With stratospheric ambitions, Project CARS could almost be considered a AAA game attacking on equal terms the competition that are Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport. Only here, although the game is published by Bandai Namco Games, Project CARS is the result of collaborative work between the Slightly Mad team and the thousands of players who have bought and backed the title since the launch of the project. It was therefore a myriad of PC players, car simulation fans, who provided an incredible volume of feedback to the development teams; knowing that former glories of motorsport also gave their opinion like the English Ben Collins and Nicolas Hammilton. And this multiplication of points of view is felt in the game, since it will have been necessary to please the whole community, which means a very open game with many disciplines. This variety can be found in the vehicle roster, which offers many categories of cars from official series. We will therefore find GTs, sport-prototypes, formulas and even stock cars, so that everyone is satisfied. At the driving level, Project CARS tackles the top of the basket in terms of simulation and physical behavior.
If Assetto Corsa remains untouchable in this area, the title of Slightly Mad still deserves to establish itself as the reference on console, passing in front of Forza and Gran Turismo without any worries.
If Assetto Corsa remains untouchable in this area, the title of Slightly Mad still deserves to establish itself as the reference on console, passing in front of Forza and Gran Turismo without any problem. Indeed, the game offers very good physics that rarely takes you as a traitor, and which respects the differences between vehicles. You don't drive a front-engine wheel drive like a mid-engine rear-wheel drive, and each type of configuration has its own driving characteristics. Moreover, one of the strong points of Project CARS consists in the management of the grip when this one is variable. Indeed, if in a perfect world the level of grip of your tires does not change, in reality, it is very variable. During test sessions without heating blankets, you will have to start by raising the temperature of your tires. A tricky exercise that requires you to test your vehicle well to waste as little time as possible on your test session since the faster you drive, the faster your tires heat up and the more grip you have. Except that when you enter the track, the tires are cold and the grip is non-existent. For example, with a Clio Cup, the first corner of Brand Hatch is negotiated at 130 km/h, tires warm or at less than 90 km/h with cold tires. In short, a change in grip that you have to master, especially since with the changing weather conditions, downpours can suddenly transform any track into Lake Annecy.
MISTRAL AND TRAMONTAGNE
In this regard, the weather system is one of the great strengths of Project CARS since races can see the weather and the schedule change while driving. Specifically, for the weather, you can choose from several climatic conditions (light rain, fog, storm, heavy rain, cloudy, clear) knowing that each race can see up to four different climates. Add to that the ability to change the time of day and you should end up with some cool combinations that will put your racing skills to the test. If you found it easy to complete a lap in 3 minutes on the Sarthe circuit in good weather with a prototype, try to achieve the same performance on a dark night under a downpour and you will see that it is downright mission impossible. . In terms of gameplay, Project CARS is part of the same continuity as modern simulations, namely the free choice left to the player. If you're a piloting god, turn off all piloting aids and let your skills shine as only your reflexes will keep you out of the sandbox. Conversely, if your little sister wants to try driving, no worries, the game's arsenal of driving aids is impressive and should put the game within everyone's reach. Here, we are not just talking about reactivating ABS or traction control, but of completely smoked aids such as automatic braking. In short, enough to put the game within everyone's reach, even if the simulation dimension is clearly privileged here.
In terms of gameplay, Project CARS is part of the same continuity as modern simulations, namely the free choice left to the player.
We find this orientation simulation in the settings of the cars which are extremely complete. You will be able to configure absolutely everything about your car in Project CARS, from the wheels (tyres, pressures, caster angle, toe-in) to the suspensions (body height, compression, rebound and preload) via the transmission (gearbox ratios and differentials). In short, a plethora of ways to scratch a few hundredths, knowing that a very well done text explains to neophytes of mechanics what the effects of the settings of the different parts will be. Finally, for fussy fanatics, be aware that a large number of camera views are available to control your vehicle, including the cockpit view and the helmet view, the true signature of the game, although not very practical, let's face it. Obviously, to make the most of the qualities of the game, we strongly advise you to opt for a good quality steering wheel/pedal/shifter, knowing that the game is very largely manageable with a gamepad, even if less precise in acceleration and in the direction.
Moreover, we find this simulation / racing DNA by studying the roster of vehicles which currently has 65 crates. There, I can already hear the aficionados of Kazunori Yamauchi's series complaining about a lack of vehicles. But as in Assetto Corsa, each vehicle is very faithfully modeled with its own physics and engine sound. No question of sticking the same sound of hair dryer on all the cars, follow my look... There is also a huge predominance of racing cars, which take the lion's share of the roster, while supercar enthusiasts will have to settle for a much smaller selection than that which can be found in a Forza, for example. . Small disappointment, however, in terms of car liveries since if Assetto Corsa offered us liveries from major teams (AF Corse, Sebastien Loeb Racing, All-Inkl), only the large prototypes will have the same treatment in Project CARS. Most of the other cars will have fancy liveries imagined by the studio. The content does not weaken with the circuits since many tracks are present. Again, the spotlight is reserved for real circuits, while fanciful routes will allow players to go and explore more urban tracks. Fans will find the most famous circuits under their official licenses (SPA-Francorchamps, Zölder, Oberschleben, the Nürburgring, Hockenheim, Monza, Imola, Circuit de la Sarthe, Circuit Bugatti, or even Mount Panorma). Finally, only a few rare tracks did not have an official license, such as the Monaco circuit hidden under the name "French Riviera".
THIS IS THE STORY OF A GUY...
For its single-player campaign, Project CARS stands out from the competition by offering 3 possible approaches. Since all vehicles are unlocked from the start, it will not be a question of grinding the game, but of having fun. First option: make a career in motorsport. In concrete terms, you will embody a young rookie pilot who is getting into the competition arena. You will have to shine to catch the eye of the directors of more prestigious teams, while your progress will allow you to obtain steering wheels in prestigious categories. Second career option: defend your title! For this diagram, you embody a pilot who is already the world champion of a category and who must keep his crown. Finally, the third approach simply offers you to try to become champion in the series of your choice. A good solution that leaves a lot of freedom to the player, especially since the AI is not ridiculous as long as you leave it above 85% of its strength. Underneath it becomes really too easy to pass opponents, even while driving like a foot. If the AI manages to slap times and be combative, its reactions are largely disappointing. The cars often follow the ideal trajectory without calculating you, and as the game offers a very successful damage system, it will often be necessary to waste time in the pits to repair a car damaged by a platoon of AI that completely ignores you. Fortunately, the solution is as often in the multiplayer. The latter is indeed very well done with fully configurable race weekends (up to two test sessions, qualifying, warm-up and 2 races at most). You can therefore define the duration of each round, and fully configure the weather and the brightness according to your tastes. Over the few hours spent playing multiplayer, the players seemed to us to be very disciplined, without much recourse to the bumper. Anyway, the flag system is taken over as in real life, with blue flags for the buggers and disqualifications for the crazy ones. Similarly a penalty system will cut off the throttle for a while if you ever try to cut the track.
