Game Description

CART World Series, endorsed by Championship Auto Racing Teams, is Sony's first attempt at the world of CART racing. With the official endorsing and license, the developers were able to include a lot of realistic elements from the racetrack into the game.

All of the top-rated CART drivers (circa 1996-1997) have been included and programmed to match their real-life abilities (based on a statistics standpoint). Al Unser Jr., Bobby Rahal, Gil de Ferran and many more are there to use or to race against. Each one has their own unique car, which can be tuned-up and modified any way you'd like

Modification comes in the way of tweaking a car's performance. If you know a lot about cars and how they handle, you can adjust their tires to fit the road (hard or soft) as well as modify their gear systems and aerodynamics. By moving the front of the car down or slanting the wings, you may be able to find a perfect combination for speed and performance. During races, a car's tire will wear down and it will eventually run out of fuel. Pit stops are necessary for a successful victory.

In addition to the real drivers and cars (Honda and Ford included), ten official CART tracks have been included -- each modeled after their real-life counterpart. Tracks span the United States and are located in Cleveland, Michigan, Long Beach and more. Each features realistic dynamics and road handling in an attempt to create a believable racing experience.

As far as gameplay goes, you've got the following options: Arcade, Simulation, Practice, Single Race, 10 Race Season. The season play is simply a series of races in which you must qualify and race for the cup and the arcade and simulation modes both keep track of individual racer statistics. If you're still getting used to an Analog Controller, you may want to make a few practice runs before starting a season.

Additionally, CART World Series supports two players via split-screen or a Link Cable. ~ Matthew House, All Game Guide

Roots & Influences

CART World Series is based on the racing leauge of the same name. Its cars are forumla based and the game takes all of its statistics and racing physics strait from the CART association. ~ Matthew House, All Game Guide

Review: Enjoyment

Because of the restrictive controls, CART World Series just isn't as fun as it could have been. Though it is a simulation, you can't powerslide, turn very well, slide out, get in high excitement collisions, etc. That's the stuff that great racing games are made of and it's lacking in this one. Fortunately, there is some pretty good AI and you'll find yourself in more than a few good races throughout your experience with this game. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide

Production Credits

Lead Programmer: Bill Todd

Programming: Jim Buck, Alan Shapiro

Lead Artist: Darrin Fuller

Artists: Barry Pringle, Thai Tran, Diane Covill, Kevin Toft, James Doyle

Additional Programming: Mark Lyons, Bob Gordon, Phil Weeks

Additional Art: Kevin Weinstein

Producer: Ken George

Assistant Producers: Robert Baumsteiger, Kolbe Lauchbaugh

Executive Producer: John Smedley

Senior Director, Product Marketing: Peter Dille

Senior Product Manager, Marketing: Craig Ostrander

Assistant Product Manager, Marketing: Allan Frankel

Sound and Music: Rex Baca, Chuck Carr

Public Relations: Helene Sheeler

Testing Managers: Charles Flock, Mark Pentek

Lead Tester: Andy Sites

Documentation and Layout: David Lovalvo

Special Thanks: Bob Hollander, Jonathan Frank, Kim Wolff, Kathy Quinn, Kaz Hirai, Andrew Zaffron, Paul Duffy, Lee Conners, Sonia Hofer-Fessele, Liz Klump, Andrew House, Jack Tretton, Kelly Flock, Chris Whaley, Jeff Fox, Louie Reyes, Dennis O'Malley, Frank O'Malley, Brian Dimick, Bob Gayman, Howard Liebeskind, Marilyn Weyant, Kim Hornecker, Nemer Velasquez, Jean Galli, Nikki McGrath, Kim Bardakian, Peggy Gallagher, David Greenspan, Kerry Hopkins, Jeff Hutchinson, Colin MacLean, Yvonne Smith, Terri Rago, Cindy McAndrew, P. Kevin Horn, Donald Vercelli, Beth Tigay, Phylicia Huntington, Christa Carter, Michelle Whitmer, Mimi Nguyen, Susan Nourai, Maggie Baquero, Shelley Ashitomi, Quinn Pham, Leslie Chen, Bruce Cochrane, Julie Klausner, Butch Winkle, Tim Cindric, Jim McGee, Don Lambert, Ian Brown, Tom German, Jason King, Cory Odenbrett, Jim Allen, Darren Crouser, Les Huntley, Tony VanDongen, Jay Garwood, Matt Huth, Ed Day, Gary Stanger, Rita Dawson, Don Oldenburg

Very Special Thanks: Bobby Rahal, Bryan Hurta, Scott Pruett, Greg Moore

CART World Series is dedicated to the memory of Daniel Hawkins ~ Matthew House, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

Circa 1997, the CART world of racing was starting to pick up and gain public interest. Because every other racing association has its own game, CART felt it needed one too. The result is CART World Series -- an average title that fails to generate a sense of fun or enjoyment. While its not a bad game -- technically, it's quite good -- it takes itself a bit too seriously and falters when compared to many other PlayStation racing titles.

One piece of evidence hampering the excitement factor is the limiting controls and gameplay. While this is supposed to be a simulation of sorts, the absence of powersliding is missed. Additionally, its almost impossible to get any air movement out of your car, flip it or get involved in a high-powered wreck. Your car is very hard to spin out and lose control of.

While this makes the game easier in certain regards, it makes taking corners hard -- you cannot turn your vehicle fast enough. Because of this and the inability to take dangers and risks in the field of spinning out, you'll often find yourself driving into a wall. The ability to powerslide would have helped greatly.

The developers paid a lot of attention to little details, both on the vehicles and textures. When you run into stuff, pieces of your car will fly off and it really looks neat. Sometimes your tires will bounce off, your hood, wings, etc. But for whatever reasons, pieces of your car will gradually re-appear. This looks pretty corny and your car never seems to get damaged.

In my opinion, every time you run into something, your car should take the damage and start controlling according to how much damage has been done. If you lose a tire or it goes flat, it should be really hard to steer your vehicle. If you damage your engine, it should start to smoke and begin to sputter out -- requiring work from the pit crew. Why go into detail with car damage if your car doesn't control like it's damaged?

Fortunately, the game is challenging (with a little help from the stiff controls) because of smart computer AI. Computer controlled racers seem to compete with each other in addition to competing with you; a big mistake with a lot of racers is the fact that your opponents race only you, rather than each other. You'll see them run into each other, run each other off the road and carry out some real aggressive maneuvers. They'll also ram you and slam on their brakes in case there's an accident. The artificial intelligence is very impressive and is one of the best systems I've seen in a racing game yet.

But when it comes down to it, CART World Series just doesn't have the enjoyment, excitement or the style of all the other racers out there. It's not a bad game, but hardcore racing fans may want to look elsewhere. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide

Review: Graphics

All the textures are nice looking and there's little bells and whistles like car parts and other debris flying around on the tracks. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide

Review: Sound

The typical high-energy techno soundtrack has been included, but fortunately, it's very good. All the other sounds, such as engines and scraping metal sound great. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide

Review: Replay Value

There are some various modes of play and lots of tracks that try to hold your attention. Unfortunately, you'll probably find yourself wanting to play something else rather than spending a lot of time with this game. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide

Review: Documentation

The manual goes over how to tune up your car, how to control it, etc. It's very informative and nicely done. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide