Project CARS Review

If you enjoy motorsport, driving, or just cars in general, Project CARS is the game for you.

Project CARS (Community Assisted Racing Simulator) was in development for at least three years prior to release and is quite unique when it comes to video games. Instead of being funded by a traditional publisher, Project CARS was funded by players who also helped shape the game to what it is today. As compensation for their efforts on the game, players would be given a share of the game’s profits quarterly for the next three years. Cool huh?

Of course, it wasn’t just video game players that helped develop Project CARS into the game it is. Racing drivers such as Top Gear’s former Stig Ben Collins contributed to the development making the games handling physics top notch.

All of these contributions from players and drivers alike can be felt when you play the game. The driving feels authentic. Regardless of if you’re playing using a wheel or a standard controller, you can feel the weight shift in the car as you navigate a tricky S bend, brake fade when they get too hot, even the tyres feel dramatically different from cold to hot. This level of authenticity in racing games is hard to find on other console games. It’s extremely impressive.

Project CARS is a deep game, a VERY deep game. The game’s main developers, Slightly Mad Studios have racing game pedigree in the form of Need For Speed: Shift and Shift 2: Unleashed. Both competent games at the time which contained comprehensive levels of customisation. But Project CARS takes it to a whole new level. Your car’s set up can be tailored to exactly what you want for any of the 110 gorgeous tracks in the game. You can adjust the brake balance, wing angles, even the tyre pressure on each individual wheel in order to gain that split-second advantage.

The game’s customisation doesn’t just start and end with car setup though. Almost every aspect of the games experience can be tailored to exactly how you want it. Delving into the games comprehensive option list you can adjust race rules, car failures and damage severity. A first on console games is the fact you can adjust the graphic settings for the game. Something which has long been the domain of dominance for PC gamers and something I would like to see more of. Even the games head up display can be tailored. Don’t like the map being in the top right hand corner? Move it down a little bit. Rather see brake and tyre temps during the race? Select the option to have them on screen. Project CARS wants the experience to be all about you.

The main meat of the game can be found in its career mode which is divided across open-wheel racing, touring and GT, and prototype racing. Doesn’t sound much does it? But when you look at the amount of tiers in each discipline you soon realise that this game will keep you occupied for a long time. That’s the beauty of this game though, you can start wherever you want in the game and even have multiple careers at the same time. Want to start in basic karting and work your way to up Formula A? Sure why not. Want to jump straight into prototypes and compete in the Le Mans 24 hour? Crack on! This game will make you want to compete in literally everything it has to offer because there is satisfaction in mastering every tier of racing.

The highlight of the game though is the AI which is some of the best I have ever seen in a racing game. You can adjust the AI opponent levels and race distance before any race or championship, and to be honest, if you set the AI to an easier level on a scale of 1-100, you do feel like you’re cheating yourself. This game wants you to set the difficulty on hard and I can see why. Every small pass you make in a race is a victory in its own right, every tenth of a second you shave off your time in practice and qualifying is unbelievably satisfying. The game makes you a better racer throughout the career.

The graphics are some of the best I have seen in a racing game so far on the current gen consoles. While not as polished as Driveclub, the cars are still beautiful and will accumulate dirt and grime the more you thrash them around the track and – if you have the damage on full, will show the battle scars of a good race.

All of the tracks and point to point roads are stunning and a joy to look at briefly if you dare take your eyes of the road. Every track has a 24 hour day and night cycle. Thanks to this cycle, driving round the same track at different times of the day feels different every time. It is a real testament to Slightly Mad Studios just how much their lighting can affect your view of a track.

If you’ve played Slightly Mad’s Need for Speed: Shift games, you’ll know that the sound effects are rough and dirty, and that’s how I like it. The engine noise for all of the cars sounds and feels authentic. No matter what view you choose to use, the sound of the car will be impacted. Interior view without a helmet? You’ll hear exactly what you would hear when driving a car. Wearing a helmet? The sound is muffled. Change the view to the exterior camera and you bore the full brunt of those sexy exhaust notes.

But it’s not just the engine noise that’s impressive. The squeal of the brakes as you approach a corner, tyres being tortured as you drift your Caterham round a corner at Silverstone, and the sound of dirt and gravel hitting the wheel arches and floor of your motor when you mess up. It all adds to the realism of Project CARS.

While the online aspect of Project CARS is fun on its own and very solid, there are still some issues that need to be addressing. For example, I was playing in a lobby with LMP1 cars when a player joined with a GT3 car. A little out of his league! I’m sure though that this will be ironed out in a patch soon.

Other little drawbacks I have found with Project CARS is the lacklustre car list. 65 when the game was released with Slightly Mad Studios promising one free car every month for the foreseeable future. Maybe they’re also planning car packs. Only time will tell.

Another issue that niggled me abit was the lack of animation in the pit stops. Pull in during a race for a tyre change and a fuel up and all you see is the trolley jack guy. There’s no one else frantically running about with tyres flying off. Just want guy stood infront waiting for it all to be changed by invisible beings. I’m pretty sure though that Slightly Mad is looking into this and we may see them in a future patch.

I highly recommend Project CARS if you’re a petrol head like me. Even if you aren’t, give it a try, you might like it!

I feel that Slightly Mad Studios have not only set the bar for how a racing game should be, but how it should feel.