IndyCar Series

Going over 200 MPH, it’s a hot pursuit. Thirty-three cars racing at crazy speeds trying to overtake one another, and prove they are the racing king. If you are wondering “can this possible be legal?” I’ll give you the answer to that, “Yes it is!” Welcome to Codemasters’ IndyCar Series.

The only other complaint I have is a total lack of online gameplay for a game like this. Codemasters has yet to dabble in online gameplay for their racing games yet. So for now, the bulk of my time is still spent on Midtown Madness 3. But that aside, you're looking at one hell of a good Indy simulator. Fine for single and multi-player if you can't get online. Once again, a solid effort and more proof that Codemasters truly knows racing games.

Of all the racing games you can think of out there, companies have brought out many a Formula One game. But no one has yet to bring out an Indy Racing League game. While the stock car circuit has Daytona, there is a race that is just as popular; The Indianapolis 500. And it's been done before. In the arcade, Sega brought out an Indy 500 game a few years back that could have, no should have come out on the Sega Dreamcast. Even before that there was an Indy game made a LONG time ago on the PC, by none other than Electronic Arts and Papyrus Design Group. So what's been the hold up?

All things considered, it seems amazing that PC's and consoles have gone as long as they have without one single attempt to reproduce the Indy 500. The most recent efforts we can recall were both for the PC, and are at least five years old. Yet NASCAR has dominated the video game scene, particularly on consoles, and open-wheel racing has been only truly represented by Formula One games. Luckily Codemasters has crossed the Atlantic from the UK to yanks what we are apparently unwilling to produce ourselves: an IndyCar simulation.

I’m a big NASCAR fan. I’ve been to Kentucky Speedway a few times, and watch the Winston Cup races every weekend. About three years ago, I got to go to the Indianapolis 500 with my Dad and his partner from work, and got my first taste of Indy racing. I was blown away by the cars zipping around at speeds over 220MPH, and immediately went on a search to find a decent IRL game for PS2. Well, Midway had done one earlier which was a little too arcade style for me, but finally someone has decided to put out an Indy game which tries to capture all of the speed and thrills of actual IRL racing.

O ile do popularnych amerykańskich sportów wielu Europejczyków zdołało się przekonać to zdecydowanie nie można tego powiedzieć o tamtejszych sportach motorowych. W dalszym ciągu my, mieszkańcy starego kontynentu, zbytnio się nimi nie pasjonujemy. Nie bedę oczywiście próbował dociekać dlaczego tak się dzieje. Jednego można być natomiast pewnym: gry, które na nich bazują na pewno się w Europie dobrze nie sprzedadzą. Producenci jednak nie rezygnują i co jakiś czas zasypują nas coraz nowszymi tytułami. Zdecydowany prym na PeCetach wiedzie seria NASCAR. Opisywana Formuła Indy pod wieloma względami jest do niej zbliżona. Bolidy ścigają się wyłącznie po owalnych torach (inaczej jest z bliźniaczą serią CART), bardzo często nawet na tych samych. Prędkości, które osiągają są porównywalne. Dziwi mnie więc to, że od czasu słynnego Papyrusowego „IndyCar Racing” nie ukazała się żadna dobra gra, która przybliżałaby realia tego sportu. Teraz uległo to zmianie.

Where most racing titles reward risk taking and constant movement, IndyCar Series is about finding the best line, making intelligent moves and keeping a cool mind. There is almost something Zen-like when you get into “The Zone” where every turn is about the mastery of speed and control. It’s amazing that you can look back on a poor qualifying lap and not attribute the shortcoming to a wreck or spin out but, instead, to being too cautious when accelerating into turn 3. IndyCar Series is an example of what Codemasters does best, providing racing fans with the most realistic, must-own motorsport titles on the planet.

Mit Vollgas durch die Ovale: Der Kultmotorsport aus den USA. Während die Formel 1 in aller Munde ist, fristet die IndyCar-Serie hierzulande noch nicht einmal ein Schattendasein. Woran das genau liegt, ist schwer zu sagen, aber die Tatsache, dass bei diesem Motorsport ausschließlich in Rundkursen gefahren wird, trägt garantiert ihren Teil dazu bei. Nichtsdestotrotz bringt Codemasters jetzt das offizielle Spiel zur Rennserie heraus.

IndyCar Series offers gamers a solid racing experience. The different modes available will please most gamers with the options available. The racing action is fast and smooth, and the sense of speed during a race is impressive. IndyCar Series does what a good racing should do, plays great and is fun to play.

IndyCar Series is an entertaining but ultimately imperfect attempt to communicate to PC fans the skill and excitement of IRL-style open-wheel racing. Despite a few AWOL features, however, it can still deliver a healthy 230-mph kick in the pants when pushed.

Im Grunde verdient die Formel 1 die Bezeichnung "Königsklasse" nicht. Denn während Schumi, Räikkönen und Co. mit gerade mal 330 bis 350 km/h um Punkte und Platzierungen kämpfen, geht es bei Indycar-Rennen zeitweise mit über 400 Stundenkilometern zur Sache. Zu Beginn werden Neulinge in acht Masterclasses durch umfassende, kommentierte Videos an den Sport herangeführt, danach wird jeweils geprüft, wie gut man das Gelernte in der Praxis umsetzt. Hier wird beispielsweise erklärt, worauf beim Fahrzeug-Setup zu achten ist.

Eigentlich habe ich mich immer für einen ganz passablen Rennfahrer gehalten. Doch die ersten Probefahrten mit Indycar Series zeigten mir, was für eine Riesennull ich bin. Aber die Demütigung motiviert: Wer sich durch die anfängliche Frust-Phase durchkämpft, wird mit realistischen und hochgradig spannenden Rennspiel-Dramen belohnt. Dass man die mangels Multiplayer-Modus allerdings nur allein erleben darf, ist ein mehr als peinlicher Design-Unfall. Nette Raserei, aber chancenlos gegen Nascar 2003.

