I have played racing sims and games on the Amiga (Microprose Grand
Prix), PC (GP Legends, Viper Racing, all the Nascar series, SCGT, NFS
etc etc, GP2, GP3) and PS2 (WRC, GT3) and this is more FUN by far than
any of those.
Before I start a war of SIM vs ARCADE let me say that I am NOT a hard
core sim head. Yes I own and have played Grand Prix Legends (PC), but
it is too realistic to be enjoyable (for me anyway - I can certainly
appreciate that there are hard core dudes out there that would love
it, but it isn't for me). On the other end of the scale, all of the
Need for Speed series (except possibly the first one) have been too
arcadey for me. What I want is something 80% SIM (so that it is pretty
realistic) but 20% arcade (so that I can turn it on and have a blast
for 2 minutes if I want without having to spend an hour practicing and
qualifying before I can get to a race only to spear off in a first
corner crash and have to start all over again). To date the best I
have found in this bracket has been SCGT (once fully customised with
V8 skins and V8 sounds and realistic handling).
So - now that you know where I am coming from (remember 80% sim. 20%
arcade) - here are my observations.
SOUND: Better than anything I have heard before. It is surround (and
comes through great via Dolby Prologic II and a sub woofer), and as
realistic as you could ever want. As far as I am concerned I want 100%
realistic sound and I have got it. Much better than GT3 and anything
else I have played.
DAMAGE: Better than anything before. GT3 is such a let down in this
department but V8 Race Driver is a winner. Bits break off and flap in
the breeze, even to the point that if your bonnet is loose and yoo go
over a hump (eg. back section of Bathurst) the bonnet will flap up in
the air as you crest the hump. Doors behave the same (turn left and
your right door will flap open if it is damaged and has popped out of
the frame). GT3's lack of damage means you just go everwhere at full
speed and bounce off the walls or other cars if you feel like it.
ROLLOVERS: A lot of games don't let you roll (GT3!!! for example).
This does - and realistically (not a VRALLY style 10 revolution barrel
roll).
DASHBOARD: You want realistic in car graphics? You got em here. All
the dashes are correctly modelled on real life. GT3 again cannot
compete in this department (I laugh when I hear people call GT3 a SIM
- with no in car dash view they have to be joking).
NUMBER OF CARS ON TRACK: Who wants to be limited to racing just 5
other cars (GT3 anyone)? Not me. Supercars let's you race 14
competitors - woohooo.
FULL RACE SERIES: You get to race a full pack of like competitors (eg.
in a V8 against V8s). GT3 had 1 only V8 - very boring.
AI: The AI is excellent. They are not mindless drones that crash at
the same spots every lap. They react to everything around them, have
their own incidents, and press hard on you to keep you honest. If you
are hammering along trying to keep up with them, sometimes they will
put on the pace and then crash off into the grass/sand in their
excitement to try and beat you (only problem is that half the time you
get so caught up in following / chasing them that you follow them
straight off the road too). In contrast I feel that playing GT3 is
like playing bumper cars (dodgems).
PHYSICS / HANDLING: Set it to SIM, with realistic damage and you WILL
notice a difference (it doesn;t just make the opponents faster as
someone suggested - I can lap 5 seconds faster around a typical track
without SIM enabled as it is impacting my car and it's handling /
braking and ability to get power to the ground. I find the physics to
be EXTREMELY realistic and I can't believe the number of people that
say it isn't. I have tried using the standard controller and a Driving
Force and both provide a realistic driving experience (I amazed at
just how good the standard controller is in this game). If you find
the handling is unrealistic then you either need to setup your car
better, invoke the SIM bonus code, or adjust the dead zone and
saturation of your wheel. Once those are all done it is VERY
realistic.
CHALLENGING: Very challenging - you won't win everything the first
time out (especially not in SIM mode). There seems to be a lot of
depth to the career mode. Beyond that though - I will be happy for
years just racing the wide variety of cars across the huge range of
tracks.
