Start Your Engines
Digby on Video
By Digby

With the Pennsylvania 500 coming to Pocono Raceway this month, it's time for PSR to get behind the wheel. Let's take a look at the racing games that get our motors running. We'll start with big name simulator Gran Turismo.

In its fourth incarnation, GT4 blows you away. The sheer depth is astounding and although it's not without flaws, Gran Turismo 4 represents the very pinnacle of visual excellence and racing gameplay. Featuring over 700 cars and more than 50 tracks, there is nothing else that matches these four wheels of fury. The game features two modes - Arcade & Simulator.

Arcade: get in and go with a limited number of cars and tracks. Simulator: as you play, more cars and tracks are unlocked for both modes. Mind you, it'll take hundreds of hours racing.

You can tweak your car out in every way you've ever imagined. Colors, tires, gear ratio, ripping out seats, trimming weight - if you can do it in our world you can do it in GT4. The tracks and cars are real, and both modes feature off-road sections. The nicest thing about this game is how unbelievably realistic it is.

On the downside, they haven't updated the "cheats." Going too fast into a hairpin turn? No worries; simply sling-smack your car off the side barriers and suffer little-to-no major penalties. Want to take the lead? Treat the computer cars like bumper cars and bash through a turn. With no car damage, you can drive like a maniac. The last darn-it - no online play.

This game is only available for the PS2 at $49.99. If you're not a PS2 owner you can get a very similar experience with Forza Motorsport for the Xbox at the same price. Forza features up to eight player online racing through Xbox Live.

Next we head to EA Sports & Tiburon's latest, NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup. It is bar-none the top NASCAR racer on shelves. NASCAR '05 features siding with "good" or "evil" racers, a roster of 60 real drivers, online support, car customization, custom soundtrack support and more.

The variety of game modes is the best thing about NASCAR 2005. The flagship Chase to the Cup mode puts you through 10 races, similar to the Nextel Cup series. Then there's the Craftsman Truck Series, the Featherlite Modified Series, and the NASCAR Nationals. My favorite mode is Flight to the Top where you create your own racer. You begin by racing a NASCAR star on a street course. When you beat him, he's so impressed he refers you to his agent, who gets you into your first racing series. Keep winning and earning sponsors, and watch the cash flow in. You can also unlock lots of special items and modes, which will keep you glued till the next edition comes out. Anyone can play and win some races, but if you take the time to ride the learning curve you'll deal with drifting, developing rivalries, realistic crash situations, drafting, tire wear, and more.

The graphics are almost perfect. The only issue I found was the "jaggies," those little rough edges that have plagued so many next-gen PS2 games. The problem is visible on all three editions. The audio falters a bit due to the lack of a good color announcer to keep things moving during the races. Weird, since there is one in every other EA game.

NASCAR 2005 is available for the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube at 29.99. The next incarnation, NASCSR 2006: Total Team Control, hits stores August 31.