From: kamartin@quads.uchicago.edu (Kai Anthony Martin)
Subject: REVIEW: Car & Driver
Followup-To: kamartin@midway.uchicago.edu
Summary: A review of Electronic Arts' latest driving simulation 
Reply-To: kamartin@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 22:19:30 GMT

              REVIEW: Car & Driver (Electronic Arts)

       			by Kai Martin


	Well, here it is.  Another driving simulation based upon driving the
most exotic and high-performance cars in the world.  This time it's Electronic
Arts' turn to take a crack at making a simulation worthy of the cars within
it.  Not only worthy of the cars within it, Car & Driver is also worthy of 
it's affiliation with Car & Driver magazine.  This program is the most 
realistic, gratifying, and complete of all the driving simulations I have 
encountered.  C&D let's one choose from ten different automobiles -- Ferrari
F40, Shelby Cobra, Porsche 959, Lamborghini Countache, Ferrari '57 Testarossa,
Toyota MR2, Eagle Talon, Corvette ZR1, Lotus Esprit Turbo, and even a 
Mercedes C11 IMSA race car.  There are ten different tracks to choose from,
as well -- Monterey Raceway, Dobbs Raceway, EA Speedway, New York Highway 1,
Arkansas Route 7, California Route 1, an Autocross course (driving through
all sorts of cones), a mall parking lot (San Dimas Mall), and a drag strip
(Mahomet Drag Strip).  There are actual articles from Car & Driver magazine
on each of the cars and tracks, which are pretty helpful (and look very nice,
too).  EA recommends at least a 386-16 to run C&D (I run it on a 386-33, with
most of the detail down, and it is bearable, but I wish I had something
faster).  IMHO, this beats every driving simulation I have ever played (which
is all of them, except for World Circuit (I have never played World Circuit)).

Presentation:

	When one first runs C&D they are greeted with a virtual issue of 
Car & Driver (cover, table of contents and all -- very nice graphics).
The table of contents serves as the main menu where one selects cars, tracks,
reads articles, or changes the setup of the game.  Car and track selections
from the last game are set, so if you have one particular car and track you're
working on, you don't have to select over again and again.  The cars and 
track both look very nice, and one is given several camera angles in which to
view them, along with instant replay of crashes and races.  C&D has support 
for Soundblaster, Adlib, and Roland sound cards, along with joystick, mouse,
and even footpedals for accelerator and brakes.  Overall, the game layout 
seemed to be very well thought out and implemented.

Driving:

	In the manual, it says that the game designers have gone to great 
lengths to simulate real-world physics.  The manual does not lie.  While
driving, it flashes on the screen if the car is in a front skid, rear skid,
or both (degree of severity denoted by upper and lower case letters).  Not
only does it flash upon the screen, but the car really feels like what it
says it's doing (which is a great accomplishment, IMHO).  Brakes feel
like they really lock up (especially in a turn), and skid recovery feels very 
natural. Each car behaves how it is described in the C&D articles, too, which 
I thought was another very cool thing.  One can race against up to three other
opponents, which can be any car.  The opponents are selected according to the 
4 best times list for the track.  For example, if the best times were posted
by an F40, Corvette, and 2 Lotus', that's what you'll race against (if you 
choose one of those 3 cars).  If a best time hasn't been posted by the 
particular car you're using, the game will take the best 3 times and use those
cars.  The cool thing about the computer opponent is that it won't necessarily
race the same way all the time.  The computer opponent in each car races how 
you did with that car to post the time it came in with, so essentially you're
racing against yourself.  Driving is very smooth with a joystick
(I'm using a CH Flightstick).  Driving mastery does not come easily (at least
for me).  I've been mostly using the Corvette on Dobbs raceway, and it is
very challenging to try to get the most out of a car on a particular track.
The mall parking lot is really fun to just skid around, do donuts, and crash
into things (I prefer the Cobra for this).  One has the option to drive
with or without the dashboard in view.  Another important feature that I really
like and feel adds to the realism is variable acceleration/brakes (at least
with the joystick).  This is much better than a lot of games which just have
gas on/off, brake on/off.  Overall, a highly enjoyable, and REAL-FEELING
simulation of the great art of driving fast.

Other features:

	The game is playable head-to-head via modem, null modem, or even over
a network.  I haven't tried any of these so I don't know how well they work.
For people who have any of the supported sound cards, there is an option to
turn on one of three radio stations.  Again, I haven't been able to try this 
out either, since I don't have a sound card.

Gripes:

	The only gripe I have is that when one "peels out" (signified by the
word "peel" or "PEEL" flashed on the screen, like the skidding), I'd like to
see an actual patch of black rubber there being layed.  Other than that, I
have nothing else to complain about regarding C&D.

EA seems to have done a very thorough job in creating C&D, but I have one
thing I think I would think would enhance the game if added:  the option
to use another joystick/foot pedal for a working clutch.

I obviously highly recommend this game.  I have no affiliation whatsoever
with Electronic Arts, either.

A driving enthusiast in search of the ultimate driving experience,

-Kai Martin (kamartin@midway.uchicago.edu)






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===============================================================================
                         Kai A. Martin, Esquire
            Undergraduate student, Mathematics & Computer Science