GRAPHICS - Pretty average I am afraid. Very jagged edges (reminiscent
of early PC titles like Need For Speed at something between 640x480
and 800x600). GT3 is FAR SUPERIOR in the graphics department (in all
ways - tracks, cars, scenery). Having said that, this game is so much
fun and so addictive that I defy anyone to notice the poor graphics
when they are in the heat of battle. If the handling was crap AND / OR
the sound was weak THEN I would notice the poor graphics, but all
other areas are so strong that the graphics don't bother me in the
slightest. I can recognise the opposition cars and read the corner
markers fine so that is all I need. Ideally - the next version of this
game should have better graphics, but it only detracts a small bit
from an otherwise superb game
REALISTIC TRACKS - GT3 = Fantasy tracks. V8 Supercars = reality
tracks. I have always wanted to race Australian tracks (especially
Bathurst) and now I can. These are incredibly realistic and I found
that I was able to be competitive on the first run around the tracks
even though most of them I had never driven around in real life (ie.
they were presented exactly as you see on TV - and so just watching
the racing on TV prepares you for this game well).
WHERE CAN YOU BUY IT?
In Melbourne I looked at Myer, Target, several Kmarts, Toy's R US,
Dick Smith Powerhouse yesterday (Monday) and no one had it in stock
(ie. they weren;t just saying "I can't sell it to you until Tuesday,
they were saying it hadn't even arrived into the store yet). I bought
my copy yesterday (yes Monday) from Pulsar in the city. They had it
for $108 but were happy to match the DS Powerhouse colour brochure
price of $94. No doubt some of you will get it for $89.95 or whatever,
but I am happy to have paid my extra $4 (based on 6 hours racing last
night that's about 75c an hour - pretty cheap).
OVERALL RATING - 9/10
How could it get 10? Better graphics, and give me an inside mirror.
Otherwise, I can't see much opportunity to improve this sucker (I
concede that AI can always get a bit better and I suppose handling
might be able to be improved on).
For any people out there that are saying it is an arcade game,
unrealistic handling etc etc, all I can say is that either your setup
is screwed OR you have no idea how cars handle in real life.
For those that say it is not a SIM because it doesn't let you qualify,
maybe you are right (it certainly isn't 100% pure SIM, more like the
80% sim I mentioned earlier) - but I couldn't care less. In all the
SIMs I have ever played I would generally skip qualifying anyway (too
boring) and go straight to the race (paying the penalty and starting
from the back of the grid) - at least in this one I am somewhere
between 4th and 10th without the boredom of qualifying.
I am sure otherwise will have conflicting views to me - which is fine
- but I have written this for all of those people that are not hard
core sim heads, that want to have fun, and that might have been
disappointed to hear some lame / half hearted / ill informed reviews
of this game that have been flying around the net. This is game is
GREAT - and if you want to have FUN, then buy it.
"Scott Caddaye" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
[snip]
> OVERALL RATING - 9/10
> How could it get 10? Better graphics, and give me an inside mirror.
> Otherwise, I can't see much opportunity to improve this sucker (I
> concede that AI can always get a bit better and I suppose handling
> might be able to be improved on).[snip]
Hi Scott,
Good review, and having spent the last three evenings playing the game, I'd
also give it a high rating.
Anyone looking for a GT3 clone is going to be somewhat dissapointed, but
anyone who either raved about the provious TOCA games or is heavily into
saloon car racing is going to love this.
I'd say that in GT3 the car's the star, whilst in TOCA (Insert local name
here!) it's all about the racing.
I never noticed a sim/arcade option though, so I'll need to check that - I
went straight into racing!
Also, I've been playing the game with a GT Driving Force, and apart from a
certain vagueness down the straights, it's pretty good.
I've now completed the TOCA tour, GTV cup, Saab racing series and am mid way
through the DTM series. Marvellous.
Regards,
AndyC
Agreed, but the sound of your own car is low compared to the others, I find
at th start I have to watch my rpm to chnage gear. Like the PC demo, the car
is slow off the mark, and when you change ti 3rd, there is a dead spot. I
havent out it into sim mode yet, as the non sim mode on the PC demo gavce a
more realistic driving model
Yiur comments re sound, how do you find the volume of your car copmpared to
the other cars?
