GameSpot editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
OK
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 11/03/1998
- Updated on: 05/02/2000
- Released on: 08/31/1998
- Originally published on GameSpot: NHRA Drag Racing (PC) Review
Until the release of Bethesda Softworks' Burnout last year, I had no idea just how challenging it can be to guide a car traveling in excess of 300mph down a quarter-mile track. Now Mind Magic Productions has entered the drag-racing fray with NHRA Drag Racing, and it too proves just how challenging something that seems so simple on the surface can really be - but in this case the challenge is getting the game to run in the first place.
The troubles begin during the installation process, where you're asked to choose between low-, medium-, or high-resolution textures (there's also an option for AGP textures). Unsure of which I should pick, I consulted the manual only to find it infuriatingly silent on the subject. Turns out that bit of info is in a HELP.TXT file that's only available after the installation process is finished (unless you have a Cab viewer, which I didn't).
After numerous video problems, I finally got the game running about three weeks after booting it up for the first time. The kicker is that once I finally got into the game, I found it really wasn't worth all the trouble. Yes, it's licensed by the NHRA, and it features 22 real-life events on 19 tracks against real-life drag-racing superstars like Cory McClenathan and Kenny Bernstein. It's also got better graphics than those in Burnout, at least when it comes to the cars themselves. But because NHRA Drag Racing only allows you to race nitro-burning dragsters (rails) or funny cars, the action gets repetitive almost as quickly as a qualifying run.
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