There are tons of racing games available for the Playstation2, but none quite like World Of Outlaws Sprintcars 2002, which will henceforth be known in this review as Sprintcars. Developed by the uniquely named Ratbag and published by Infogrames, the game recreates the high speed and high risk sport of Sprintcar racing. It features single race, arcade and career modes as well as lots of DVD-style extras. Sprintcars is a solid game, but its tight focus and its very similar tracks will make the game dull for many.

Sprintcars is a solid looking game, but it has very little visual flair. The tracks, while realistic, mostly look the same, and the crowds are static and lifeless. The framerate is quick and remains consistent for the most part, the only exception being when too many cars are on screen at once.

The cars are nicely detailed and look very lifelike but they all look similar, which is due to them all looking the same in real life, but some variety is still missed. An interesting effect that the game employs to not only make things look more real, but too also make them more challenging is some good ol mud slinging. Not the kind of mud slinging that politicians use, but actual mud getting flung from the track onto your windshield, obscuring your vision. All in all its certainly not as pretty as Gran Turismo but its a nice looking game in its own right.

The audio in Sprintcars leaves a lot to be desired. The engines all have a healthy roar to them, and I assume they sound pretty realistic Ive never heard one in person before, so I can only assume. The rest of the game sounds pretty lousy. The crashes arent convincing, its almost impossible to hear the announcer in the background, and the menu music is generic rock crap. The good news is you can turn off all the bad stuff and crank your own music while the engines scream in the background.

Sprintcars has play modes that cater to someone looking for a quick couple of laps or anyone that wants to guide a driver through the ups and downs of a career. Theres also an arcade mode that offers a challenge somewhere in-between the two. The game starts with some difficult to navigate and poorly designed menus. There are far too many menus to go through just to race, and to make matters worse are the small type and confusing layouts of each screen. You get to pick from 24 of the least photogenic drivers on the face of the earth, but the good news is they are all official drivers at least I think its good news.

The bulk of the gameplay resides in the games career mode, where you guide a new driver through an entire racing season. Similar to Gran Turismo you can purchase different vehicles, upgrade them with new parts, and change vehicle settings as you see fit. As you progress and start to win races, you can find sponsors, who will get you more money, which of course makes it easier to win races.

A typical race takes place on a small oval dirt track with as many as 23 other people racing at the same time. The racing is fast and tightly contested due to the power of the machines and the tight quarters on which they race. The computer controlled cars are very tough and will do their best to disrupt your line, although it is difficult to tell if this is because they are smart, or just drones on the same racing line.

The controls are a little touchy, but in general they are good. The trademark crashes that you see on highlight shows are here, but small crashes and spinouts are much more prevalent. The game is forgiving if you get too far behind, allowing you to get back in the thick of things, but if you make too many mistakes youre never going to get up front. One particularly annoying thing about a race were the illegal laps that occur if you get too far into the infield when making a turn. Sometimes this was justified, but other times the track was so dark it was difficult to see the track, making the penalty feel pretty cheap.

Sprintcars isnt for everyone, but hardcore racers and fans of the series will be more than happy with the game. Its got some nice graphics and some deep gameplay, but the races are very repetitive, and theres not a whole lot of style to keep the game fresh.