Le Mans 24 Hrs vs. F1 2002 vs. Nascar 2002 - for PC - Pros vs. Cons requested. (1 Viewer)

[Michael Frommer]

I need to buy a racing game for the PC that my 9 1/2 year old son can enjoy. Of course, I'll want to play it also.

The only ones that I found in the store that would be Win XP compatible are
- Le Mans 24 Hours
- F1 2002
- Nascar 2002

Has anyone played these games? Which one would you recommend? What are the pros vs. cons of the game?

My system:
Dell Dimension 8200
P4 1.8 gHz 512 mg RDRAM
80 Gig Maxtor ATA100 7200 rpm
Nvidia Geforce3 Ti200
Planar 17.4" TFT LCD DVI (1280 x 1024 x 32)
Windows XP Home

 

[Mike__D]

Mike,

I have 24 hours of LeMans for the Sega Dreamcast, and F1 2001 for Xbox. They are the same games, for the most part, as their PC versions.

I would say go for LeMans. It's a very enjoyable game for sure! The learning curve starts out much lower than F1. Also, there aren't as many tunning options for the cars in LeMans as in F1 (unless that changed in the PC version), so confusion should be minimal.

I've only played F1 on realistic settings, and it's very tough... LeMans doesn't get as tough until the later stages. Plus there are varied cars to choose from as opposed to just formula cars in F1.

One HUGE thing I liked about LeMans was you can save games during mid-race. Anytime you pitstop, it will ask if you want to save. F1 you can do that... maybe that has changed in 2002 version though? Also, you can do an actualy 24 hour race (or 6 or 12).

Research some of these facts first, if you are going to buy one based on any input I gave...

Hope this helps!

Mike D.

 

[Michael Frommer]

Mike_D,

In LeMans, when you do a 24 hour race, I expect that you just continue the same saved game until the 24 hours are expired and during that game time the scenes change between daylight and night-time, correct?

 

[Mike__D]

Yes, the day changes to night, and back to day. Weather effects also change if you enable them too.

The 6 & 12 hour races do they same, only they speed up time, and day/night changes quicker, your fuel consumption increases, as well as tire wear.

On any race you save, keep in mind that making an unscheduled pit stop will waste time, so try and save during a scheduled pit stop, or get yourself a huge lead (not tough if your skills are adept and you have a fast car) then pit.

 

[Michael Frommer]

Thanks, Mike_D, for your input.

Anyone else. I was really hoping for more comments. My son is asking every day, if I will be buying today?

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I thought I had heard once that the DC version of Le Mans is better than the PC version? That the PC version is not a direct port, that some things are notably different?

 

[Michael Frommer]

Michael St. Clair,

Excuse my ignorance, but was do you mean by "not a direct port"?