PlayStation 2, £34.99 Codemasters, ****
With so many racing games around, you could take one look at Indycar's ropey graphics and think "why bother". Certainly, this is no looker and probably only racing purists will get the most out of it, but for them, it is one of the finest.
The US model for high speed thrills differs significantly from Formula 1. Races are on giant oval tracks, where the key is not learning every turn, but perfecting your line through the bends and shaving fractions off your time per lap. And, because all the cars are identical, you usually find yourself in the middle of the field for up to 200 laps. So how do you make progress? In one of three ways.
The first is fine-tuning your car, with everything adjustable. The second is using the track efficiently, following the correct line to get maximum grip and knowing when to slipstream. Finally, there are high-speed crashes, where judging your line through the carnage is usually a better idea than flooring the pedal.
Play Indycar Series on "Easy" and you have an expensive game of dodgems. Crank up the difficulty, however, or delve under the bonnet, and a game of rare subtlety and longevity emerges.
