esigned by: Wizard Works Group Published by: Inforgrames ESRB rating: E Platform: PC Players: 1 System Requirments: Pentium® II 266 with hardware acceleration or Pentium® II 300 without hardware acceleration Windows® 95/98 32MB RAM 60MB hard disk space 4X CD-ROM drive and mouse DirectX® 7.0 compatible sound and video cards (DirectX® included on CD) Steering wheel and pedals highly recommended Internet connection or LAN required for multi-player gaming Minimum modem speed of 28.8 required for Internet gaming Supports force feedback steering wheel and joystick 3D hardware acceleration highly recommended Da Introduction: You're coming around the final turn before you unleash the 820 hp you have hidden in your freakish looking little racecar. As you come up on the start line the green flag is waving. You cross the line and hammer down on the gas and you accelerate forward towards the first turn. Go easy now; you have lots of power under your control. Then you gently turn into the banked left turn on the short dirt track and… What the hell? Why am I doing doughnuts? Go straight. No over there, where everyone else is! Not at the wall! Wham. A voice comes over the speakers, " Crash in turn one, I think his racing day is over." This is the general outcome of most of the races in this strange world of Outlaw Sprint Cars. You are a driver of one of these small but really powerful go-cart-looking machines. They trace their roots back to the days when racing was nothing more than a bunch of hillbillies getting together on weekends, drinkin' some moonshine, chewing their tabbacy and racing these monsters around and around until somebody won or everyone died, which ever came first. Da Graphics: Da graphics are pretty good in this game. I was using the Direct 3D driver and it ran just fine. You can make out the people in the stands, the dirt being thrown around when you come into the corners and you can see the tires turn when watching the replays. There was no hesitation anywhere that I noted and all blended together very smoothly. With some games, when you are in the store looking at the box and checking out the screen shots, you always wonder whether or not the graphics are going to look true to what is depicted on the cover. But I'm telling you that what you see here is what you get. You have several different views when you are playing this game. Bumper cam is always exciting but when you get behind somebody all you see is dust and then a wall. You can get into the cockpit and watch your tach, which is quite accurate when you accelerate and decelerate. Peering through the roll bars that cover your car is an easy view but you still have the same problem if you get behind somebody. The view I used most of the time is the bird's eye. With this viewpoint you can see your car and those around you and you have a heads up on the next turn. Da Sound: There is nothing wrong with the sound in this game. Mainly because they're really is no sound other than the roar of the engine and the track PA system. I thought it was very odd (but kind of nice) that there was no music during the game play. I was expecting to be racing to dueling banjos or something along those lines, but except for the opening music I didn't hear any. It is a very nice change not to have any music, especially for car guys like myself who honestly think that the roar of an engine is music. The engine sounds are very realistic. After you crash a couple of times and your car isn't running at peak performance you can hear it in the pitch of the engine. The only complaint I have about the sound is when you crash your car it sounds more like somebody stepping on a coke can rather than the proper sound of hitting a wall at 100 mph. Da Gameplay: Well this game takes a little getting used to. The first time I played it I destroyed my car without making the backstretch. This also happened on the second, third and fourth time I tried. You have to be gentle when turning these beasts, because if you go a little over, you're doing doughnuts. Go a little under and off the edge of the track, you'll be saying hi to the wall. But it is like most racing games (and cars for that matter); you have to get to know it a little before you can go out and stomp on the gas and do what you want to do. The gameplay is pretty much the same as all the other racing games. From the menu you have the usual choices: Single Player, Multi Player, Career mode, Options ect. Nothing new and exciting here, but when you start a career you can select your car and option. Now you could spend all day in this mode tinkering and tuning your car. You literally have thousands of variables to choose from when putting together your machine. Everything from tire pressure, to brake strength, weight distribution, to wing position are here. And the cars are not the only items you can change. Track tackiness (wet or dry) can also be modified. Just find the line that is good for you and you're off to the races. Da Conclusion: This game is all right. Driving these weird little sprint cars is fun, even though it is easy to spin out in the beginning. With a little practice you too can be an outlaw. The graphics are really quite well done but the sound, even though it is realistic, is still lacking a little bit. I suggest you get some chew and have some shine, then have a seat at your computer and throw up some dirt. The Joystick is up. Graphics 8 Sounds 6.2 Gameplay 7 Tilt 6.7 Overall 7/10 Dirt Track Racing: Sprint Cars was reviewed by DA GAMEBOYZ contributer Josh Vickers.