Developer: Slightly Mad Studios
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Platform: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
Tested on: Xbox One
Project Cars 2 – Review
A while ago we had our hands-on with an early build of Project Cars 2. Its graphics and sound blew us away together with the crisp handling we experienced with a racing seat setup. Now that the full version is available we go back at it once again to look at what has changed since the previous build.
Story
The career mode in Project Cars 2 is as open as in its first iteration with five different branches that each have four to six ranks. You may choose to start wherever you want, or build a full career in one of these scenarios. Another option, ideal for different paths or more players, is the ability to create multiple drivers, because championships can take quite some time. When selecting a race you also choose a livery and this is the team you will be representing. While racing you also receive emails from your manager and engineer letting you know how the race went or what is up with the car. If you want a more in-depth story it is a bit of a letdown that this is as far as a real story goes but for a racing game this is a nice way of creating your own path.
Graphics
A racing simulator is built on the stones of a strong graphical foundation. The more attention to every little thing, the better immersion gets for the player. At its core lies a large amount of beautifully crafted vehicles that are detailed to match their real-life counterparts. The tracks feel like you are driving the asphalt roads of the world. The finest details are even found within fully functional dashes that are perfectly readable and various backfire flames that spout from the exhaust. These are little elements often overlooked in some games but as a title that is aiming at the top spot of racing games this is something many gamers will greatly appreciate.
Sound
We mentioned in our preview that the sound was one of the biggest things that blew us of our chairs, this hasn’t been altered or improved but stayed at it same level. This is not a bad thing because we enjoyed the sounds as they are. Engine notes are still as clear as the sky on a sunny day and the other details such as the tires squealing and backfire popping is as realistic as ever. In the menus a majestic soundtrack plays as you make your way through the selection screen, in-game however you must make do with the noises produced by each driver on the track.
Gameplay
Project Cars 2 is a racing simulator that has been created to be a game with respect for the laws of physics without overdoing it by breaking some gameplay elements. While a strictly pure recreation can lead to a lot of frustration in some ways, this combination is ideal for fans of both. When you hook up a race seat it is like you are actually driving the vehicle, while you can still enjoy this great game with a normal controller. As there are many settings in the option menu for controller, steering wheel and even assists and rules, you fully adjust the game to your liking. Naturally all these great points also offer room for error, players will notice that while using a controller with the manual gearbox shifting into reverse is a true pain in the ass. When playing with the steering setup with an H-shifter connected there were no such issues. This hopefully gets patched in the future, another more annoying bug is in the Rallycross section. Sometimes the joker lap gets wrongly activated by driving near and giving you penalty time.Since it is not allowed to take this multiple times (because it makes you go faster) you will be penalized with five seconds each time.
Project Cars 2 consists of three main game modes. At first you have the richly filled career mode where you can create multiple drivers for various scenarios and enjoy the life of a race car driver. Quick Play allows the creation of custom races fully build to your liking, or go online and compete against other pilots in multiplayer. And last but not least the community tab where time trails, public events and eSports can be visited.
Because of its high realistic background each car needs to be handled differently, and for a game that has a huge amount of vehicles this will prove a special experience every first time picking a new ride. Some titles may be able to create a few differences, but in Project Cars 2 each ride has its own learning curve and way to handle it. Naturally you will need to have access to some of the world’s greatest tracks, and Slightly Mad Studios has created so many that even after hours of tire shredding you still haven’t had every single one.
The A.I. was known to have some quirks in the earlier stage of the game, while all these problems seem solved it is still amusing to see these computer-controlled racers not being able to make a corner and crash into a wall, or having to greatly slow down and pile up. This makes it realistic to add some ‘human’ errors into the mix by not letting them all beat you to the finish line with ease or be the twelve year old drivers at a karting circuit. The other good fact is that their aggressiveness is not as high as in other titles, collisions don’t happen often unless your brakes fail.
Conclusion
Project Cars 2 is a game that is worth the try because of its great approach to a racing title. For those hardcore simulator fans that are looking for a great time it is also worth mentioning that this title runs smoothly with a racing seat setup. As this was a title that we greatly enjoyed while previewing a while ago, and this made us look forward to its full release. Slightly Mad Studios delivered an amazing, near perfect experience that will stay in the consoles of racing fans for quite some while. With the release of Forza 7 we wonder what sparks this all will give.
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