RACE PRO reviews coming in - ROTY 09

[pilonv1]

Racing as a professional shows off the phenomenal physics and handling, but will leave most fair-weather racers seething with frustration. You need to not only understand advanced racing concepts but take advantage of them, usually at horrifying speeds. Each car, from the aforementioned Mini through to various Caterham models, Audis, Viper Coupes and Formula BMWs handles noticeably differently from the moment you take the wheel. The pull of inertia as you hit the apex of a turn, the sudden thrust of forward momentum as you slipstream an opponent - these subtle feelings are conveyed effectively and economically, and feel so natural that performance improvements become instinctive rather than cerebral. The challenge ultimately comes not only in mastering each track, but tailoring your approach depending on the car; a familiar corner can be your undoing if you're in an unfamiliar ride.

...

Multiplayer is much as you'd expect, offering Xbox Live or System Link play for up to twelve racers, on any of the tracks in dry or wet conditions. There's sadly no split-screen option, but what you do get is a very strange two-player "Hotseat" option where you take it in turns during the same race. In the co-op version, control of the same car switches between two players. In versus mode, one player races against an AI facsimile of the other player until the situation is reversed. It's as barmy as it sounds, and not entirely successful, but as a way of allowing two players on the same screen without sacrificing frame-rate it's...well, interesting.

Such unpolished aspects won't do the game any favours when it's competing against the likes of GRID and PGR4, but shrewd racing fans should be able to look past the exterior and appreciate the finely tuned engine beneath. Race Pro is a great driving experience, striking a rare balance between the immediate enjoyment of an arcade racer and the deeper, more nuanced long-term satisfaction of a hardcore sim.

8/10

PC sim racing nirvana comes to Xfags everywhere.

yes it looks like shit for a 2009 game but it's the best racing sim ever

[drew]

looks like shit

Forza 3 ROTY 2009

[Bildi]

My friend and I often play racing games by taking turns during a race so I quite like that idea.

I'm definitely interested but I haven't been keeping up - how bad does it look?  As bad a Forza 2?

[brawndolicious]

I think the graphics are fine.  It's in between Forza 2 and Grid.  The sim aspects make me REALLY wet though.

[Bildi]

That's kind of what I was thinking from the screens - it looks quite alright.  Also, it runs at 30fps on the 360 which I actually vastly prefer to 60fps in racers.

[pilonv1]

wtf its only 30fp?!

[Bildi]

I think so yes - I read it in this interview.

http://www.msxbox-world.com/xbox360/features/article/353/RACE-Pro-QA-with-Diego-Sartori-%E2%80%93-Creative-Director-at-SimBin.html

ctrl-f "30fps"

[drohne]

meh i'm waiting until 2011 for gt5

[pilonv1]

30fps

pc wins again

[brawndolicious]

Also, it runs at 30fps on the 360 which I actually vastly prefer to 60fps in racers.

why?

[Bildi]

I just like 30fps + motion blur - it looks like a TV broadcast.  60fps feels very smooth and "videogamey", which to me provides a bit less excitement because there isn't as much sense of movement.

And visually I don't see much need for the higher framerate.  There's relatively little lateral screen movement in racing - a lot of the time you're heading towards a point on the horizon and of course that doesn't move very fast.  Even when cornering you're often looking as far as possible into the distance or just past the apex if it's tight - neither of those points moves across the screen very fast either.

As distinct from say a FPS where there's heaps of lateral movement and a higher framerate is nice to get a clearer picture.

Anyway, I know I'm in the minority among racing nuts, but I like it a lot.

[brawndolicious]

oh, I thought you meant it was better for a gameplay reason.  Some racing sims do have really nice blurring effects but I think that the actual HD broadcasts of races are at 60 fps.

[Bildi]

Oh sorry, no there's no gameplay reason.

[pilonv1]

Defintiely, check out the Race/WTCC games on PC from Simbin. They're the hardest of the hardcore. Makes GT look like Ridge Racer

[pilonv1]

You join a lobby and sit in the pits. Whilst the room is filling up, you can play with your setup, do some hot laps, and even monitor your rivals (with the ability to change camera angles). It’s exactly what you want from a racing game lobby, and it works perfectly. The host can then move the session on to qualifying - which disappointingly is fixed to just one flying lap - and then ultimately to the race itself

GOTY

[pilonv1]

HOLY SHIT THIS GAME

First out of the way - its 30fps, there's slowdown similar to GT5the front menu is SHIT. It looks good but not great.

The driving model makes Forza seem like PGR4. Makes GT5 seem like Forza. It's not as unforgiving as the PC title it stems from but it's just amazing.

Handling is superb on semi-pro (some assists). If you take a shitty line you get punished by horrible understeer. You power out of corners and the back end kicks round. If you try to over take someone when they have the racing line you are fucked beyond belief. If you thought Forza and GT5 were lean on penalties for poor driving, this is the other end of the spectrum.

There's about 1million things you can change for your setup in the menu before a race. Want to change your slow bump damper (front left)? Go ahead. Tyre pressure, camber, ride height, caster etc it's all here.

Don't like the controls? You can change steering sensitivity, analogue sectors (light, moderate and considerable pressure), throttle/brake sensitivity, global steering lock etc.

Every time you load a track there are Track Tips, around 3 or so that give you tips on how to drive the course. Also at the end of the race it gives your best sector times for the track so you can see how you compared to the AI.

Haven't tested the realistic damage model out yet but I will soon.

Very impressed with it.

[Bildi]

Thanks for the impressions.

I have a feeling this game would be a total bitch to master with a wheel.

[pilonv1]

i was playing with a controller, it's quite fine. with a wheel it would be sublime. im still playing with low assists on though

also I got DQ'd for entering the pits too fast

[ferrarimanf355]

looks like shit

Forza 3 ROTY 2009

You're wrong. H2Overdrive will be ROTY 2009. 

[Bildi]

i was playing with a controller, it's quite fine. with a wheel it would be sublime. im still playing with low assists on though

also I got DQ'd for entering the pits too fast

That's brilliant.

I'm thinking although it'd be difficult to master with a wheel, I'd really enjoy the challenge and once things are coming together it'd be awesome.