“Project CARS is the most authentic, beautiful, intense, and technically-advanced racing game on the planet. Created by gamers, tested by real racing drivers, and the preferred choice of Esports pros.
Featuring world-class graphics and handling, a ground-breaking dynamic time of day & weather system, and deep tuning & pit stop functionality, players can create a driver, pick from a variety of motorsports, and shift into high gear to chase a number of Historic Goals in a quest to enter the Hall Of Fame. Test your skills online either in competitive fully-loaded race weekends, leaderboard-based time trials with downloadable ghosts, or multiple ongoing Esports series throughout 2016.”
– The Official Project CARS website (www.projectcarsgame.com)
– How damn beautiful the game is –
There’s no denying that Project CARS is an absolutely stunning game. Whilst it’s not uncommon for racing games to demonstrate the graphical prowess of a console, Slightly Mad Studios have managed to produce a game that at times simply looks life-like – something all the more apparent when you check out the multiple angles from the replays of your races.
Tracks look great with stunning recreations of real life race tracks from all around the world. There’s some great weather effects on offer in the game that really bring these courses to life too, even if they don’t quite live up to the quality of the storms that hit in Driveclub.
Perhaps most impressive though are the stars of the game – the cars. Similar to the race tracks, they’re perfect re-creations from their real life counterparts. No detail has been spared either, be it the fantastic car interiors or the replication of every curve and indentation of a car’s exterior.
– All the DLC is included –
This is the ‘Game Of The Year’ edition of Project CARS, so it comes loaded with all the bells and whistles. All previously released DLC for the game is present – you get fifty new cars, four new tracks with thirty five unique locations, over sixty community created liveries along with the five hundred plus improvements and new features that have been introduced to the game since its initial release. Many gamers complained about the somewhat lacking vehicle selection when the game launched so those extra fifty will certainly keep those gamers happy, even if it doesn’t quite compete with the likes of Forza or Gran Turismo.
The ‘Game Of The Year’ edition actually comes with some exclusive DLC that you won’t be able to get elsewhere too. There’s the ‘Nurburgring Combined Nordschieife and GP Circuit’ along with two new vehicles – Pagani’s ‘Zonda Revolucion’ and ‘Huayra BC’.
It’s a pretty sweet deal to get all of this additional content included in the package, especially for gamers who had skipped Project CARS when it initially released – this really is the definitive edition of the game.
– Customising the game to suit you –
Project CARS is a straight up racing simulator – there’s no arcade-like thrills and spills and you certainly won’t be pulling off unrealistic drifts from corner to corner. Whilst this may intimidate some gamers, Slightly Mad Studios have included plenty of customisation options to make the game as accessible as possible so anyone can play it with ease.
There’s the likes of racing lines, braking assists, steering assists – you can even fine tune the AI of your opponents to suit you. If you’d rather keep opposing racers off your back then you can set the AI difficulty low, but if you’d rather have a bigger challenge you can set it to the highest difficulty possible.
The choice really is yours, though having too many assists on can make the game feel a little restricted at times. They’re good to practice with and get used to the game’s mechanics, but after a few hours play I’d recommend hitting the road with minimal assistance from the game.
– The in-depth career mode –
Rather than focusing on one path in the career mode, Project CARS instead allows you to take it on in a wide range of ways. Did you know that Lewis Hamilton, current Formula One world champion, started his racing career in go-karts? Well you can too! Or would you rather start your career with long haul endurance races? Go for it! You can start your Project CARS career at any level that suits you, though there’s something incredibly satisfying about building your career from Karting rookie all the way up to racing legend.
There are other neat features in the career mode too, such as scouts who’ll try and get you to race for their team as well as special events. It’s enjoyable and there’s plenty of depth to keep you hooked in for hours and believe me, you’ll spend a LOT of hours on the road before you achieve racing greatness.
– The game-changing weather –
Whilst I’ve already mentioned that the weather effects in-game look great, it can also be the difference between winning and losing a race. The game features a dynamic weather system that can make a race that begun sunny quickly get overcome by an overbearing storm, suddenly making the track a hell of a lot more difficult to venture across. The weather in Project CARS isn’t just there to look pretty!
Fortunately, not only can you check the weather pre-race, but you can also make pit stops during the lengthier races to change to a more suitable tire. It’s a neat feature and certainly adds to the authenticity of the racing experience.
– The AI isn’t always that great –
Project Cars has actually been out for awhile now and one common complaint about the game is the overly aggressive AI of your rival racers. Whilst it has seen improvements since the initial release, this ‘Game Of The Year’ edition doesn’t completely fix all opponent AI issues. You’ll still have opponents smashing into your car during turns, ramming you non-stop as they constantly accelerate or just generally rule-breaking and not being very sporting. It’s not game breaking by any means, but its surprisingly noticeable and especially frustrating during some of the more hectic races where even a second lost in a lap can be the difference between winning and losing.
– The bugs –
It’d be harsh to say Project CARS is a very buggy game but there was one occasion where my car seemingly spun out of control non-stop, whilst another time a crash sent my car endlessly flying off into the distance. Maybe this isn’t a negative given the laughs they provided, but still, nothing ruins a race quite like your car spinning non-stop on the spot…
I didn’t play much of Project CARS during its initial release, but I’m glad I got the chance to re-visit it with this ‘Game Of The Year’ edition. It’s an entertaining racer that not only features a plethora of tracks to race across, but also has an expansive career that offers hours upon hours of intense racing. Plus it’s stunning. Damn, is it stunning…
Despite the realistic simulation nature of the game there’s plenty of customisation options that’ll allow you to play the game in a way that suits you. It’s far from perfect, but there’s something here for everyone. There’s even times when you’ll get to see your car (unintentionally) fly off into the distance – what more could you want?
