"Vroooooooooooooom."
The PC has arguably been the home of the best racing simulations: Geoff Crammond's GP series, Papyrus' Nascar simulations, rFactor, Live For Speed, and many more. Last year, a new name entered the simulation scene: Simbin. Armed with an FIA GT license, Simbin released its first simulation, named GTR. Quickly, it received great press and gamer acclamation due to its superb driving model, wealthy setup options, and its great and varied race options. Now, a year and a half later, we get th sequel, GTR 2.
Basically, it's more of the same with some new features and improvements. The game promises 34 different track variations, which are basically different variations of the same tracks which give a different driving experience. The game also has 144 variations of 25 cars from the FIA GT 2003 and 2004 championships. GTR 2 has three driving modes, Novice, Semi-Pro, and Professional. With Novice, all driving assists are allowed, ranging from steering help to automatic gearbox to automatic clutch, to damage, to traction control, to reducing opponent difficulty; Semi-Pro disallows some of the assists while Pro locks out most of them. The newbie would probably want to start off with Novice, turning off more assists as he/she progresses through the game.
One of the most important additions is a new mode, the Driving School. Instead of taking the approach many other simulations have taken, GTR 2 wants to elevate the player to the level of the game instead of lowering the game's difficulty to make it more accessible. It features a total of 107 lessons, ranging from basic acceleration to complex overtaking and cornering challenges, also teaching you the layout of the basic tracks of the FIA GT 2004 championship. Another upside to completing the driving school is that as you complete more challenges, you unlock more custom championships which are needed to open up more tracks. Overall, this is a great feature that will definitely make the game more accessible to people who've never played simulations before.
Gameplay-wise, Simbin have really scored. With an awesome driving model that covers everything from downforce to camber to drive height and many more, you can customize almost anything about your car. Hardcore simmers will find a heaven in the wealth of options available to customize. The AI is also amazing. You can adjust the level of AI aggressiveness. Battling with the AI in races is exhilirating, with the AI blocking, late-braking, and executing many maneuvers to hinder your overtaking. This is indeed a game where the AI is nearly as good as human opponents. Also notable is the 24-hour realtime cycle. While racing, you'll notice the sun rising and setting depending on the time. 24 hour races are a great part of the game, and you'll love them for their changing time and weather. On to the controls: while keyboard control is supported, I greatly recommend using either mouse steering or investing into buying a Steering Wheel. You are never going to enjoy the game to the fullest using only keyboard control, which feels clumsy next to using a steering wheel. The game supports force feedback, and has presets for most popular wheels.
Graphically, GTR 2 is excellent. The cars are amazingly detailed, showing brake discs heating up, tyre wear, and even the slightest dents on the car's body.The cockpits are filled with high-resolution textures so that you can fully immerse yourself in the driving experience. The tracks are also highly detailed, with high resolution textures everywhere. The rain is amazing too, with water distorting your view and splashing everywhere. One of the most notable effects is the sun flare. Driving around La Caixa in Barcelona, I was blinded by the sun, and spun into the gravel, but was nevertheless grinning due to the awesome effects Simbin has modelled. The replays look gorgeous: You're going to be hitting that "R" button quite a few times through a race. I have two issues with the graphics though: SimBin still haven't modelled wipers, and it takes a monster PC to run this at the highest settings. Just try Spa with the full grid and 100% rain at highest graphical settings and see your frame rates take a plunge.
The game will also last. With a large number of single-player options, you'll probably be fully engrossed with this game for months, even before moving on the the online options. Online races are fun and enjoyably, despite being marred with the odd idiot who is there just to wreck your race and annoy you. Despite that, many servers run professional and wrecker-free races for everyone to enjoy. Definitely worth buying for the long run.
The biggest problem with the game is probably its user interface. You're going to be fumbling around looking for the right buttons. Why should the graphics options be split into two main tabs: Graphics and Advanced? How do you disable pit help if you're not under Professional mode? Simbin just didn't do a good job on the user interface. The information is there, you just can't find it.
Overall, this game is probably the definitive racing simulation of modern times, and I thoroughly recommend it to every PC gamer out there. Run out and buy it, and don't forget to drag that steering wheel out of the storage closet. Go on, don't resist.
By CodeName_88
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