From the point of view of a massive Le Mans fan, this is a great game.
Presentation
Le Mans' presentation is typical of its time for a racing game. The menus are functional, but nothing flashy. On the graphics front, the cars are nothing in comparison to GT3, but not bad enough to ruin the game. The tracks look spectacular, with minute details that add to the atmosphere.
Cars/Real world Tournaments
This game has a hell of a lot of cars, all licensed, that competed in the 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 iterations of the 24 hours of Le Mans and are split into 3 classes: GT, Closed Prototypes and Open Prototypes. Although there is no real championships in the game which is a little disappointing, the game does include the Le Mans 24 hours and the 10 hour Petit Le Mans, both playable in shorted form or in full.
One thing that bugs me about the cars however, is that the cars licensed for the year 2000 can only compete in the 24 hours of Le Mans, while all the other cars cannot compete in the 24 hours of Le Mans...
Career Mode/Story
There are a few modes in this game that all award upgrades in the form of new cars. There is a championship mode that is what it it's made out to be: progress through a series of championships in a typical racing game manner.
Le Mans mode has you taking part in either the 2000 Le Mans 24 hour, or the petit Le Mans in a variety of durations, both with day night cycles.
Game-play
At first the physics of Le Mans can feel a little strange, but once you are used to it, the racing is fluid, and the AI better than many racing games of today. If you don't like long races, then this game is definitely not for you, with the absolute minimum race lengths being over 10 minutes. The races are very unpredictable, in the good way. Sometimes you will be far ahead of the pack, only to be caught right at the end. While this can be frustrating at times, especially after a long race, it never feels "cheap". Pit strategy plays a major role in almost every race, and the mechanic is the best I have ever experienced, refueling being done separately form changing tires as per actual Le Mans regulations.
Overall this game exceeded all my expectations. This is a well made game, and its few flaws are easily overlookable, especially if you are a fan of the sport. It is hard not to recommend this game. Despite its age, this is a solid racer that every Le Mans fan should own.