Reviews / previews
Taking a cue from Austin Powers, Papyrus zapped their NASCAR Racing engine with a time machine. The sleek body shells and high technology of racing in the 1990s step aside for the classic but still thunderous muscle cars of the 1970s. Despite the retroactive twists, the game obviously hails from the Papyrus NASCAR engine. Despite being a retread of an existing engine, the product is still outstanding.
There's not much else to say about the bulk of gameplay. You hop in a big beast of a car, you start the engine, and you race in circles. The vehicle physics are excellent as always, and the cars and tracks meticulously recreated. There's a definite difference in Legends driving versus driving in the earlier NASCAR titles. Maximum speeds are lower, the tracks are generally variations of an oval and far less twisting than some contemporary race arenas. This isn't a negative; while tracks look similar at first, each emphasizes an understanding of the subtleties in turn geometry and speed management.
The realist looking to succeed must master these nuances, because the opponents certainly have. The artificial intelligence continues to be very strong. Computer cars rarely make mistakes, know how to draft, when to show caution, and are aggressive in passing. They are sometimes a bit too aggressive, and in failing to respect the player position can cause some spectacular accidents.
Such accidents are impressive visual events with nice smoke trails that billow from burning rubber, and damage graphics like missing wheels, torn car bodies, and tire marks. Still, one sees some of the old engine limitations. The superb sound effects and crisp resolutions do a good job of emulating the elements of the NASCAR experience, but the graphics could still improve in delivering the sensation of high speed.
As with previous entries in the NASCAR Racing series, NASCAR Legends comes with nice extras to make it a complete program. The setup screens continue to improve and now feature useful conventions like drop-down lists, though users still can't just enter a number of laps for race duration. The vehicle paint kit is back, and easier to use than before, as are the car maintenance screens. The manual is thick with history and driving tips. Finally, there's multiplay support. Unfortunately, single player may prove the best bet. Online Legends play is slow and poorly served by a standard 28.8 connection.
There's nevertheless an undeniable quality in the overall craftsmanship of the game. We wished the price were closer to that of an expansion pack, but for the demanding racer looking for 1970s driving, there's nothing better.-- Bernard Dy / GamePro
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