Since the inception of console gaming, racing titles have set standards for virtual realism and interactivity. The best of the genre are so immersive that, when coupled with a controller, they elicit wild jerking and leaning. Of course, Nintendo recognized this tendency and capitalized on it with the Wii. The first game to utilize motion-derived steering was Excite Truck, but while that was a fun and exciting racer, it was by no means realistic. Destineer, on the other hand, crafted Indianapolis 500 Legends for the Wii to feel as realistic as possible, and in doing so have created the best car handling for the Wii to date. Unfortunately, the rest of the game is really hit or miss, making for an uneven playing experience.

The majority of the gameplay in Legends consists of completing specific events in Mission mode. These events place you in historic situations with various conditions such as a massive accident, where you must maneuver through wreckage and flames for a thirty second period, or a race wherein you have to complete the final three laps with no tread on your tires. Most of these events are interesting and easy enough to pass with a few tries; however, there are a few that are fairly difficult, requiring many attempts to complete. If you fail, you can choose to repeat an event, although doing so forces you to sit through a fairly lengthy loading screen as well as watch the preparation cinematic each and every time. With some missions being only twenty to thirty seconds long, waiting an equal amount of time before being able to have another go at it becomes cumbersome, especially when most other racing titles on the market immediately place you back at the starting line when you choose to restart a race. This may sound like a minor issue, but because the meat of Legends consists of these missions, it gets tiresome to wait through numerous loading screens when an event should already be loaded into the system's memory.

The Wii-mote control is superbly executed - it's just too bad that the rest of the game isn't.

Classic mode gives players (up to two via split-screen) a more standard racing experience. Once a track and number of laps is selected, the race simply begins. Regrettably, there are few incentives to play Classic mode aside from the multiplayer. Races are both long and repetitive and, furthermore, nothing is earned by completing them. In an age of achievements and unlockable content, having no record of progress seriously hinders one from obtaining some sense of accomplishment in Legends.

While racing is fairly straightforward, the game's drafting mechanic adds a special touch to the tedium of repeatedly circling the same road. Drafting is so important that there are graphical cues - blue streaks coming from the car ahead of you - to help with the process. Ideally, you want to place yourself between the two blue streaks. Eventually, these streaks turn purple, and the screen slightly darkens. When this occurs, you can hit the B button to manually catapult your car past the car you were drafting in a burst of aerodynamically unchallenged speed.

Long races require stopping in the pit to refuel and change tires. These mini-games may be the low point of Indy 500 from a gameplay perspective. While they add some variety to the game, their execution is weak as they force players to use the Wii-mote's pointer and motion sensing in awkward ways. None of the mini-games pose a real challenge beyond figuring out what to do, and they feel out of place and unnecessary. Additionally, your pit crew sits frozen in the same pose they were in when you pulled up, looking more like lifeless mannequins than those helping to get you back into the race. Some animation in the pit would have really helped, even if it was simple.

Again, the steering in Indy Legends is literally spot-on, offering that coveted one-to-one movement ratio that players want from the Wii but rarely get. One advantage to using the controller like a steering wheel is that you get a full range of control. Unlike steering with a D-pad or analog stick - where finding that small gradient is difficult - motion-derived steering control makes slight adjustments to the position of your car attainable. That the one track offered in the game is but a simple oval does not detract from the brilliance of the game's controls. Making repeated, broad left turns has never felt better.

Incidentally, the designers of Legends have offered no option to play the game with an analog stick as the steering wheel, so those looking to hook up a GameCube or Classic controller will have to adjust. The other downside to the controls isn't so much the developer's fault as it is the design of the Wii-mote itself. Since driving is controlled by holding the Wii-mote like a steering wheel, the "2" button is, naturally, used for gas. Being an Indy car simulation, the game requires players to hold the gas for a majority of each race, which, after about thirty minutes of playtime, becomes really uncomfortable.

The graphics unfortunately don't get much better than this.

Indy 500 Legends' graphics are, in all aspects, unsophisticated. Cars look decently polished from the third person perspective with reflective surfaces and the like. However, inside the car, the visuals get a bit ugly. For instance, the driver's hands feature some of the most basic geometry since the original Virtua Fighter: mere blocks stuck to a steering wheel. In a game that consists of so many straight-aways and left hand turns, such things become painstakingly apparent. While high-points are few and far between, the graphics really shine in accident sequences. Many times during the intense racing, you'll find yourself in a scrum of competing cars, and someone will veer off and smash into the wall. The damage modeling is a great visual treat. Watching a pack of cars pile up, tires flying and vehicles flipping, is one of the most exciting aspects of Indy Legends - especially when cars explode and catch on fire.

There is not a lot of variety in the sound department. The cars' engines whine appropriately, changing subtly in the audible tone of the motor as there is a shift in perspective. There's a skimpy soundtrack of roughly two or three songs throughout each race, though it's likely you will be too focused on the action to notice how bland they actually are. Despite the insipid track list, the stadium announcer really adds some much needed character, chiming in with various comments on the race at hand. While nothing he says is particularly ground breaking, hearing the announcer's voice ring from the stadium's megaphones helps recreate the feeling of racing in the 60s.

Indy 500 Legends is by no means terrible, nor is it great. What it can best be described as is a glorified demo. With only one track, no customization, and not much to accomplish outside of the missions, the game is extremely shallow. This is really a shame because the excellent control and general atmosphere of the game begs for more content. Budget title or not, Legends offers too little to overshadow what is not included, which is truly disappointing. Destineer's first foray into the racing genre shows promise, and, if built upon, may possibly prove to be a solid sequel. Without a doubt, there is a certain charm to Indianapolis 500 Legends, but charm without substance never finishes first.