From the creators of Colin McRae and Toca Race Driver, Codemasters now bring you the high speed thrills and spills of IndyCar Racing. Officially licensed by the Indy Racing League means that this is the only game on the market to feature the full series season including the famous Indianapolis 500.

Straight away you can tell that this game means business with the amount of options you can choose from before you even get to race. You have the customary career mode known as IndySeries, where you can select any driver and race as them for a full season, a quick race for the gamers who can’t be bothered to read the rules and jump straight into the thick of things. Also there is the legendary Indianapolis 500 and a tutorial called the ‘Masterclass’. The only other option left is Live.

Not one for reading the handbook that comes with any games, it was good to see that the menu was user friendly and easy to navigate. Pick your driver and off you go for the start of the IndyCar Series 2005. First up is a “round the track” commentary, giving you a little bit of insight about the track, how steep the banks are, where most rookie drivers crash, those kinds of stats. In fact, it is just like a TV-style presentation with introductions supplied by ABC Sport broadcasters. (Have to take Codemasters word for it, as us Brits don’t get ABC). Listen carefully to the introduction, as it will help you when hurtling around the track at extreme speeds.

Just like the real Indy series, you can test your car around the track, get used to the layout and work out where to adjust your car for maximum performance. Of course you can skip the test and move straight onto qualifying and aim for pole position. Depending on the track you are racing on, the qualifying could be your best time over 2 or 3 laps. Of course, if you don’t want to aim for pole, you can always skip it and move straight onto the race. Before you start the series, you will have to decide how long you want each race to last, whether it will be 10 or 20 laps, quarter, half or a full race, bear in mind, a quarter is 50 laps. There are 16 races in a series competing over 15 tracks, Texas Speedway is raced on twice. The number of drivers competing in each race depends on the track (just like in the real series) and you can have up to 33 cars on the track simultaneously. The AI drivers are not just there for show as they try and defend their positions, slipstream to overtake other drivers and even make mistakes. Each race is totally different to the previous one.

So, that’s the series taken care of. What else is there to do? You could race LIVE or challenge yourself to learn the more advance features of racing in the “Masterclass”. Here you will be taught how to drive your car using manual gears, enriching your fuel for faster speeds, using down force and slipstreaming. Each stage is finished off with a challenge for you to complete and pass. A unique tutorial that presumes you have already raced before using the easy level.

After each race, you might pick up a trading card for completing a certain challenge, whether that is starting at pole, finishing in first place, to completing every race in the series. These trading cards are access via your profile and usually give you a brief glimpse into the history of IndyCar racing.

Graphics & Control:

Each track has been created to a very realistic level, in fact it is so realistic, that the IRL uses the tracks in this game to show viewers on their website what the tracks look like from a virtual point of view. There are several camera angles for the gamer to choose from when racing the high-speed banks of the oval track, from a far away angle to an in-car view. Even with these fast race speeds, the graphics are smooth with no glitches, allowing the gamer to truly enjoy the experience.

The controls have been defined using the two thumb sticks for direction and in-car maintenance, the triggers for accelerating and braking and the buttons for behind the look view and other features. Of course, if you don’t like the set-up, you can always choose to change it to a way that you feel more comfortable with. The game also has steering wheel support for third-party peripherals with in-game calibration.

Sound:

Most race games are more or less the same when it comes to sound except in this game, I noticed it more. The cars rev and the crowd cheer, like you would expect and even the commentary letting you know how far behind the leader you are, have been done with fantastic realism. The main sound that I noticed more was the background music. It is the first time for me in a racing title that I believe the background music really helps build up the atmosphere and adds more to the experience of the race.

Longevity:

With several levels of difficulty, trading card challenges to complete and the inclusion of Live, this game will last for as long as you want it to last or until the next big game comes out.

Round Up:

Overall this game looks good and plays very well on and offline. Well worth a purchase because it is very easy to play but will take a long time to master. Don’t take my word for it, hire it and find out for yourself.

Pros:

• Complete Indy series with 15 different tracks.
  
• Live Enabled with up to 12 players.
  
• Trading Card challenges.