Jeff Gordon XS Racing

by American Softworks Corporation

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00001ZUIA
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: August 2, 2000
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,745 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Preview

Bang fenders with three-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon in ASC's futuristic new racing game, Jeff Gordon XS Racing. Rather than a true NASCAR simulation, which many initially expected it to be, the game is an imaginative forecast of the future of stock-car racing; ultra-aerodynamic cars travel at speeds in excess of 300 miles per hour, screaming through dangerous corkscrews and hurtling over towering jumps on the way to victory lane.

The game's branching, high-banked courses have more in common with slot-car tracks than the typical NASCAR oval. In addition to the aforementioned jumps and corkscrews, each of the game's eight tracks is filled with colored lighting effects and each is adorned with sharp-looking Gran Turismo-style environment mapping and spectral lights. There's plenty of track-side eye candy too, including famous monuments, neon signs, and roller coasters. Somewhat unusual for a racing game, all of the action in XS Racing takes place at night. According to the developers, this decision was made to show the game's advanced lighting effects to their best advantage.

In addition to acting as the game's codesigner and coproducer, Jeff Gordon also appears in the game. Initially acting as your mentor and driving instructor, Gordon eventually becomes your fiercest competitor. An avid gamer since the age of five, Gordon is taking a hands-on approach to the game's design. In addition to offering advice on track and car designs, Gordon plays every successive build of the game, offering expert advice on control and handling. The main thing Gordon hopes to convey is the sensation of speed and the rush of adrenaline you get when behind the wheel of a stock car. Accurate engine sounds, tire squeals, and track noise also have been added to enhance the illusion.

Jeff Gordon XS Racing's gameplay is highly arcade-like, favoring flat-out speed over technique. The game's cars are highly stable, allowing you to "bump and run" while jockeying for position, just like stock-car racers of today. On tracks with branching cloverleaf segments, you can opt to stick to the center oval or utilize the outer loops, which are longer but contain speed boosts. On particularly high jumps, your car's rear spoiler extends to become a makeshift wing, allowing you to log some serious flight time.

At this juncture in the game's development, XS Racing still has a few wrinkles in need of ironing out. Control is a bit stiff, and the sluggish frame rate, which seems to hover around 25 frames per second, could use a boost. As a point of comparison, Fox Interactive's recently released Motorhead, another futuristic racer, manages an impressive 60fps while racing in a four-car field (the frame rate drops to 30fps, however, if you opt to race against seven opponents).

Count on Jeff Gordon's considerable star power and name recognition to give XS Racing an added sales boost when it hits stores this fall. --Electronic Gaming Monthly
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