CART Racing is certainly not the most exciting of sports to watch on TV. Seeing cars go round and round a boring looking track, just doesn't do it for me. Unfortunately, despite some high octane racing action, the same can be said for Flag to Flag for the Dreamcast.
The visuals are nice, the engines sound fantastic, and the game moves at breakneck speed, but I just couldn't find myself getting into the game. Flag to Flag may look like some sort of PC style CART sim, but it most definitely is not. The game is Arcade-like through and through. Sure you can adjust and tweak your car, practice in qualifying races, and stop for pit stops, but do not be fooled, this is no open wheeled racing sim. If it were, the instant you rubbed wheels with an opponent (which happens very frequently), the whole pack of vehicles would pile up, and the race would be over. In Flag to Flag, you can bump, push and crash to your heart's content, and rarely ever suffer a spinout. Arcade sytle racing is good in my opinion, though a serious looking game such as this, is usually expected to contain a proper amount of simulation element.
Flag to Flag contains two play modes; Arcade and Championship. Arcade Mode is more or less your obligatory choose a car, transmission, course type of deal. Championship allows you to compete in one racing season (19 rounds), all whilst collecting points and tweaking your car. Fans of the real thing should be more than happy with being able to take their favorite CART personality through an entire season. Flag to Flag does feature real tracks, most of your favorite licensed CART drivers, as well as authentic paint jobs. So, it should get a few extra points for that.
The one problem the Japanese verion had, was really, really dumb AI drivers. Cars would just stop right in the middle of the track for no apparent reason. That problem seems to have been totally fixed, and the enemy drivers do put up a nice fight. It isn't frustratingly difficult, it is just about right.
The tracks range from a road course such as Laguna Seca to a plain old oval, as seen in Miami. While the tracks may be located in exotic locales, the tracksides are just boringly realistic looking. Ever see a real CART race? If so, then you would know there are no fancy amusement park rides along the trackside or strategically placed objects on the track. Sometimes, real life is just, well, boring.
While fans of the real thing may find Flag to Flag and it's Championship Mode to be a lot of (arcade-like) fun, but casual racing game fans may lose interest. If you need a racing game fix, I suggest waiting just a bit longer and pick up Sega Rally 2 when it hits store shelves.
-- Jim Cordeira
