What, this is not a racing sim? You mean you don't have a racing pod parked in your garage right now? Never flamed that idiot in the fast lane with your afterburners? Geez...we thought EVERYONE had one of these...

Be that as it may, if you've not seen the new Star Wars flick yet, do so, and you'll be treated to a fine onscreen performance (as George Lucas can do) of 600 mph pods strapped to two-jet engines for racing across the desert sands...something I think everyone would love to do...

Since this is more fun than some of the recent so-called sims that have come out, and easy to do, we thought we'd let you see a little bit on what it is to be a pod racer...

Installation was quite simple, as most Win95 apps are today, and within a few minutes I was in. My G-Force Pro yoke and Thrustmaster T1 pedals (with the adapter installed) were quickly recognized by the game and I configured them. You really can use one of the newer types of racing wheels, as with only 4 buttons on mine, there were plenty of options I couldn't attach to a controller button (make sure you get Boost, Nose Up and Nose Down...trust me, you'll need it later). Not to mention, Force Feedback, which I couldn't test. Sound and video configuration were again, very easy, and my Stealth II S220 easily handled the 3d graphics. This is a big sticking point with me, as if you are going to have a racing game that supports software accelleration, it needs to work. What's the point of supporting it if when someone uses it the framerate is so bad you can't do anything with it? But it works fine here...

On Track Well, here's where the fun begins...after drinking a few at the cantina at Mos Eisley and slapping off a few Jawas who were taking a liking to the nice new thermal ejectors on my pod, we hit the track. The jet engines revved up, and away we went! Talk about rush...pretty soon the pod was smoking up the track at 400+ mph. Waxed the leader in a few turns (that Sebulba is a whimp when the action gets going) we were now blasting down the narrow stretch between canyon walls at 500 mph. The jets were humming, and we were cruizing! Then as we came down out of the canyon to head out on the backstretch, I aimed the pod for the narrow opening...and SMACK! Turned into a grease spot right before my eyes! However, the Force felt that I had performed admirably, and within seconds, I was winging my way around the desert rocks headed back for the start/finish line. Two laps later, and I had smoked the competition with a first place finish!

The handling seems to be fairly realistic for a stock pod (yeah, I do have one in my garage, so THERE!) and the graphics are superb. You get to race quite a few more tracks than the one just named, and they are all different, fun, and challenging...plus with breathtaking scenery. You earn cash for each of your good finishes, and you get to open up more tracks if you place 4th or higher. With the cash you can go to the flying creature's junkyard (I forget his name, but if you've seen the movie, you know who I mean) and purchase new parts for your pod. And they work. After completing quite a few races and moving up, I soon earned enough credits to get alot of good aftermarket stuff from Pep Boys, and when I went back to Tatooine for a remach, I was dusting them even worse than the first time! The power was more, the accelleration greater, the traction and turning was faster...it was like running a bunch of Yugos against a Calloway Corvette...too bad, so sad, maybe next time. You can change the camera view while your racing, look back, arcade view, bumper (bumper?) cam, and in-pod.

Downfalls? Yeah, there are some problems with this one. First off, why no internet play? IPX network, and that's it I suppose that Kali and such will soon step up to the plate, but nowadays it's IP addresses, and they don't have it. As well, the AI of the adversaries in the beginning is abysimal. Once you get the hang of a pod, and figure out the track, the first 8 races or so are pretty much a walk in the park...you just blow by them. However, once you get to the invitational matches, the tracks grow harder, and the AI is much more competative...but look for your first races to be a piece of cake. And damage modeling is a bit off...I mean, when I slam into another pod in city traffic, I usually end up having to replace a few injectors and stuff...not here. Even a head on meeting with the canyon wall at 600 mph gets you a new pod and a restart where your demise was...although a few seconds later. And one last thing...all the pods are 'flown' by their own pilots...you can create your own pilot, but the pod seems to still be flown by somebody else even though you control it. Is this the 'owner' feature? And can we get a pod designer so you can make your own pods?

The sounds are pretty good...yet not quite right. The music score is quite good, it's the partial soundtrack to the movie. But the racing sounds, while some are quite accurate (sounds just like mine), the overall roar is not there...what you would expect from sitting behind two Pratt&Whitney F100 engines from an F15 Strike Eagle...shouldn't it be louder? Have some of that "raw power" aspect?

They have quite a selection of pods to choose from though, everything from huge-engined behemoths that take 2 starports to turn around but have enough power to hyperspace an Imperial Star Destroyer, to little screamers that can turn around a Bantha's behind...note this one (right) has a cigarette lighter installed, just hang it over the side. Don't leave it too long though...

And yes, what add-ons we should do...The Pits Racing Pod Championship (where we convert the tracks from ICR2 to Pod Racing), The Daytona 500 Pod Challenge (where you can torch Dale Earnhardt's car on the last lap of the Daytona 500), and even The Pits N@50 Pod Edition...where you can see if mating a set of Plymouth Superbird wings with your pod WILL really allow you to fly! Just joking, we're not doing this...and no, don't ask.

Well, I enjoyed this little diversion from the day to day tire temps, wing angles, qualifying and fastlaps of regular racing, just throw it in and go. No rating, as it's not your run-of-the-mill racing sim, nor does it compete against them. But if your in for a great afternoon of racing a "long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away", on strange worlds where you race side by side with creatures who look somewhat like the denizens of New York city streets at 3 AM in the morning, it's a blast! And throw me a wave if you see me catting down Interstate 10 in my pod, afterburners full on, curling the paint on the hood of the cars as I go by...