That's not much of a stretch since the scene in the movie plays out much like an arcade game anyway. Think of them as super souped-up chariots, except they fly about 4 feet off the ground at 600 mph. In Racer, the player can be one of 22 pilots, including hotshot Anakin Skywalker, the boy who grows up to be Darth Vader. Race on one of 21 courses on eight different planets. Players can win money and use that to upgrade their podracer or replace damaged parts.
Cars can only go so fast, but podracers scream by like bullets.
Fortunately, this game is up to the task with rich 3D backgrounds, and it does a good job of capturing the feel of the movie. The computer game requires a special 3D video card, and you do need a beefy machine to run it well. The Nintendo version captures the speed, but the resolution isn't as high as the PC version. Plus John Williams' stirring score. The controls are easy and there is enough variety to keep you coming back for more.