What GTR has to offer
User Rating: 9.3 | GTR: FIA GT Racing Game PC
The Game Man, GTR has made me look at racing games in a different way. This is by far the most realistic racing game I have ever played to date. Nothing comes close to comparison in terms of car physics, and how the car behaves. This game makes GT4 and Forza look like arcade games, and you will truely find out how forgiving GT4 and Forza are. In GTR if you do not have your assists on, GOOD LUCK, because you wont make it back to the pit lane. This game is not a racing game, this game is a simulator, its just that intense. Your not going to get behind the wheel and fly by your competitors, instead, your going to get spanked on a consistent basis until you truly learn ins and outs about your car. This game is not forgiving in the slightest bit. If you push to hard in a corner, your going over the turn, if dont downshift correctly and get the revs low enough, your car is going to spin before you complete your turn. There is little room for error, infact no, let me take that back, there is NO room for error, and thats what makes this game so difficult. This is the most difficult racing game you will play, hands down, and if your not into fine tuning the car, sitting in the middle or back of a race pack, then I dont see you enjoying the experience that much. The learning curve for this game is ridiculous, it reminds me of the aliens game on the ps1(That game was impossibe to beat). If your not going to spend hours upon hours driving one car, then your not going to get that far, because each car handles differently. The Graphics The Graphics are much improved from the demo, with more polish, and more reflections, but the graphics leave much to be desired. The cars are beautiful in the final build, but SinBin have failed to make the environments look nice. The tracks look boring, and the backgrounds are dull when you compare them to either GT4 or Forza, and those games happen to be on consoles, hmmm. By pc standards, the graphics fail to match the depth you get out of Nascar Sim 2005 and Richard Burns rally. The graphics are far from mind blowing, but they do give a accurate representation of the tracks. It would just be nice to see the road shimmer in rain when the light hits the wet pavement, it just adds to the experience. The graphics do not take anything away from the experience, and when you start racing with +30 cars onscreen, who cares. Sound Cant complain about the sound, the cars sound good, the engine sounds seem spot on. The sound affects are on par with every other game. The sounds are exceptional when you are in the in-car view, especially those ferrari's, I need get myself one of those. The sound is definately one of the best aspects of the game. Gameplay Gameplay is a touchy issue on this game, the reason I say thiat is because you really need a wheel of some sort to truly enjoy the game. The keyboard does not cut it, no matter which way you slice it. This game requires precise imputs to take full advantage of all the options available to you. The keyboard is unplayable, and if you dont plan on getting a wheel, then I strongly suggest that you dont waste your money purchasing the game. An analogue stick is another option. I tested out my ps2 controller, and I was surprised how sensative the analogue stick was. The analogue stick was just as responsive as the racing wheel, but you lose the sense of feeling that your controlling a car. On the analogue stick, I noticed it was hard to play with the accelarator and brake at the same time, especially with the accelarator and brake mapped onto the right analogue axis. Theres no doubt in my mind you can get really good with an analogue stick, but I dont see people running as good times with it, simply because the feeling is not as natural as turning a wheel. That said, an analogue stick is 20 times better than using a keyboard. The driving wheels are the best way to go, and since I have a force-feedback and non-force-feedback wheel, I can inform you on what to expect if you plan on getting a wheel. I'll kindly start of with the non-force-feedback logitech wheel. The non-force-feedback is an excellent purchase. The logitech wheel responded with a great amount of accuracy. I felt in total control of the car, and since the wheel has very little play, I was consistently running better and better laps. The funny part is, the accelarator and brake are positioned in a more comfortable position than the DFP logitech force-feedback wheel, which was surprising since this wheel is a cheaper build. The non-force-feedback wheel to me seems like the best purchase, its cheap, I got mine brand spanking new for $15, its sturdy, the response is excellent, and the feeling of being in control of the car is irreplaceable. The only thing negative I can say about this wheel is that the centering is not so great at times because it uses springs to center itself, unlike the magnetic motor in the DFP logitech wheel. Onto the beast, the DFP logitech wheel. A yes, the much touted wheel. All I can say is you get what you pay for. There a plenty of reviews on this wheel, and its for a good reason. The difference here is that the DFP truely immerses you into the game. You feel every bump on the track, seriously, I never knew how bumpy race tracks were. You are constantly fighting with the wheel, and feeling is truly exhilarating, its like a work out, and I think I have shed some pounds messing around with is bad boy. If you have the cash to burn, then you wont go wrong with force feedback, its an exceptional feature, but again you wont die without it. As long as you have a deseant wheel, this game will be fun to play Internet Fun, fun, fun, fun. This is the most exciting part of the game. Its fun to see how much people suck on the internet, but its all in good fun. All I can say is when you have 30-40 people on one server, you have a race. This is what I have been dying for in racing games. Gone are the days of 6-8 cars on a track. I've had so much fun talking to the people online, competing for track position, fighting for that no1 spot, and as usual, theres always a few drivers who show me whats up. Its also nice that most of the servers put damage on, so you are really careful about what you do. Its fun watching 2 players go at it and crash, with the hood flying in one direction, the tire bopping in another. It really sucks if someone slams straight into you, because if your engine dies, or your starter fails, its game over buddy. Theres no other game that can match GTR's online. This is the best racing game online ever, and by far the most competitive. Value This all the game comes down to the value. If you have a wheel and the internet, this game is a must buy, who thought racing with over 30 people would be so much fun online, and the wheel as I stated before adds another dimension to the game. If you dont have the internet or a wheel, I wouldnt suggest not buying the game, because its wouldnt be any fun at all. Things That stick out Weather changes-awesome Night time- wow, hope I dont hit a deer 1 to +40cars- depending on what vid card you have, you can put a crazy amount of cars Car selection- Finally i can race a lamborghini against a ferrari In-car-view- Exceptional, you feel as if you driving the actual car, Amazing. Online- need I say no more, ONLINE, baby Full Damage- is that my wheel rolling of to the side, hey, thief!!!, come back with my wheel, arrrrr!!!!!, frigging sports fans I hope you enjoy this game as much as I do Keep racing Oh, and one last warning, this game is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT, and that is not an understatement.
