GTR: FIA GT Racing Game

Arguably the best racing sim ever.

GTR is perhaps the most realistic, true-to-life racing simulation that I have ever come across.

PC racing fans of all stripes will have a blast with GTR, but serious driving aficionados - those with synthetic motor oil in their veins and lots of horsepower in their towers - will go absolutely hog-wild over this amazing new racer. [May 2005, p.76]

GTR is a work of art. No doubt inspired by the uncompromising authenticity of the infamous Grand Prix Legends, they have recreated a driving experience so real that it's with surprise you realise that you can't smell the burning rubber.

The best recommendation I can give is to tell you that the CD hasn’t been out of my drive since I bought the game before Christmas. I simply love this game.

The box says it all, "most advanced racing sim ever created”.

As hardcore as a driving simulation can get. Driving feels very natural and but where is the excitement and atmosphere of the real races? [Apr. 05]

If you have the computing speed to run it and the patience to endure its few pitfalls, you likely won't find a better, more believable non-NASCAR racer in today's market.

The computer AI will always provide you with a nice challenge.

The physics are exquisitely good and, with some practice, begin to feel quite natural. The AI races hard but clean and even makes mistakes.

An above-average racing simulator in a world already oversaturated with incredible racing simulators. It's hardly the best, but it's certainly upper echelon.

A slightly confused combination of intimidating depth and unnerving shallowness: on the one hand, a monstrous physics engine that'll stir a petrol-head's soul, on the other some patchy graphics and a slightly home-made techno soundtrack that calls up wholly unflattering comparisons to EA. However, it does push the realism harder than the more entertaining "Live For Speed." [March 2005, p.102]

If only GTR had been more welcoming to casual racing fans, it might have found itself a bigger and deserved market. Unfortunately we just can’t find ourselves openly recommending it – and not for a lack of quality.

This is an incredible achievement, the closest a simulator has come to entertainment; the nearest videogaming has come to the real experience of driving. Forget play. Just drive. [March 2005, p.84]

We can’t stress enough that you need a steering wheel in order to control cars with a good level of precision, to enjoy the extent of the realism, and to enjoy the game as it was intended.

You really need to invest a huge amount of time to reach the depths of this racer, and whilst it is gloriously fulfilling and rewarding, few have such time to spare.

GTR is a truly awesome racing game that will have petrolheads in raptures. However, the extreme nature of the game is intimidating, even for the hardened racer. [Apr 2005, p.106]

But what really sinks you into the world of GTR is the superlative and pervasive sound. There's a powerful sense that you're on a track with a bunch of overpowered, extremely noisy engines all around you.

I had a lot of fun with GTR. I will continue to play it for some time, as the driving model in the game is rivaled only by the venerable "Grand Prix Legends", a 7 year old game that still sets the bar for driving realism today.

A new benchmark for hardcore racing sims...mostly. [Oct 2005, p.81]