Jarrett and Labonte Stock Car Racing (PlayStation)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 8.9 (4.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Ryan Donald
• Reviewed on: 10/09/2000
• Updated on: 10/13/2000
• Released on: 10/03/2000
• Originally published on GameSpot: Jarrett and Labonte Stock Car Racing (PlayStation) Review

For those familiar with NASCAR, a video game with a title like Jarrett and Labonte Stock Car Racing is sure to spring to mind thoughts of oval racing on a hot summer's day, where Jason Jarrett and Juston Labonte are neck and neck to the finish line of the Daytona 500. This is, however, not the case - in fact, Jarrett and Labonte Stock Car Racing has nothing to do with NASCAR nor with Jason Jarrett and Juston Labonte, but it is nevertheless a rather surprisingly in-depth, realistic racer that video game racing fans should definitely check out.

The game is, in fact, the unofficial third installment to the TOCA series, which, while mildly popular, didn't have enough depth when it was stacked up against the likes of Gran Turismo. This year, however, Jarrett and Labonte Stock Racing has taken the TOCA engine to a whole new level with a tweaked physics model and more features, cars, and tracks than before. In all, the game offers 42 cars, including models from well-known manufacturers such as Ford, Dodge, BMW, Lexus, and Chrysler. You can race across the world on 23 real-world tracks including Laguna Seca, Suzuka, and Hockenhiemring. The tracks have been painstakingly re-created through various methods: The developers took countless photos, tons of video, and even used helicopters and laser scans of each track to ensure that the details of each track in the game were as exact as possible.

The gameplay has an ultrarealistic feel to it, thanks to an accurate physics model that not only shows the car lean from the stress of a turn, but also totally lets you stay in control with tight responsive controls. The cars all react realistically to collisions, turns, and even damage. If you slam the front end of your car into a wall or an unfortunate opponent, your bumper is likely to fall off, and if it's a serious collision, you may cause an engine fire. The damage your car takes actually affects how it handles, which means that sometimes your car will pull to the left or right, forcing you to compensate.

Continue reading