EDIT: Even a week after launch, I'm encountering a lot of bugs with this game, I'd hold off for now.
Let me start by saying I'm a big fan of racing games - especially simcades. My favourites include Forza Motorsport and Project Gotham Racing, but also DiRT Rally. I've always played these games with a controller, but I decided to take the plunge into more serious simulation territory, soEDIT: Even a week after launch, I'm encountering a lot of bugs with this game, I'd hold off for now.
Let me start by saying I'm a big fan of racing games - especially simcades. My favourites include Forza Motorsport and Project Gotham Racing, but also DiRT Rally. I've always played these games with a controller, but I decided to take the plunge into more serious simulation territory, so I got a Logitech G920 and when I played Project Cars 2 at a gaming convention with a controller, despite having all assists on and automatic, it felt really good. So now having bought the game and tried it with a wheel, I don't feel I need to play any longer than a couple of hours to give my impressions on this game.
First of all, let's talk graphics. Even on a modest GTX 1060 6GB OC'd, I'm managing a very consistent 65 FPS at 1440p on High detail with Ultra textures. I was skeptical of how well this would run, especially compared to Forza Motorsport and whilst it doesn't look as good as Forza in any department (at least for the same performance target), it's still not too shabby.
Next, I'd like to emphasize how complete this game feels; which I believe is perhaps the game's greatest strength. The options menus have nothing missing. There is an audio slider (0-100) for everything, every button is rebindable, every aspect of just about anything is customisable. You can even customise your HUD, making it as minimal or detailed as possible and even change the position of all the elements. The game's difficulty can also be fine-tuned. Unlike most games which offer the usual "On/Off" for things like ABS and traction control, this game has an "authentic" setting, which matches whatever the car has in real life. The AI difficulty can be adjusted literally on a 120-point scale, and there's even a 100-point scale for their level of aggression. Even better, all these settings can be adjusted almost any time, and you aren't punished for making the game too easy; nor are you forced to commit to a particular difficulty.
As for the knitty-gritty details of controls, Project Cars 2 has almost everything you need, but unlike other games it doesn't force any complexity on you. The slider for adjusting deadzones and sensitivity are well-documented and fairly intuitive. Aside from the notoriously stiff brakes on my G920 setup, I didn't need to adjust much aside from reducing the deadzones from the default. Regarding force-feedback, this is what I spent a lot of time trying to get right. Iny my opinion, the defaults are far from ideal. The problem is that surface detail is too exaggerated and the effect of self-aligning torque is too strong. Whilst there's no option for self-aligning torque, I eventually got used to it. After all, Project Cars 2 is aiming for a simulation experience and so it takes time to learn the game and adapt, especially if you're new to using a wheel and/or sim racing. The cars can be tuned to a mesmerising level of detail; onj par if not more than the Forza games and original DiRT. Thankfully however, the game offers an engineer which can help you decide what needs tweaking depending on your driving needs if you don't know anything about how a car works.
Finally, I'd like to round off with the value proposition. Project Cars 2 may not have the 700+ cars of Forza Motorsport 7 or the best graphics or any customisation of cars - either performance-wise or aesthetics. But as a long-time Forza fan, I decided to buy this game because it offers twice as many tracks. Furthermore, the cars on offer are cars that you'd actually want to drive and are made for the track. Whilst Forza is a better all-rounder, Project Cars 2 is clearly a game made by a team who are passionate about delivering a great driving experience, and to me that matters more in the long run than customising cars. The passion and effort that's gone into this game is clearly apparent. To me, this game is to track racing games what DiRT Rally is to rally games.
I really liked Slightly Mad Studios' previous games - particularly Ferrari Racing Legends and Need for Speed SHIFT / SHIFT 2; not only for their amazing driving feel but also for that signature helmet cam, which I'm glad has made it into this game. The amount of content and variety is nothing less than what you'd expect from a great racing game. The driving is unlike any other game I've ever played. Never have I had to think so much when the track is wet, never have I had to be careful with going full throttle in a straight line. I don't know if it's because I'm playing with a wheel or it's the game's physics, but it's definitely an intense and immersive driving experience - especially as there's no rewind feature.
Overall, despite feeling somewhat uneasy about getting this over Forza Motorsport 7 at first, I feel that the work that's gone into it and the vision of the developers to deliver the ultimate driving experience makes it a must-have if you're passionate about racing game… Expand
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