It's time to keep your cool! The multi-colored start lights, the "christmas tree," are blinking down to go status. Your adrenaline is pumping. No time to glance at your opponent in the lane next to yours. The finish line is a mere quarter or eighth of a mile away -- it's just you and machine against time. Now!
Whether you successfully get the jump or burnout is up to you in NIRA Intense Import Drag Racing from Bethesda Softworks. This drag racing simulation is designed for either single-person or multi-player action and contains a wide assortment of configurable options. Adjustments include level of realism, skill level of computer-controlled drivers (ranges from 50% (rookie) to 100% (pro) of a typical pro-level driver), number of racers, weather, parachute, damage and burnout/stage.
An additional nine options are available for tweaking graphics performance on your machine and six volume controls cover topics from engine noise to announcers. Customization of your dash allows for placement of up to 15 specialized gauges and represent adjustments along with half a dozen frame rate toggle features in personalizing the game to each player's desires. More than a dozen driver profile categories can be customized and are tracked during gameplay (e.g., best and average reaction times, wins, losses, statistics and more).
Detailed car modifications can be made in the areas of engine (12 specific items), transmission (4), wing, tires (10), suspension (7), telemetry adjustments (16), boost (4 types, each with individual parameters) and electronics. A fully integrated Paint Shop provides you the means to customize the appearance of your vehicles. The game includes 20 replicas of real life tracks in 16 states, with Texas and Florida represented by three each.
There are seven driving views available during each race. Single events consist of a series of elimination runs and come in two varieties: bracket (no ladders per se) and heads-up, with qualifying required to reach the final 16 who then compete in a ladder-format. Utilizing the seasonal format consists of a series of events with specific point awards unique to each event, affected by field size, number of rounds and position of finish.
NIRA Intense Import Drag Racing supports several input devices including joystick, keyboard and steering wheels. Whether you're using a pre-designed car or building your own, running a front-wheel, all-wheel or rear-wheel drive machine or simply enjoy the sensation and challenge of mastering speed in competition, slip behind the wheel and get ready to peel out -- it's all about making time!
Graphics & Sound:
NIRA Intense Import Drag Racing contains some nice cosmetic effects such as great particle, smoke, and damage effects, but overall lacks a good look. Seeing a car go to pieces just doesn't feel the same when the overall car designs are drab and cartoony. The backgrounds are repetitious (but it's drag racing, not science fiction) and the programmers did nothing to hide the flatness of the pitmen and the crowd (serious 2D here).
The sound, on the other hand, is quite well done and certainly does a great job of bringing realism to the races; great crashing and grinding effects and good engine noise and peel-out effects.
Gameplay:
Fairly straightforward here folks, literally. Import Drag is a pure drag racing simulation, yet on the level of import street cars, not your average dragsters. The cars handle well and the game designers were quite detailed in their endeavor to create an extremely true-to-life sim. You can warm your tires, wipe your brow, and wait for the green here. Although there is not a great sum of control to worry about, Intense Import makes up for it on how well you can customize your racer. The die hard racer will definitely appreciate the smoothness and realism in the control of the different cars along with the thought processes necessary to be a true champion.
Difficulty:
NIRA Intense Import Drag Racing lacks in this department. The game in and of itself is fairly simple. Short and to the point racing makes the learning curve seem more like a walk in the park. You can increase difficulty, but anyone who knows anything about cars can pretty much vamp their racer to a point where it is nearly impossible to lose, and the A.I. in some cases will overcompensate and give opposing cars attributes not capable by their customization. The overall difficulty of this game is achieved through the true racer's spirit to beat his or her own times, not necessarily worrying about beating a computerized opponent. So you can work with many combinations and see how each affects the outcome of your racing.
Game Mechanics:
No-brainer here. Simply get into the garage, get your car ready, heat those tires, and lay into the asphalt on the quarter. Full customization of your racer allows you to try numerous combinations of parts in order to see which give your specific car the best overall time and speed. You need lightning fast timing to predict the change from red to green to get the best jumps, and a stiff hand to avoid swerving into the crowds or into the other racer. Overall, NIRA Intense Import Drag Racing will certainly appeal to the die hard racing crowd, and that is exactly who the programmers wished to attract.
People who downloaded NIRA: Intense Import Drag Racing have also downloaded:
Burnout Championship Drag Racing, NHRA Drag Racing 2, Hot Rod: Garage to Glory, NASCAR Racing 2002 Season, Nitro Racers, Outlaw Racers, Sniper Elite, Gearhead Garage
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