Put simply, Ignition is the best 3D racing game that has ever been fired through a cathode ray tube. Forget consoles. In fact, forget arcade machines. PCs will rule the games world and here's the proof. Ignition outdoes all that is, and all that has been before, and we're not only talking graphics here (though the graphics do laugh with a cheeky grin into the face of all competition). The gameplay is unrivaled in the racing world. Villeneuve himself would throw in the crash helmet if he was introduced to this game.
Given a reasonable PC, the 3D engine will play like you've never seen. Super-smooth rotation and zooming of polygons all combined with varied and atmospheric textures will guaranty a breathtaking ride over and over again, and the cars themselves whip up a storm of dirt as you propel them across the terrain with one goal in mind: victory. Given a great PC you can even stretch your mind into 800x600 resolution for ultra-deluxe graphics.
To start with you'll play on Novice difficulty mode, which means the computer opponents ain't too hot. But then, neither are you, and you'll probably skid round corners facing the wrong way and fall off of cliffs and into ravines and oceans. But after a while you'll have learnt the tricks, gained the coordination, and beaten the simple computer players. Then onto Amateur difficulty with your new-found flair, and you'll discover a challenge now. The computer drivers charge past you, spin you out of the way, and nudge you into traps. It'll take a bit longer to defeat the Amateur Championship, but when you do you will be worthy of the Pro Championship, and when, after much practice and victory, you topple that, and complete the Pro Championship, something really interesting happens, and you'll face the challenge of your gaming lifetime.
It is very difficult to get bored playing Ignition. There are, to start with, seven cars and five tracks, and as you complete different difficulty levels you eventually gain access to all of the eleven cars and the seven tracks. Each car is unique and each track a whole new ballgame, and so I have dedicated pages to each.
The brilliant genius creators of this awesome game engine are a Swedish bunch called UDS. Headed by Oskar Burman and Peter Zetterberg, they will surely become as big as Gremlin and iD, for they have displayed such talent in this game that I look forward eagerly to their next.