Indycar Series 2005 (Xbox)

Then again, possibly it might. You see, ICS 2005 is a draining, thrilling and intense experience. Yes - the only time you turn right will be exiting the pit lane. This soon becomes something to put into the back of your mind however, when you suddenly realise that you are racing a gaggle of cars at over 220mph. The AI on display here is fabulous, and you really have to keep your wits about yourself if you are going to make it to the finishing flag in one piece. The cars themselves handle well, and you really get a sense of their weight which makes a nice change from the series of feather-light arcade-esque F1 cars that console F1 games often throw up.

Another myth that the game does help to quash is that all ovals are the same. The tracks on offer here are each circuit that was used in the 2003 IRL season (as are the drivers and teams). Take your IndyCar to, say, Texas, and you will be treated to 230mph slipstreaming racing. Go to Richmond, however, and you'll find yourself at a bullring where you have to fight tooth and nail for as much track as you can grab off your opponents. Each circuit has it's unique properties, and each will throw up a good challenge.

Talking of challenges, the Masterclass mode returns and is narrated by our very own IRL race winner Dan Wheldon of Andretti Green Racing. While Dan does sound like he is at times reading straight off a sheet of paper in front of him, what he will impart to you will no doubt help you in your quest to fight with the Hornishes, Dixons and Sheckters of the IRL world. Another thing to return is the card system - completing certain tasks will unlock cards which contain rewards, be they video clips, car colours or helmet schemes. The car colours are much better this year - they actually have sponsors and look like proper cars as opposed to the original title's somewhat sparse efforts.

Graphically the game hardly pulls up trees, but it suffices and it runs smoothly (something that unfortunately the PS2 version cannot boast). Another advantage to the Xbox version of the game is that the controller really suits the smooth nature of IndyCar racing. Sound wise the cars still sound a little weak, and the other main negative for me is that the cartoon-esque crashes still remain. Ever seen 4 IndyCars fly 30 foot into the air and land on their wheels and drive off? I hadn't until this morning! Given that original developers Brain In A Jar didn't work on this title, you might have assumed that Codemasters could have sorted it out (it is one of the most complained about aspects of the original title), but perhaps next time. Another thing that needs to be addressed is the replay mode - the TV camera is once again rather useless and not anywhere near TV-like in presentation, and the length of the replays are still rather short (about 2 minutes).

So, if you love IndyCar Racing, you'll enjoy this title. If you are not sure, give it a go. It certainly is one game you can't just casually dip into, but give it some time and you might have found yourself a new sport to indulge in on Sunday afternoons.

As an asside - Codemasters have dedicated the game to the memory of the late Tony Renna, who perished whilst testing at Indianapolis last November. This is a nice touch to remember one of the nicest and fastest guys in racing who was lost to the racing community just as he was set to take advantage of his first ever big break. May he rest in peace.

There is no other racing game as tense and exciting as this one when it comes to sheer, flat out speed. Racing inches away from other cars at 200+ MPH is an absolutely stunning experience. It takes a bit of practise to not end up in the wall but its well worth the time. I have many racing games on the Xbox and none come close to this in terms of wheel to wheel racing.