Since when did V8's have a full field of 14 cars? Not since the late 8's in
the group a era, and maybee not even then ;). Ive heard people have played a
pc demo, where can you get that from?
Cool Hand Luke
"Scott Caddaye" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted text (140 lines)
> I have played racing sims and games on the Amiga (Microprose Grand > Prix), PC (GP Legends, Viper Racing, all the Nascar series, SCGT, NFS > etc etc, GP2, GP3) and PS2 (WRC, GT3) and this is more FUN by far than > any of those. > > Before I start a war of SIM vs ARCADE let me say that I am NOT a hard > core sim head. Yes I own and have played Grand Prix Legends (PC), but > it is too realistic to be enjoyable (for me anyway - I can certainly > appreciate that there are hard core dudes out there that would love > it, but it isn't for me). On the other end of the scale, all of the > Need for Speed series (except possibly the first one) have been too > arcadey for me. What I want is something 80% SIM (so that it is pretty > realistic) but 20% arcade (so that I can turn it on and have a blast > for 2 minutes if I want without having to spend an hour practicing and > qualifying before I can get to a race only to spear off in a first > corner crash and have to start all over again). To date the best I > have found in this bracket has been SCGT (once fully customised with > V8 skins and V8 sounds and realistic handling). > > So - now that you know where I am coming from (remember 80% sim. 20% > arcade) - here are my observations. > > SOUND: Better than anything I have heard before. It is surround (and > comes through great via Dolby Prologic II and a sub woofer), and as > realistic as you could ever want. As far as I am concerned I want 100% > realistic sound and I have got it. Much better than GT3 and anything > else I have played. > > DAMAGE: Better than anything before. GT3 is such a let down in this > department but V8 Race Driver is a winner. Bits break off and flap in > the breeze, even to the point that if your bonnet is loose and yoo go > over a hump (eg. back section of Bathurst) the bonnet will flap up in > the air as you crest the hump. Doors behave the same (turn left and > your right door will flap open if it is damaged and has popped out of > the frame). GT3's lack of damage means you just go everwhere at full > speed and bounce off the walls or other cars if you feel like it. > > ROLLOVERS: A lot of games don't let you roll (GT3!!! for example). > This does - and realistically (not a VRALLY style 10 revolution barrel > roll). > > DASHBOARD: You want realistic in car graphics? You got em here. All > the dashes are correctly modelled on real life. GT3 again cannot > compete in this department (I laugh when I hear people call GT3 a SIM > - with no in car dash view they have to be joking). > > NUMBER OF CARS ON TRACK: Who wants to be limited to racing just 5 > other cars (GT3 anyone)? Not me. Supercars let's you race 14 > competitors - woohooo. > > FULL RACE SERIES: You get to race a full pack of like competitors (eg. > in a V8 against V8s). GT3 had 1 only V8 - very boring. > > AI: The AI is excellent. They are not mindless drones that crash at > the same spots every lap. They react to everything around them, have > their own incidents, and press hard on you to keep you honest. If you > are hammering along trying to keep up with them, sometimes they will > put on the pace and then crash off into the grass/sand in their > excitement to try and beat you (only problem is that half the time you > get so caught up in following / chasing them that you follow them > straight off the road too). In contrast I feel that playing GT3 is > like playing bumper cars (dodgems). > > PHYSICS / HANDLING: Set it to SIM, with realistic damage and you WILL > notice a difference (it doesn;t just make the opponents faster as > someone suggested - I can lap 5 seconds faster around a typical track > without SIM enabled as it is impacting my car and it's handling / > braking and ability to get power to the ground. I find the physics to > be EXTREMELY realistic and I can't believe