The racing market for this holiday season is heating up so much, it’s practically an oven set to explore. Microsoft’s Forza Motorsport 7 is easily a contender for game of the year, with its breathtaking presentation and superb control set-up; and Gran Turismo Sport from Sony isn’t looking like a slouch either, with all sorts of racing goods to partake in.
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But before those two games, there was Project CARS 2, which crept onto the scene just in time for the holiday rush, promising an even bigger experience than the first game – and that’s saying a lot, considering that Slightly Mad Studios provided a solid effort for its first time out the gate with a new franchise.
For the most part, it’s come through, with a game that features exquisite car models, a beautiful frame rate and all sorts of tuning that you can do for each race. It’s definitely a sim driver’s dream. That said, it seems to be kind of limited to those that appreciate a good, hardcore simulation game. And that could unfairly shut out those looking to just take a leisurely drive.
When it comes to control, Project CARS 2 demands attention. You’ll need to turn on some assists and understand the behavior of the AI in order to get the most out of each race, and remember that it’s a sim – there’s no Ridge Racer style drifting here. Fans get that, though, and for them, the game caters to their every need, with each race delivering the goods on serious, no-nonsense “winning is the only thing” style of racing.
Add to that LiveTrack 3.0, a feature that actually lends itself to track design and conditions to keep the realism intact. No argument here – when it rains or snows, you can see the care that’s gone into it, and the time you need to take to avoid sliding into a wall. It’s a neat bit of technology.
Not Quite a Dream Ride
However, it all seems a bit frustrating. The game can be too demanding in places, and unless you’re some kind of bad-ass expert on driving, you could run into problems. The game leaves no room for error, making you pay the price of hitting a wall if you take a corner too fast, or going up against the AI and becoming frustrated when they get the better of a collision. Every time. That’s not really how it works.
Even with all the assists in the world – and Project CARS 2 has quite a few – I could still feel the slight imperfections of the driving system. Granted, I approached it more like a rookie, wanting to see if the game would provide leniency on the casual fans being introduced to it for the first time. Alas, I didn’t find it.
Now, again, if you’re a sim driver, this game will provide a meaty challenge. Between tweaking things in the race and settings for your assists and all that – not to mention a competent (maybe too much) AI, you’ll be right at home. But I wish Slightly Mad took the approach that Microsoft did, making the settings worthwhile so it’d be more accommodating to the newbies. As it stands, they’ll get frustrated more than they should.
That’s a shame, because the rest of the game is incredibly stacked. Along with a career mode, you can take Project CARS 2 wherever you like with quick races, online races and a number of other options. You’ll find that the online competition is very good, especially if you really want to get the most from your driving skills – but, sigh, there’s that thing about shutting out the newbies again.
There are also different race types as well, including IndyCar, WRC and so much more, so if you feel like going off-road or even managing what you can do in a little go-kart, you have the options available. And each car does feel weighty when it comes to getting around, which is a nice touch. At least Slightly Mad understands what goes into the performance of a vehicle.
Good For Enthusiasts, But Hold Off, Rookies
That said, the presentation is kind of a mixed bag. I won’t fault the game’s graphics too much, because they look very life-like when it comes to modeling and speed and such. However, a number of glitches reared their ugly head over the course of my run, most notably with some missing tires (ever see a car body float?) and some situations where you have no choice but to restart. I assume the team is working on a patch for this, but it’s kind of annoying that these haven’t been addressed yet.
The audio’s not bad, with roaring engines, slight collision noises and even a few voiceovers by racing experts. But the music is surprisingly mute, whereas a little variety would’ve gone a long way.
One last thing – there’s a decent replay engine here, where you can watch your races if you wish (depending how badly you perform), but I can’t help but think more options should’ve been included. It definitely comes up short compared to Forza, and that might just be food for thought with Slightly Mad once the third Project CARS comes around.
I will give the studio a nod for working a little better on the graphics, and making sure Project CARS 2 feels unique in a sense. But it’s definitely in a distant second behind Forza 7, mainly because a. its difficulty may be too much for some racers to bear, and b. its glitches are downright hilarious in spots. It’s a pretty good game if you need something to get your racing ya-yas out with if you can’t wait for Gran Turismo, but it’s no king of the road. Maybe next time around…?
RATING: 3 out of 5 stars.
Disclaimer: A review code was provided by the publisher.
