Flag to Flag Cart Racing

by "Sega of America, Inc."

Product Details

• ASIN: B00000K4CE
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #27,854 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

Product Description

Product Description

Sega's Flag to Flag CART Racing brings the world's fastest closed-circuit auto racing to Sega Dreamcast. Fully licensed by CART and designed with the help of CART's champion "Team Rahal," Sega has created an accurate and realistic racing game for console gaming. Hold on tight as you race through 19 real-life tracks including superspeed ovals, street, and road courses. Choose from 27 official CART drivers from 17 different teams with authentic stats. The graphics engine creates exact replicas of both cars and courses down to the sponsor decals. Watch out for the variable weather and lighting. With multiple gameplay modes (from Arcade to Simulation), you'll be ready to burn rubber.

GameSpot Review

A surprising release in Japan shortly after the Dreamcast launch (considering C.A.R.T. racing is much more popular in America), Sega's CART Flag to Flag attempts to deliver the hands-on thrills of the sport in 128-bit power. While it's a quality effort, some glaring shortcomings and an overall lack of "oomph" relegate this game to "could've been better" status. Let us dissect.

Developed by Zoom - those wacky guys responsible for the Zero Divide series and the obscure import fighter Rurouni Kenshin - Flag to Flag is more of a filler title for the Dreamcast's American launch than anything else. This becomes even more obvious with games like Scud Racer and Daytona 2 brewing on the horizon. As far as value is concerned, Flag to Flag certainly fulfills its responsibilities by providing 19 tracks to race on (Gold Coast, Laguna Seca, Rio De Janeiro, Gateway International, etc.), all the professional teams you could want to play as (Al Unser Jr.'s team, Bobby Rahal's, and so on), and arcade and championship modes.

Arcade mode obviously brings a simple "slam the gas and pass" mentality to the game, while championship mode offers a more in-depth approach to C.A.R.T. racing. In championship mode, you can use a practice round to familiarize yourself with the upcoming track, tweak your car settings, participate in a qualifying session, and finally enter the race itself.

Car settings let you manipulate things like tire compounds, aerodynamics, fuel, suspension, gear ratio, and the transmission. Other options include weather settings, race length, car damage, corner signs, and full-course caution signs. Otherwise, everything here is basically straightforward.

This is, after all, a racing game.CART Flag to Flag's visuals are of consistently high quality, with two attractive "in-cockpit" perspectives to really give you the feeling of having your butt eight inches over the tarmac. In fact, one of those views even causes the "driver" to wipe the dirt from his visor on occasion. Track elements like dirt or sand will appear on your tires should you hit a shoulder or trackside, and the side-mounted rearview mirrors offer realistic reflections of the racers behind you. Unfortunately, of the 19 available tracks, none seems particularly different from each other, and everything seems to have a hazy, overcast feel to it. Some dramatic light sourcing could have helped matters, but everything seems a bit pale in general. The game runs at a smooth 30fps, which isn't bad considering the far line of sight you get with little draw-in and the large number of racers on track. The sounds seem to have been recorded from actual vehicles to enhance authenticity. Each car gives off a different rumble, and they all have a different feel when you are driving them.

The game is also compatible with Sega's racing wheel accessory, so armchair racers can really get into it. The problem, however, is the intrinsic nature of CART racing itself, which is mainly to drive around a large oval. Sure, tracks like Laguna Seca and Cleveland offer nasty corners and twists, but more often than not, it's big ovals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Set the game to a high number of laps and you may dive off the track in your sleep. If it weren't for the convincing sense of speed and the great in-cockpit view, this game might just be one of the blandest racing "experiences" of the generation. The Dreamcast equivalent of Sega's F1 Challenge for the Saturn, Flag to Flag fulfills all its obligations, yet never really goes beyond them. Aimed mainly at the C.A.R.T. fan, other Dreamcast owners waiting for a great racer would be better advised to look into Sega Rally 2. --James Mielke
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very fun, a good racing game, January 17, 2000

By A Customer

Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Sure, the game has its problems - that display in the cockpit always shows zeroes (not real information like other games). As well as the lack of a tachometer with numbers (you end up using your ears - still effective). But the game more than makes up for those problems. It has very good controls and a great deal of customizability (a VMU or other memory card is a must). Also the graphics are very good - high quality and very smooth. It has an excellent variety of tracks and drivers as well. Easily the best reality based racing game for a console that I have played. Definitely worth buying for anyone who wants realistic, open wheel racing without a PC.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A LOT OF FUN, October 18, 1999

By A Customer

Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This game was a lot of fun and especially if you're a CART fan. Not many CART games have been made at all so I was very excited to get this game. Many people don't appreciate this game as much because they are not true CART fans and do not have a favorite driver or a rival driver. The games graphics and sounds are amazing! The animation is great too! The only improving thing they could do for this is to make spin-outs and better AI. Your car seems to go faster than everyone else's. If you crash you should be out of the race. It should'nt be so easy to crash too! But overall this is a great game!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bad AI ruins this game, September 15, 1999

By A Customer

Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This game could have been great. All the tracks are fantastic, the graphics are great, the cockpit view is superb. So why only 2 stars? The computers AI is horrible. The cars take 1 or 2 paths around the track and rarely pass. Sounds realistic, right? Well, if the car in front stops, then all the cars will stop. Literally. Stop, dead in the track. I passed 22 cars at once because they were stopped going into 1st turn, backed up all the way down the straight. Also, there are no crashes, you just sort of bump off your opponent, bump off the wall. If you hit the grass, your speed instantly drops to 40 mph, no matter how fast you're going. You never spin out. This game could have been great, but the unrealistic (lack of) racing on the computer's part coupled with the silly physics of no crashes and no spinouts ruins this title for me. It is good for a rent, but I'd recommend not buying it.