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Indianapolis 500 Legends
Author: Andrew Eder

Indianapolis 500 Legends, developed by Torus Games and published by Destineer for Wii, is a racing title focusing on the history of the Indianapolis 500 between 1961 and 1971. Players can get behind the wheel as one of three different racing "legends" from each of the eleven years.

Those years brought about different racing car styles as a result of continued experimentation aimed at improving the aerodynamics of the cars. Many different chassis and engine designs were born from those experiments, which in turn resulted in the introduction of the spoiler. As players race through the later years, the cars become faster (eventually incorporating turbine engines) while the game's A.I. becomes more aggressive. The race course from each year is also accurately modeled after the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with detailed changes from each year reflected in the game.

The game is controlled by holding the Wii Remote sideways and tilting it from side to side to conduct turns around the track. Acceleration is assigned to the 2 button and braking is set to 1, while the camera is controlled with the D-pad (up to cycle through camera positions and the other three directions to temporarily rotate your viewpoint). If you draft behind someone at the right angle, pushing the B trigger will propel you ahead into the next position.

The controls are extremely sensitive, perhaps too much so; learning to handle the car correctly around the turns takes a few minutes of adjustment. The cars feel as if they have some weight to them, and taking a corner too fast will create skid marks along the track. Collision detection seemed buggy, however - at one point the car's tires intersected another car that was driving to the side.

Players can achieve glory in a classic race mode, or tackle a series of missions with specific objectives both on and off the track. Some missions are as short as 30 seconds while others may take as long as 10 minutes. For example, one particular mission involved pulling into the pit stop before your gas ran out (as indicated by an on-screen chalkboard with writing on it, which is the way communication was done between the pit crew and driver at the time), then completing a series of quick mini-games to fuel your car up again and replace two of the tires. These were completed by using the Wii Remote as a pointer and fulfilling specific gestures based on the task at hand.

To illustrate, refueling the car started with rotating the gas cap off and moving it to the side, then holding the pointer steady in the center while the fuel gauge filled up. Missing the center target too much results in the car catching on fire, which players have to put out and subsequently sacrifice valuable seconds in the race. The mini-games - based on the actual tire mounting and fueling systems of the time - were quick and frantic, disrupting the flow of racing. However, Destineer noted that they are currently the least polished part of the game and require more tweaking before the final build.

Although unavailable in the demo, Destineer confirmed extra content in the form of unlockable videos and photographs taken from historical archives based on that racing era, as well as additional drivers and vehicles. It was also noted that players can compete in a full 200-lap race should they so choose. Races of this size can take up to three hours to complete, but a checkpoint-based save system will be included so that players can resume the race at a later time.

Destineer and Torus Games have invested much time and effort into the authenticity of Indianapolis 500 Legends, but it's unclear who the game will appeal to. While the release is still a few months away, no amount of polish will change what this game is - a historical racer. For fans of the Indianapolis 500, the historical accuracy could easily place this title atop their list of favorites. For other players, though, a single track and the lack of modern-day super cars may serve as a turn-off.

Overall, the game shows a lot of potential, with spectacular attention to detail in the history of the Indianapolis 500 and the racing legends who made the event famous, but we will need to wait a few more months to see how the final version turns out.

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