<snip>
Right then. First, I have to admit that I hate NASCAR, so I won't give
any advice regarding that, except to say that NASCAR 4 is generally
judged to be a fine piece of kit. I have no idea about bike sims,
either On proper car racing (by which I mean racing with right turns),
however, I can give you my prejudices, for what they're worth...
"GPL, whatever it is", is Grand Prix Legends, a simulation (note that
word) of the 1967 F1 season. It's staggeringly brilliant, and by far
the most ***ive sim I've ever played. Be warned: it demands, and
will relentlessly extract, total commitment. If you're not willing to
spend several hours (yes, hours) just getting round one lap at
something like racing speed, this is not the game for you. To say the
learning curve is steep would be like saying the Pope was quite
religious.
On the other hand, if you are willing to put in the very
considerable effort GPL demands, you'll be handsomely rewarded. Getting
it just right is more satisfying in this game than in any other I've
played, especially online, where (current - hopefully temporary -
server problems permitting) you'll find one of the best driving
experiences anywhere, and one a lot cleaner and more polite than...
well, N4, for example.
A surprising number of people think GPL will be boringly slow. Anything
but, in fact - tuned properly, these cars can do 200mph, and around a
fast circuit such as Spa (the 8-mile version, of course) you can easily
average 150-plus. It's not perfect, of course - tyre wear isn't
simulated, the AI cars can't slipstream and you can't really do
pitstops - but that's more than compensated for by the huge user
community, which produces tracks (some easily as good as the originals
- Solitude and Le Mans are masterpieces), sounds, graphics, guides,
ranking systems... you name it, it's there.
The main problem with GPL is getting hold of it. It came out in 1998
(yep, it's *still* that good after three years), and not many of us
feel like letting go of our copies, so you'll have to rummage in
bargain bins a bit, or check eBay and the like. It is cheap, though.
OK, now I've stopped raving about GPL (it does get you like that), what
else? On the rallying front I'd go for Rally Masters, which has a nice
balance between realism and playability (as they say in the games mags)
and can be a real blast. Lots of choice of car and competition -
definitely a title to look out for. Rally Championship 2000 (or
whatever it's called in your neck of the woods) is lovely to look at,
and has loads of options, but the handling is weird. The Colin McRae
series are fun, but rather arcadey.
Modern F1? F1 Championship Season 2000 is probably the best of a not
terribly outstanding bunch. Certainly it's better than its predecessor
F1-2000. Grand Prix 3 has outstanding weather effects - unfortunately
not a lot else has changed since GP2. F1 Racing
Sim/Championship/whatever has faded into obscurity after a bright early
showing.
Others? I prefer TOCA2 to STCC2, despite TOCA's arcadey setup - it's
just more fun when you're bashing up drivers you've heard of!
NFS:Porsche 2000 (as it's called in the UK) you know about from the
demo - get the full game, as it's very good. Mercedes-Benz Truck Racing
is more fun than it might sound. And - if you do a bit of work on the
setup first - Spirit of Speed 1937, despite falling well below
expectations, is not the complete and utter pile of ordure that its
demo is. Viper Racing I *still* haven't got around to buying - shame on
me!
Conclusions: spend 10 quid/bucks on GPL, and play it until your house
is so full of grime you can't see any more. Clean up the section of
grime near your PC, and carry on.
--
"After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll,
really" - Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh.
What was he on about? See http://www.racesimcentral.net/
Banish those hardwood floors! http://www.racesimcentral.net/