Hoewel IS een prima referentie is wat betreft Indycar racing, heeft het realisme te lijden onder de sobere grafische afwerking en statische omgeving. Wie IS koopt moet dat enkel voor het realistisch precisierijden doen. Anders valt er niet veel te genieten aan deze titel. Een degelijk Indycar racing game dat echter gebukt gaat onder een bijzonder sobere presentatie en ronduit saaie afwerking.

Ultimately, IndyCar Series is a decent game with lots of likeable perks but a few too many foibles to be heartily recommended. However, this is the only way you're going to experience IndyCar on your computer these days. If you can handle the rough edges and aren't a hardened simulation connoisseur, you may want to take this one for a spin.

Im Saisonmodus spielen Sie die laufende Rennzeit mit sämtlichen Originaldaten nach. Grafisch fährt IndyCar Series der Konkurrenz hinterher, überzeugt spielerisch aber mit einer glaubwürdigen Fahrphysik und gelungenen Simulation dieses hier zu Lande wenig populären Motorsports. Fans gefällt's!

According to a guy named Michael Schneider, the "discovery and appreciation of the circle is our early glimpse into the wholeness, unity, and divine order of the universe". Sheesh, it's just a button on your PS2 controller.

One of the first 3D computer games I played was an IndyCar racing simulation released back in the days of MS-DOS and the IBM PS/1. I played that grainy, pixilated piece of software for hours on end, mostly orchestrating gigantic wrecks and then watching them in the slow motion replay mode. I believe I finished the entire 500 just once. Only a few of the racing sims I’ve played since then have lived up to that experience. IndyCar Series, from publisher Codemasters and developer Brain In A Jar, reminded me of it the minute I started playing.

IndyCar Series is the topic of today’s review and after about 15 grueling hours behind the wheel I’m ready to blow the crankcase off this game. If you have read any of my other reviews you already know I am a racing fanatic. Growing up within earshot of the Texas Motor Speedway, I’ve been a track rat since I was 12. I’ve gone to racing school and driven both NASCAR and open wheel (IndyCar) machines so I know what’s real and what’s not.

Whoa, a racing title from Codemasters! Sublime graphics, realistic sound, hours of exciting gameplay and an experience that you won’t ever forget. That’s the feeling I had about Codemasters racing games before this one. The TOCA series are much loved by the gamers both arcade and sim fans. However, when you think about Indycar racing, you think about ovals, circles and other round shapes because that’s what it’s all about: riding around in circles.

Codemasters have done an exemplary job with IndyCar Series and it is a very accurate and polished representation of what must be one of the most supremely dull "sports" ever conceived. Despite their proficiency in creating a detailed game with depth that provides a strong challenge and requires skill and strategy to win, it is so stultifying and tedious to play that I can't see why anyone would want to buy it when there are Formula One games and many other serious racers available, which are as proficiently produced and are actually exciting to play.

IndyCar Series is a game that will appeal to fans of the sport who aren't looking for a strict simulation, but the lack of depth to the modes will only make it worth a rental for most. In addition, the fact that the simulation aspects of the game seem to be toned down affects the replay value, since there really isn't any significant incentive to learn how to drive like a champion. The multiplayer mode, which supports up to four players in the Xbox version and only two in the PlayStation 2 version, adds a little extra fun, but nothing that would warrant a full purchase.

Much like NASCAR, IndyCar racing has steadily grown in popularity over the years, and Codemasters has attempted to capitalize on that popularity with IndyCar Series. Fortunately, the game is successful in capturing the essence of the sport, with its emphasis on strategic driving and having steady nerves when racing in the pack, but it's not an entirely realistic re-creation of the sport--newcomers can almost immediately jump right into the game's hardest difficulty setting and compete reasonably well. In addition, the modes available in IndyCar Series are all pretty shallow, which not only detracts from the overall experience, but also significantly reduces its replay value.

IndyCars Series est loin d'être un mauvais jeu. Les sensations de conduite sont bonnes, l'animation est rapide, les adversaires disputent les courses de façon intelligente et le titre est assez joli. Maintenant la grande lassitude inhérente à ce sport sera un frein majeur pour la plupart des joueurs même pour ceux sachant apprécier les jeux de courses et à fortiori de F1. Le jeu de Codemasters étant réaliste et nécessitant pas mal de réglages, les amateurs d'arcade bouderont également ce jeu. Enfin le mode multijoueur n'a malheureusement pas bénéficié de beaucoup de soins et ici aussi la répétitivité de l'action achèvera le jeu qui n'est finalement destiné qu'à une poignée d'irréductibles.

Vous aimez l'IndyCar ? Vous allez adorer IndyCar Series. Pour les autres, fans de Formule 1 compris, il conviendra d'éviter ce soft. A la limite essayez d'y jouer pour vous faire une idée du jeu car avant d'être un titre de F1, le produit de Codemasters est bien un jeu d'ambiance où les courses se gagnent dans les stands.

IndyCar Series does a remarkable job of simulating just about every aspect of the IndyCar season and the world famous Indianapolis 500 right up to the point where you get behind the wheel. The car setup, the schedules, the teams, the racers, everything is perfect and you won’t find a more authentic presentation of IndyCar racing - just don't drive this out of pit row.

Malgré une réalisation honnête, les développeurs ont cru bon de s'orienter vers un gameplay arcade. Du coup, tout ce qui fait l'intensité de l'Indy Car s'est envolé. Si vous tenez absolument à tourner en rond, procurez-vous plutôt Nascar Racing 2003.