the number of people that > say it isn't. I have tried using the standard controller and a Driving > Force and both provide a realistic driving experience (I amazed at > just how good the standard controller is in this game). If you find > the handling is unrealistic then you either need to setup your car > better, invoke the SIM bonus code, or adjust the dead zone and > saturation of your wheel. Once those are all done it is VERY > realistic. > > CHALLENGING: Very challenging - you won't win everything the first > time out (especially not in SIM mode). There seems to be a lot of > depth to the career mode. Beyond that though - I will be happy for > years just racing the wide variety of cars across the huge range of > tracks. > > GRAPHICS - Pretty average I am afraid. Very jagged edges (reminiscent > of early PC titles like Need For Speed at something between 640x480 > and 800x600). GT3 is FAR SUPERIOR in the graphics department (in all > ways - tracks, cars, scenery). Having said that, this game is so much > fun and so addictive that I defy anyone to notice the poor graphics > when they are in the heat of battle. If the handling was crap AND / OR > the sound was weak THEN I would notice the poor graphics, but all > other areas are so strong that the graphics don't bother me in the > slightest. I can recognise the opposition cars and read the corner > markers fine so that is all I need. Ideally - the next version of this > game should have better graphics, but it only detracts a small bit > from an otherwise superb game > > REALISTIC TRACKS - GT3 = Fantasy tracks. V8 Supercars = reality > tracks. I have always wanted to race Australian tracks (especially > Bathurst) and now I can. These are incredibly realistic and I found > that I was able to be competitive on the first run around the tracks > even though most of them I had never driven around in real life (ie. > they were presented exactly as you see on TV - and so just watching > the racing on TV prepares you for this game well). > > WHERE CAN YOU BUY IT? > In Melbourne I looked at Myer, Target, several Kmarts, Toy's R US, > Dick Smith Powerhouse yesterday (Monday) and no one had it in stock > (ie. they weren;t just saying "I can't sell it to you until Tuesday, > they were saying it hadn't even arrived into the store yet). I bought > my copy yesterday (yes Monday) from Pulsar in the city. They had it > for $108 but were happy to match the DS Powerhouse colour brochure > price of $94. No doubt some of you will get it for $89.95 or whatever, > but I am happy to have paid my extra $4 (based on 6 hours racing last > night that's about 75c an hour - pretty cheap). > > > OVERALL RATING - 9/10 > How could it get 10? Better graphics, and give me an inside mirror. > Otherwise, I can't see much opportunity to improve this sucker (I > concede that AI can always get a bit better and I suppose handling > might be able to be improved on). > > For any people out there that are saying it is an arcade game, > unrealistic handling etc etc, all I can say is that either your setup > is screwed OR you have no idea how cars handle in real life. > > For those that say it is not a SIM because it doesn't let you qualify, > maybe you are right (it certainly isn't 100% pure SIM, more like the > 80% sim I mentioned earlier) - but I couldn't care less. In all the > SIMs I have ever played I would generally skip qualifying anyway (too > boring) and go straight to the race (paying the penalty and starting > from the back of the grid) - at least in this one I am somewhere > between 4th and 10th without the boredom of qualifying. > > I am sure otherwise will have conflicting views to me - which is fine > - but I have written this for all of those people that are not hard > core sim heads, that want to have fun, and that might have been > disappointed to hear some lame / half hearted / ill informed reviews > of this game that have been flying around the net. This is game is > GREAT - and if you want to have FUN, then buy it.Would be nice if a demo was available..aint getting my money till I can try
it. Sounds fun though.
