Magnetic Pages Article | 1992-09-02 | 4KB | 28 lines
MPARTICLE
Game Review - Indianapolis 500
{Electronic Arts}
Jaz X.
As many of you will know,$Indianapolis 500(usually called Indy%500) is an ancient game as far as the%world of computer games is concerned.$However, it has received a new lease$of life by being released on budget.$ I had a spare Boots
10 voucher$kicking about the place, so I put it!with
3 cash, and trundled off to"boots to buy myself a copy of this
classic game. I chose this game$because it had received a favourable$review in Amiga Power, my usual mag.%The box containing the disk(yes, only$one disk, which wasn't uncommon when%this originally came out) is suitably#large, which will satisfy those who"care about that sort of thing. The%instructions are clear enough, but to!get the most out of this game, it!really does help if you have some#knowledge of racing cars. There are
three different engine and car$setups. The default car doesn't even%have a speedo, which I found strange,
but I suppose it is just being%realistic. On the whole, this game is
a very realistic simulation.
Once you get past the copy#protection(some nice digitised pics"of past winners of the prestigious$race accompanied with questions like#who drove the car, what the average$speed was and how long it took), you%basically can do one of three things:!practice, qualify or race. If you"choose to race as soon as you have%loaded up, you will start at the back$of the 33-strong grid, so a practice#and qualify session is recommended.#Other options include adjusting the"mouse sensitivity and changing the$graphic detail. Changing the graphic"detail to 'low' makes the game run
very fast indeed. You can control the car via%mouse, keyboard or joystick. I found "the keyboard by far the easiest to$use, but it is probably a matter of #personal preference. There are also%three slots for saving custom setups %on the cars, plus one slot for saving that exciting action-replay. The$action-replay option on this game is$superb. You can view the action over!and over again from six different$viewpoints, which makes it ideal for#looking at that horrendous smash-up again, or your crafty nudge of a%rival car which sent it spinning off.#You can also advance the replay one
frame at a time.
The attention to detail is impeccable. For instance, if you
increase the 'drag'(or!wind-resistance) on your front or#rear wing, then your top speed will!be decreased and fuel consumption
will be greater. There are ten"different settings to adjust which%will change the way your car behaves.%These are: amount of methanol(Indycar fuel) in your tank, 'drag', tyre
pressure, 'shocks'(suspension),$gear ratios, cambers(amount of slant$on your wheels), stagger(diameter of your wheels), rubber compound of#tyres, turboboost and anti-roll bar
stiffness." This is a racing game which I%find very hard to win, which can only%be a good thing, because it lengthens
the game's lifespan. The best!position I have achieved is about#8th, and that is only because I was!on the 30-lap no-damage race. The!four race options are: 10 laps(no#damage, no yellow flag), 30 laps(no#damage), 60 lap, and the proper 200!lap race. The yellow flag feature#occurs when there is a crash during%the race. Every car has to slow down,"and no overtaking is allowed until
the wreckage has been cleared.% In conclusion, I enjoy this game#immensely. It's novelty hasn't worn$off as soon as I had expected it to.!However, hard-core arcade junkies will probably find the car setup section tedious, although no-one!should fail to be thrilled by the!exciting racing action, and tense$overtaking manoeuvres.
12.99 may be#a bit pricey for a budget game that"is over three years old, but I can#assure you that it's worth it, even%if there is only one predictable oval
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