Review #527: Le Mans 24 Hours

 The game can last you over 24 hours. Have fun.

CAN A COVER BE ANY LAMER?!... It can. But it's still lame.

 I'm not the biggest racing game fan, as a matter of fact, I don't really like them. But when I play Racers I want them to be very arcade-ish, fast, frenetic and care free. Le Mans 24 Hours is the complete opposite of what I like, this is a simulator racing game that takes itself rather seriously.

 The game has a decent variety of modes. Quick Race, in which you race across any of the 12 tracks(Plus 3 unlockable reverse tracks, for a total of 15), Championship, in which you go through various tracks in succession, Multiplayer, self explanatory, Time Trials, in which you attempt to perform a lap around a track as fast as you can and.... Le Mans. Le Mans can be played in either Petit or Le Mans 2000 tracks, and these are endurance runs: Who can do the most laps under at time limit, usually 24 hours. That sounds nuts... but you can do it, if you wish, the game allows you to save whenever you enter a pit stop so that you can continue playing later on! That said, most people won't really care about it, so you can play Petit Le Mans under 10 minute, 30 minute, 100 minute or 10 hours limit and Le Mans 2000 under 10 minute, 24 minute, 240 minute or the full 24 hours if you wish it. Each category of Le Mans unlocks different cars, so if you're a completionist... well, this is gonna be one long ride.

Considering how old the game is, being originally a Dreamcast game, it looks relatively good.

 Luckily for players like me, the game offers various concessions to make your time easier. You can set transmission to automatic, so that the game automatically shifts gears for you... which also changes R1 into a secondary Gas button and L1 into a secondary break, which is rather comfortable. Furthermore, you can also make it so that the game automatically breaks when near curves, allowing you to take them much more easily. Finally, every single event can be played in Easy, Normal or Hard, and every difficulty has the same unlocks, so if you're not used to Simulators, or don't care about them like me, you can have a rather pleasant time with the game. And, hey, if you are into the nitty gritty of car racing, you can customize your car a bit, like which tires to use, how much fuel to have(Since it seems it slows down you car?) as well as other stuff that I'll admit I had no idea what they meant.

 My biggest issue with the game... is that it's rather dull and drab, at least for people like me. All 12 tracks are... boring, for lack of a better word, and it makes sense, since it aims to replicate real life tracks, which explains why there aren't grand vistas or whatever. And then come the Championships.... Tracks are rather long, and once you get on the last four championships you'll be doing at least 10 laps around the same course. I'll have my fill of every track after 3 laps, 10 is overkill. At least you can save after each race mid-championship, so if needed you can take a break. Also do keep in mind that you can't turn off tire wear or fuel consumption in this mode, so besides racing you'll also have to be ready to get into the Pit in order to refuel or change your tires, because maybe it started raining and you'll do better with tires fit for wet roads. If you love Simulators, there's a lot for you here. For me... there's only endless repetition. It doesn't help that there're very few music tracks in the game, and the game only loads ONE for every race, so if you go to a 24 hours Le Mans.... good luck.

Driving against other cars... doesn't feel very exciting.

 Something that irked me, because it's a pet peeve of mine, is that there's no car damage, so it doesn't matter how many things you collide against, you'll always be looking pristine. I also wasn't a fan of how colliding with walls felt, kinda like... it lacked impact and consequence, probably a byproduct of not having car damage. Smashing against cars feels very lame too.

 All things considered, I can tell that Le Mans 24 Hours is a well made game that has aged well, even if not perfectly. It's kinda neat how there a ton of different cars to unlock, so every time you break a time record, every time you finish a championship, every time you finish a Le Mans... you get new cars. It's very rewarding. Also, the music tracks, while few, are pretty rockin' and unless you're racing on 10+ laps races, they are a great companion to the gameplay. Overall? As someone who is not a fan of the genre... I approve of this game.
 7.0 out of 10