Visually, Indy Car Series isn't going to win any awards for best graphical achievement, as the game just looks really dated. I'm talking 1st generation here folks. Now given the fact that the game is blistering fast, and has 33 cars on a track without a hiccup is impressive in itself, but the jaggies, low texture quality, and little damage effects hamper the overall presentation. It takes one monster of a pileup for you to really take notice to this otherwise poor looking title. Even the front end is rather bland. If you compare this game not only to other racers out there, but also even to the Monaco series on the Dreamcast, this game just does little to spark an interest visually.

The audio has better going for it than bad. The bad comes from your selection screens, which have almost a Windows 95 theme to it. Instead of your normal click sounds when selecting, you are treated to annoying dings and pop up noises. Thankfully once in game, the sounds take a turn for the better. The game does offer a nice variety of vehicle engines, skids, and damage effects. The sound of real Indy Car racing is noticeable, especially in true DTS sound. With your sound system booming, your neighbors may actually think they live next to an Indy Car racing arena. Well maybe not…but it sure is damn close. Also highlighting the details of each track is a synopsis that is read to you with quality voice-overs. Detailing each turn, the history, and former champions of each track is a nice touch for Indy Car buffs. Lastly, the game does offer in game mus, but it's too laughable to talk about it seriously. Just turn it off and you'll be doing yourself a big favor.

Indy Car Series handles very well. In fact, almost too well as the controls seem to be a bit tight for it's own good. It actually takes more skill to purposely try and wreck than you will actually do so in a race. Steering is responsive, but even turning at the fullest extent won't leave you creaming into a wall. The A.I. is very good, even on the simplest difficulty settings. What really hurts is the physics in this game. While Codemasters screams realistic physics, my question is where is the damage? Why do I go bouncing around the track like a racquetball instead of being obliterated when colliding with another car? I'm thinking that the developers wanted to focus more on the rules of the game than the actual physicality that can occur. Realism? No. True to life rules and idea? Yes. Not that I'm a masochist, but crashes are a reality in racing, lets give the player a reason NOT to crash instead of getting away with poor decisions.

With all the speed and excitement of racing, you must expect a ton of options. You get that here and then some. Quick race, Multiplayer, Indy Car series, and even hitting the big show, the Indy 500 are just a few of the great modes. One thing that newbies can look forward to is a training system that pits you in various racing positions to teach you the way to racing an Indy car. While the game doesn't offer any Internet racing, the split screen is a joy to play with a friend. The full season is fairly deep, but doesn't offer the option to create a driver to compete in this event at the start, as you must unlock this feature. Unforgivable if you ask me. You can even tinker with a few car options, but doesn't go nearly as deep as one would hope. Otherwise, Indy car fans should have plenty to do and race for a good long time.

If you are in need of an Indy Car racing game, then this title should help for hours of top-notch racing. For everyone else, there are more racers on the market that do more, look better, and have more realism for your buck. I just can't recommend this for anyone but Indy Car fans, and even then it's a stretch.