Turning a clean, sub-seven-minute lap on the Nordschleife was inspiring. And God help you if you dipped a wheel into the grass on a corner. Tires needed legit time to warm up, and they wore out quick if you drove like a ninny. It reached beyond Forza with its myriad of tunable settings and extensive, realistic career mode. In the console world, PC2 was (and still is) my go-to game if I want a bit more realism in my tarmac racing experience. If you enjoyed Project Cars 2, you’ll be disappointed in Project Cars 3. It didn’t take me by surprise when Slightly Mad Studios released the Project Cars Go beta earlier in September on mobile.Īssetto Corsa Competizione Console Review: Lost In Translation Whether it be the objective downgrade in visual fidelity from PC2, the omission of tire wear and fuel usage, the omission of pit stops, or even the addition of vehicle upgradability, it’s really showing. Performance aside, the series transition to mobile platforms is more noticeable than Slightly Mad Studios would probably like it to be. In the graphics department, things are average at best – ultra settings could be run effortlessly on an NVIDIA RTX 2070 Super graphics card at 1440p resolution. Ultimately, PC3 feels like it's designed with casual players in mind. It's a similar feeling when it comes to contact with other vehicles, as opponents appear glued to the road even after heavy impacts. The tires feel like sticky bubblegum instead of rubber it’s very noticeable in the wet where even with all assists off, the car is savable in just about any situation with enough opposite lock. Things are much the same overall in the vehicle dynamics department. While it gives anyone the ability to feel like a powersliding superhero behind the wheel, it isn’t very rewarding when you get things right. It's at least lively enough to get jiggy with it in the corners and not end up in the wall, thanks to some perceived built-in steering assistance from the developers. It’s clear that this game was meant to be played on a gamepad. If you think I'm being a bit pompous, I had high expectations after Slightly Mad Studios CEO Ian Bell described the force feedback as amazing. However, right from the outset, the force feedback felt muted and disconnected, leaving me to guess what was happening at the front axle. With high hopes, I jumped in with my Thrustmaster TS-PC Racer steering wheel hoping for the best. Aside from the obvious, it's also an acronym for Community Assisted Racing Simulator but as it turns out, this game is anything but a racing sim. Many might not be aware, but the word Cars in the game's title actually has a double meaning. Therefore, I expected the PC version of PC3 to pick up where the previous titles left off. Sure, its predecessors weren’t picture perfect, but they provided a wealth of content with limited barriers to entry into the sim racing world. Smith sampled PC3 on an Xbox One X with a Logitech G920 wheel combo, while Crisara took a test drive on PC with a Thrustmaster TS-PC rig.Īfter having great experiences with the previous two Project Cars titles, I walked into the third installment with loads of confidence. Instead, PC3 offers quick-fire racing events with forgiving physics, wrapped in an arcade experience.ĭoes this mean PC3 is a failure? writers Christopher Smith and Matthew Crisara took a deep dive into all aspects of the game to try and answer that question. Rather, it’s a reboot that removes much of the realism like pre-race practice and qualifying sessions, fuel usage, tire wear, vehicle damage, and pit stops. However, we quickly discovered PC3 isn’t a sequel. We stepped into Project Cars 3 thinking of it as a sequel to Project Cars 2, dialing in the game’s shortcomings for a better experience. Project Cars 3 launched at the end of August, and while its forerunner garnered accolades for its realistic racing environment in career mode, you won’t find that here. It also means competition among developers is fierce, and the Project Cars franchise had itself a very promising niche in the gaming world. From games dedicated to specific motorsports like NASCAR Heat 5 or Dirt Rally 2.0, to open-world experiences of Forza Horizon 4 and epic smash-em-up arcade fun like Wreckfest, there’s something for everyone. Console and PC gamers have no shortage of racing titles at their fingertips.
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