Fun arcade racing with Volkswagens.
The graphics are of good quality, the sound track is ok but nothing special, the damage modeling is almost non-existent other than broken windows that look cool maybe the first time or two you see them. So given these weaknesses, why do I like it?
Simple. It's fun. It's fun to drive. It's not frustrating and yes it is easy to win but I don't care. I am not racing in this game to prove anything. I just want to have some fun driving and easy mode is nice sometimes frankly. I am not looking for the omg, I finally beat that race feeling here. I just enjoy hopping into a cool Beetle and racing through some nice looking scenery against other Beetles and that's it. And there's nothing wrong with that either. As far as I am concerned, this game is great at what it does. Does it rank a superb rating? No. I wouldn't go that far but will I call it good? Yes I will because for what it is, it is good fun and I enjoy it.
The replay feature is a fun little diversion too and sometimes its enjoyable to just watch a race that for whatever reason, be it crashes, I won! or whatnot. It's very easy to control and allows you to easily switch to various views or just let it randomly cycle the camera if you like.
This would be a great game for younger kids too if there are some in your household who'd enjoy something easy enough to be fun and not frustrating. It's not very hardware intensive and yet it looks very nice. The settings are easily configurable if you do want to run it on an older PC.
I'd highly recommend spending the 20 bucks for a Logitech Gamepad which if you are not familiar with them, look just like a PS2 controller. There's nothing to install - just plug the USB cord in and check the game knows you are using this controller and bingo. Off you go!
One of the things I am often highly critical of in racing games is the control. I am definately an arcade racing fan and not big on simulation that includes touchy, difficult controls. If I want a realistic racing experience I'll leave a little late for work thanks. I get plenty of that in real life. I am completely uninterested in working hard at a racing game. I appreciate the quaility and fun for some in more complex and advanced games but in my opinion that hardly renders simpler games as lesser experiences. It's more about what you enjoy personally and I really like this title myself. The control is very easy and I like it. I often just lay off the gas a bit coming into turns and usually only resort to the brakes on really tight turns and that seems to work pretty well here overall once you get a feel for how the cars handle.
It's looks great, sounds decent, is easy enough to be fun for anyone and features Volkswagen Beetles, Golfs, etc. What's not to love? But wait! There's more! As of this writing, the game's price just dropped to five US dollars on Valve's Steam! That's right, just 5 bucks for some good arcade racing fun. So what are you waiting for? Get outta here and go grab yourself a copy if you enjoy arcade racing. I think you'll find it fun too.
Even if you don't have Steam (which I think you should!) go to www.steampowered.com and grab the small download so you can purchase this online if it sounds like something you too would enjoy. Steam is goodness and if you haven't seen it yourself now's a great time to do so.
I should add that I did not race online and given the game's age and lackluster reviews I would not expect to find any or many onling games going but you never know. There's a lot of Steam users out there and when something like this hits just 5 bucks some are bound to grab it and maybe a few will go online. But get this for the single player fun unless you want to do some LAN racing at home with friends or family. The cost per seat sure is cheap here and then nobody can complain about level of challenge anymore beyond who's got the skills and who don't.
As far as I am concerned there is no doubt about it. GTI Racing is a good time! Enjoy the ride!