphics but they do look good and crucially for this kind of game the framerate is excellent and even when all the cars are bunched up there is no degradation of the framerate. There are some nice touches in there though. You get animated pit-crews and if you look carefully you'll see a heat wave coming off the track from time to time. The cars look OK and I was pleased that a cockpit view had been included, which is always a sign that the developers are aiming for a simulation.

It's very impressive to see that subtitles can be enabled for the tutorials, or masterclasses as they are called here. What makes this an extra valuable addition is the fact that the masterclasses have been very well done and provide valuable information that will help you aclimatise to the world of Indycar racing. What's not shown in text though is the pit-radio communication you receive whilst you're racing. All the race/circuit introductions are subtitled though which is great to see. These communications are actually very useful and informative but that's not to say that the experience suffers too much with them. The HUD does a good job of visually showing you what part of the car has been damaged as well as other important information. All the information you need to help you read the HUD can be found on page 4 & 5 of the manual.

It doesn't take a genius to realise that Indycar Series will have more appeal in the US than here in the UK but racing simulation fans shouldn't let this one pass you by. Yes the circuits are ovals, or a kind of oval in some cases, but this is a polished and accomplished racer that in all honesty matches any racing title out there on the PlayStation 2. I do indeed hope this is the first of a new Indycar series.

Overall Game Rating: 8.5/10
Forget the nature of the circuits, this is a very good racing simulation that should be experienced.

Deaf Gamers comment:
Subtitles can be enabled and this provides access to the tutorials/masterclasses.