Part Four

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Racing Games

Also from Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Porsche Challenge and CART World Series are racing cars simulation that will be available exclusively for the PlayStation, and support analog controllers. This August 1997, Porsche Challenge will put you in the seat of a Porsche Boxster with an arcade racing game featuring the latest technologies. Real-time lighting, motion captured drivers, interactive courses, two-player split screen and an accurate model for the cars designed with Porsche are some of the features that will make this game a true classic. CART World Series will combine realistic graphics and challenging game play, and provide players with one of the most realistic racing game ever to land on the PlayStation. Top racing teams such as Penske and Team Rahal with their top drivers including Al Junser Jr. and Michael Andretti, as well as ten tracks of the CART World Series will ensure players of an authentic racing simulation. Scheduled for November 1997.

Indy and Stock car racing fans will be enthusiastic this fall with the PC version of Andretti Racing. Offering 16 different courses, of which four of them are officially licensed Street and Oval tracks, multiplayer support through modem connection and LAN networks, stunning 3D graphics and dynamic animations, Andretti Racing is one of the best looking racing games ever. With its support for 3Dfx, Rendition and PowerVR 3D chips, Andretti Racing will deliver sharp mouth-watering graphics that will be served with realistic car handling and a set of features such as picture-in-picture for monitoring trailing cars in the rear view mirror, three different camera angles, real sounds recorded on circuits, and more! The game will be released by EA Sports this fall.

At E3, Electronic Arts announced that the company had acquired the interactive rights to NASCAR and that their first game to use this license would be released on PlayStation and Saturn in the fall of 1997. NASCAR 98 will not only feature 17 tracks with many of them licensed races/tracks from NASCAR's premier division, but also in-game commentaries voiced by Bob Jenkins, real engine, pit and crowd sounds, and a choice of up to 24 drivers and cars. Options such as two-player split screen for head-to-head racing, fog weather setting, and numerous car parameters such as tire pressure, wedge and down force are some of the exciting features also included in the game. NASCAR 98's realism looks great with skid marks for all four tires with different looks depending the surface, and a new artificial intelligence that has the same characteristics as real life drivers.

Following the futuristic racing car simulation POD released a few months ago, Ubi Soft will publish two more racing games this fall, one for the PC, and the other for the Nintendo 64. Bearing the full 1996 FOCA license, F1 Racing Simulation will bring the 22 authentic Formula 1 drivers from the 1996 season plus 16 Formula 1 World Championships tracks including Monaco, Spain, Canada and Germany. Multiplayer support will allow gamers to challenge their friends via split screen for two persons, or a network for two to eight players. Developed with Formula 1 engineers at Renault, F1 Racing Simulation features an ultra-realistic game play that allows cars to be damaged during the race and handle accordingly. Furthermore, weather conditions will also affect the driving conditions. Note that the game will require a 3D card accelerator. The Nintendo 64 title, F1 Pole Position 64 also based on the 1996 FOCA license will add eight fictional drivers for role-playing fun to the 22 from the PC game. The game will offer an easy introduction for novice players, but can be customized through a full range of options to suit racing veterans' expectations. Additionally, F1 Pole Position 64 will feature stunning 3D texture-mapped graphics, realistic sound effects and wireless pit communication capabilities.

VMX Racing, published by Playmates Interactive Entertainment, is the first moto-cross racing game on the PlayStation. VMX Racing allows two players to play head-to-head with four different viewing angles, includes eight courses designed for big thrills, and deliver fast realistic 3D rendered graphics. To improve their driving skills, players can replay their race with more than 30 camera angles that will help them to learn from their errors. And for those not afraid of the risks, bonus challenges will await the most experienced players should they be able to perform mid-air tricks. Available in August 1997.

With Test Drive 4, Accolade will put players behind the wheel of the 10 hottest cars from the present and past such as the 1998 Dodge Viper GTS, 1998 TVR Cerbera, 1967 Shelby Cobra and 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle 454 SS LS-6. In a race across the world that will take players on a journey through the streets of San Francisco and Washington D.C. to the vistas of the Italian Alps and Japanese landscapes, players will enjoy a fantastic looking racing game with jaw-breaking 3D graphics. To top this, the driving environment will be complete with traffic, police chases and even pedestrians. Although the game will be available on both, PC and PlayStation, it is the PC version that is by far the most visually striking. However, you will need a 3D accelerator card to play with the game, but the results are simply breath-taking and worth well the buy of such a card. Both versions will feature multi-player capabilities. The PlayStation version will allow several simultaneous players through the Link cable, while the PC version will support up to eight players via LAN networks, and two players with serial cable and modem. Test Drive 4 will be available this holiday season.

Last updated July 29th

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