LE MANS 24 HOURS is based on the very popular road racing circuit, allowing you to experience some of the worlds fastest cars on some of the worlds most demanding tracks. LMP, LMPTR, GTS, GTR, and GT2 classes are all covered in this game (for those who are new to road racing, let me put it this way, Open cockpit prototypes, closed cockpit prototypes, and GT, which are usually production models such as the Porsche 911 or Dodge Viper).

This game puts you in the cockpit of these cars on real life tracks such as Donington National (one of my favorites), Road Atlanta, Catalunya, and many others. The track details are pretty amazing and includes the off-camber turns before dropping onto the front straights at Road Atlanta. This is a conversion game coming to your PC from the original PS/2 format.

The game does show its console roots, it loads like a console game and the interface screens are all console type fare. The graphics are also console quality, not the best when compared to current PC game graphics available, but good enough to make the game enjoyable. The sounds suffer the same fate, console quality, but then it is a console game and if you face it off against other console games then the graphics and sounds would seem to be pretty good. Don't let all this talk of console quality put you off, this game is a very solid performer, and I for one would rather have a great game engine that performs flawlessly than to have all the flashy graphics and sounds with an engine that hangs, clips, stutters, or otherwise fails to deliver the goods.

Racing action is supplied through two forms, the quick race (which is just that, a short race on the track of your choice) or through racing a Championship (which is a series of races on selected tracks, win a championship and new cars are added to the stable). The options screen will allow you to set the graphics display, sound, race type, controller set up (keyboard, joystick, and wheel are all supported), and camera view. There is also a workshop to set up your car but the options are limited to tire type, gearbox type (manual or automatic), downforce, fuel, engine type, and gear ratio. This is all pretty standard fare as far as racing games go and is all laid out in a very easy to use interface.

I found the racing action to be good and very competitive although the brakes and steering were a bit twitchy at first but after a few laps you get a feel for the car and it isn't so bad. Concentration is critical as in all racing games, a small twitch at the wrong time will send you into the wall. The only real criticisms I have are that the game lacks damage, and has no viable PC multiplayer support. First the damage, you can smack the wall or another car and drive away as if nothing had happened, no change to the cars handling or appearance, not very realistic. Second the Multiplayer support, the only multiplayer available is split screen (again a console trait), no online or LAN connections, which makes the game a single player only type of game.

All things considered, this game is a very solid performer that should provide the race fan many hours of racing action. Ovaldog has to give it a thumbs up.

Gameplay: 7.5
This game has a solid game engine that performs well. Standard racing format, limited options, and easy interface gets you to racing quickly. Racing action is straight forward, quick race, or championship modes. Win some races and new tracks are unlocked as well as new cars being added to your stable. Really wish damage had been added to make the game more realistic.

Graphics: 7
This is a conversion game, coming from the original PS/2 format, and it does show in the graphics. While not the best graphics I have seen, they are far from the worst. Good track details from the in car view make it enjoyable and realistic enough to drive for hours.

Sounds: 6.8
Again the console roots show through and the sounds are probably the weakest part of this game. I found the music to be OK but the car sounds are thin and unrealistic.

Difficulty: Easy to Medium
Standard difficulty settings are Amateur, Intermediate, and Expert. Depending on your experience, skill, and game setting, the racing can be as easy or challenging as you want it to be.

Concept: 6
Nothing really new or overly exciting to the concept of this game. It is the same standard racing format that is found in hundreds of other games. The LE MANS feature is about the only thing that is really different, but the game still is a strong performer in it's genre.

Multiplayer: 5.5
Sorry but I really hate split screen racing, it's never very good even on the console and as far as I am concerned has no place in a PC game, would rather have had a LAN or online Internet connection to other players.

Overall: 7.5
This game isn't flashy, no stellar graphics to oooooh and aaaaah over, no damage (which would have made the game much more realistic), and sounds that could use some work......BUT, it is a good racing game with a strong and reliable game engine that works very well and makes up for the other short comings. When I first loaded it up, saw the graphics and heard the sounds, I was initially disappointed. But as I got into the game and drove some of the tracks and tried some of the cars, it became apparent that the game wasn't bad at all, in fact I really did enjoy it. Racing fans won't be disappointed, and should get many hours of good racing action out of this game.