Con oggi anche una delle serie americane più seguite, L'Indycar Racing League, ha il suo gioco. Infatti la Codemasters ha appena annunciato che Indycar Series è in arrivo nei negozi e presto sarà possibile acquistarlo presso i vostri rivenditori di fiducia:

Codemasters has announced that IndyCar Series, the official video game of the U.S.-based open-wheel Indy Racing League, has shipped for the PC CD-ROM with an MSRP of $29.99. The PC version includes direct input wheel support to give gamers the ultimate IndyCar Series racing experience. Now over 313 million IndyCar Series racing fans can capture the same invigorating, ultra-close pack racing at home on their computer.
IndyCar Series delivers gamers the entire Indy Racing League season, including the Indianapolis 500, known to many as "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing." Players can now put the pedal to the metal and steer their way to glory as they race full-force around the famous oval circuits, feeling the challenge of lightning-paced action, authentic and intuitive handling, spectacular collisions and a dynamically adjusted level of difficulty. Drafting is a key element to gameplay, just as it is an integral part of racing out on the actual pavement.

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"Playing the IndyCar Series video game has helped me keep sharp in between races," said Sam Hornish, Jr., the 2001 and 2002 Indy Racing League Champion. "Out on the track, every driver has their own racing style and characteristics, and Codemasters has done an amazing job in accurately reflecting that in the game."

IndyCar Series' complex AI system continues to intertwine the realism of the Indy Racing League with stimulating and exciting gameplay, allowing competing drivers to exhibit the same tactics as their real-life counterparts. The AI system also gauges the ability of the player and dynamically adjusts the level of the opposing drivers' skills accordingly. This creates a unique racing opportunity as AI drivers make strategic decisions, rather than follow a scripted path.

Avversari sotto pressione? Pare sia proprio questo il "motto" di questo nuovo titolo che la NAMCO sta preparando in versione console. Il gioco, che sarà il successore di Ridge Racer, porta con se un concetto nuovo di lotta contro l'AI. Infatti permette di mettere sotto pressione un altro pilota e di portarlo all'errore:

Racing Evolution aggiunge alla tradizionale dinamica della guida su circuito una funzione definita Pressure, in pratica la riproduzione delle lotte testa-a-testa tra piloti professionisti. Una barra visibile sull'auto del nostro rivale indicherà il suo stato di "nervosismo" alla guida, su cui potremo influire con alcune manovre rischiose (farsi vedere negli specchietti tentando il sorpasso, avvicinarsi a distanza limite). Quando la barra sarà completamente piena, l'avversario diventerà più suscettibile a commettere errori, facilitando i nostri attacchi. La pressione psicologica sul rivale potrà anche rivoltarsi contro di noi: se sbaglieremo un sorpasso, verrà aumentata la distanza tra le vetture e riempito nuovamente l'indicatore sull'auto del "nemico".

Per maggiori informazioni e screenshots navigate fino a questa pagina.

Il portale di SimHQ.com ha pubblicato la propria recensione del recente F1 Challenge '99-'02: correte a leggere le 5 pagine del completo articolo, di cui vi proponiamo un estratto conclusivo.

With F1C being the last in line for the F1 series, and while there is at least one other F1 sim in development, we're fortunate to see F1C arrive before the drought. The mods community is working away, and already a few significant mods have arrived.

La Valusoft ha rilasciato la versione Demo del nuovo Hot Rod: American Street Drag, col quale potrete provare questo titolo di guida abbastanza particolare: avete a disposizione un solo tracciato ed alcune vetture in modalità pratica. Se volete invece visionare degli screenshots in game dirigetevi a questo link.

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Anche il sito di Gamebiz ha pubblicato la propria recensione dell'ultimo F1 Challenge '99-'02: il simulatore EA Sports viene giudicato con un voto finale di 78%.

Practice is important and for the years of practice the real drivers put in to becoming a fully trained experienced driver then I guess us gamers owe it to ourselves to put in some serious practice into such games as F1 Challenge for fulfil its full potential. Skills are what are needed to be a great driver, and skill is what you need to master F1 Challenge. It's a solid racing title that you can't just pick up and play, which I think is a nice change to a genre that seems to be heading in that direction.