With the home version of its minor coin-op hit CART Fury, Midway has tried to bring as much depth to driving in a circle as possible. In addition to the arcade mode—which is full of track shortcuts, novelty secret cars, and tires-on-fire “superboosts”—there’s an in-depth simulation mode, a tutorial, and some action-oriented sub-games with dangerous names like Demolition and Last Man Standing. CART Fury is pretty, but unspectacular cars and tracks (some ovals, some city road races) are boosted by a blistering frame rate and thrilling sense of speed. Frequent menu loads drag the pace down, though—a “quick restart” option would have rocked. The announcers sound a bit plastic, and the rap/rock main theme gets annoying fast. Control, however, is enjoyably tight—you truly feel like you’re in command of this thundering machine, hugging the track. That immersive, macho feeling makes the otherwise just-okay CART Fury worth at least a rent.
