''IndyCar Racing II'' is a

racing game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a motor racing, racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more re ...

developed by

Papyrus Design Group Papyrus Design Group, Inc. was a computer game developer founded in 1987 by David Kaemmer and CEO Omar Khudari. Based in Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown, Massachusetts, it is best known for its series of realistic sim racing games based on th ...

. It is the sequel to

IndyCar Racing ''IndyCar Racing'' is a racing video game by Papyrus Design Group released in 1993. Papyrus, consisting of David Kaemmer and Omar Khudari, previously developed '' Indianapolis 500: The Simulation'', released in 1989. The game was intended as a ...

, and was released in 1995 for the

DOS DOS (, ) is a family of disk-based operating systems for IBM PC compatible computers. The DOS family primarily consists of IBM PC DOS and a rebranded version, Microsoft's MS-DOS, both of which were introduced in 1981. Later compatible syste ...

Mac OS Mac operating systems were developed by Apple Inc. in a succession of two major series. In 1984, Apple debuted the operating system that is now known as the classic Mac OS with its release of the original Macintosh System Software. The system ...

and

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

. A little over a year later, the game was re-released, with a few minor upgrades, under the title CART Racing. The name change came about as a result of the

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

series losing licensing rights to the name ''IndyCar'', after the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

and

IRL IRL may refer to: Arts and media * ''IRL'' (2013 film), a Swedish drama film about a high school student tormented by peers * IRL (2019 film), an American drama film about "the ups and downs of online dating and modern dating" * ''IRL'' (album), ...

lockout in 1996.

Gameplay

The game still used many contemporary drivers, chassis (Lola, Reynard, Penske) and engines (Ford-Cosworth, Mercedes-Benz, Honda). 15 circuits were included in this game with Miami (road course) and Indianapolis missing.

Development

This game is based on the 1989 game ''

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

'' and on Papyrus' 1993 ''

''. Little is known about the development of the game, but a demo for the game was released in 1995, and several patches for the

and

Windows 95 Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft and the first of its Windows 9x family of operating systems, released to manufacturing on July 14, 1995, and generally to retail on August 24, 1995. Windows 95 merged ...

were created after the game's release to improve it. This game could be run in

SVGA Super VGA (SVGA) or Extended VGA is a broad term that covers a wide range of computer display standards that extended IBM's Video Graphics Array, VGA specification. When used as shorthand for a resolution, as VGA and XGA often are, SVGA refers to ...

(640x480) and had some other changes in comparison with ''IndyCar Racing'', such as allowing outside cameras by pressing the F10 key. This was very useful on flat courses like the Cleveland airport track.

Reception

''IndyCar Racing II'' received generally good ratings, such as 7.8 out of 10 by

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

, and 4 out of 5 by ''

Computer Games Magazine ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...

''. Some reviewers commented on the extreme detail and customization of the racecar, and the ability to change any part. ''

GameRevolution Mandatory (formerly CraveOnline Media) is a lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. The site is owned by media company Evolve Media, LLC. Mandatory focuses its contents into the male ...

'' remarked: "There are thirteen different customizable characteristics to the car... You could spend an entire week inside the garage just fiddling with the many ways to improve your car's performance". Finally some reviewers commented on the realism of the game, such as GameSpot, who noted: "Even on the easiest of settings, driving an IndyCar is comparable to riding a wild bull". ''

Computer Games Strategy Plus ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...

'' named ''IndyCar Racing II'' the best computer racing simulation of 1995. Likewise, ''

Macworld ''Macworld'' is a digital magazine and website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG. History ''Macworld'' was founded by David Bunnell and Cheryl Woodard (publishers) and Andrew Fl ...

'' presented the game with its 1996 "Best Sports Game" award; the magazine's

Steven Levy Steven Levy (born 1951) is an American journalist and editor at large for '' Wired'' who has written extensively for publications on computers, technology, cryptography, the internet, cybersecurity, and privacy. He is the author of the 1984 boo ...

of the magazine wrote that "this champion of race games has just about everything". It was a runner-up for ''Computer Gaming World''s 1995 "Simulation of the Year" award, which ultimately went to '' EF2000''. The editors wrote that ''IndyCar Racing II'' "takes the already excellent ''IndyCar'' design and adds much-improved driver AI". ''IndyCar II'', alongside Papyrus's other games under the CART name, achieved combined sales above 800,000 units by January 1998. However, Gord Goble of

reported that the game itself pulled "less than fantastic sales figures", with 180,000 copies sold by 2004.

References

External links

''IndyCar Racing II''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

{{IndyCar games 1995 video games Classic Mac OS games DOS games IndyCar Series video games Papyrus Design Group games Racing simulators Sierra Entertainment games Single-player video games Video game sequels Video games developed in the United States Windows games