"Scott Caddaye" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted text (140 lines)
> I have played racing sims and games on the Amiga (Microprose Grand > Prix), PC (GP Legends, Viper Racing, all the Nascar series, SCGT, NFS > etc etc, GP2, GP3) and PS2 (WRC, GT3) and this is more FUN by far than > any of those. > > Before I start a war of SIM vs ARCADE let me say that I am NOT a hard > core sim head. Yes I own and have played Grand Prix Legends (PC), but > it is too realistic to be enjoyable (for me anyway - I can certainly > appreciate that there are hard core dudes out there that would love > it, but it isn't for me). On the other end of the scale, all of the > Need for Speed series (except possibly the first one) have been too > arcadey for me. What I want is something 80% SIM (so that it is pretty > realistic) but 20% arcade (so that I can turn it on and have a blast > for 2 minutes if I want without having to spend an hour practicing and > qualifying before I can get to a race only to spear off in a first > corner crash and have to start all over again). To date the best I > have found in this bracket has been SCGT (once fully customised with > V8 skins and V8 sounds and realistic handling). > > So - now that you know where I am coming from (remember 80% sim. 20% > arcade) - here are my observations. > > SOUND: Better than anything I have heard before. It is surround (and > comes through great via Dolby Prologic II and a sub woofer), and as > realistic as you could ever want. As far as I am concerned I want 100% > realistic sound and I have got it. Much better than GT3 and anything > else I have played. > > DAMAGE: Better than anything before. GT3 is such a let down in this > department but V8 Race Driver is a winner. Bits break off and flap in > the breeze, even to the point that if your bonnet is loose and yoo go > over a hump (eg. back section of Bathurst) the bonnet will flap up in > the air as you crest the hump. Doors behave the same (turn left and > your right door will flap open if it is damaged and has popped out of > the frame). GT3's lack of damage means you just go everwhere at full > speed and bounce off the walls or other cars if you feel like it. > > ROLLOVERS: A lot of games don't let you roll (GT3!!! for example). > This does - and realistically (not a VRALLY style 10 revolution barrel > roll). > > DASHBOARD: You want realistic in car graphics? You got em here. All > the dashes are correctly modelled on real life. GT3 again cannot > compete in this department (I laugh when I hear people call GT3 a SIM > - with no in car dash view they have to be joking). > > NUMBER OF CARS ON TRACK: Who wants to be limited to racing just 5 > other cars (GT3 anyone)? Not me. Supercars let's you race 14 > competitors - woohooo. > > FULL RACE SERIES: You get to race a full pack of like competitors (eg. > in a V8 against V8s). GT3 had 1 only V8 - very boring. > > AI: The AI is excellent. They are not mindless drones that crash at > the same spots every lap. They react to everything around them, have > their own incidents, and press hard on you to keep you honest. If you > are hammering along trying to keep up with them, sometimes they will > put on the pace and then crash off into the grass/sand in their > excitement to try and beat you (only problem is that half the time you > get so caught up in following / chasing them that you follow them > straight off the road too). In contrast I feel that playing GT3 is > like playing bumper cars (dodgems). > > PHYSICS / HANDLING: Set it to SIM, with realistic damage and you WILL > notice a difference (it doesn;t just make the opponents faster as > someone suggested - I can lap 5 seconds faster around a typical track > without SIM enabled as it is impacting my car and it's handling / > braking and ability to get power to the ground. I find the physics to > be EXTREMELY realistic and I can't believe the number of people that > say it isn't. I have tried using the standard controller and a Driving > Force and both provide a realistic driving experience (I amazed at > just how good the standard controller is in this game). If you find > the handling is unrealistic then you either need to setup your car > better, invoke the SIM bonus code, or adjust the dead zone and > saturation of your wheel. Once those are all done it is VERY > realistic. > > CHALLENGING: Very challenging - you won't win everything the first > time out (especially not in SIM mode). There seems to be a lot of > depth to the career mode. Beyond that though - I will be happy for > years just racing the wide variety of cars across the huge range of > tracks. > > GRAPHICS - Pretty average I am afraid. Very jagged edges (reminiscent > of early PC titles like Need For Speed at something between 640x480 > and 800x600). GT3 is FAR SUPERIOR in the graphics department (in all > ways - tracks, cars, scenery). Having said that, this game is so much > fun and so addictive that I defy anyone to notice the poor graphics > when they are in the heat of battle. If the handling was crap AND / OR > the sound was weak THEN I would notice the poor graphics, but all > other areas are so strong that the graphics don't bother me in the > slightest. I can recognise the opposition cars and read the corner > markers fine so that is all I need. Ideally - the next version of this > game should have better graphics, but it only detracts a small bit > from an otherwise superb game > > REALISTIC TRACKS - GT3 = Fantasy tracks. V8 Supercars = reality > tracks. I have always wanted to race Australian tracks (especially > Bathurst) and now I can. These are incredibly realistic and I found > that I was able to be competitive on the first run around the tracks > even though most of them I had never driven around in real life (ie. > they were presented exactly as you see on TV - and so just watching > the racing on TV prepares you for this game well). > > WHERE CAN YOU BUY IT? > In Melbourne I looked at Myer, Target, several Kmarts, Toy's R US, > Dick Smith Powerhouse yesterday (Monday) and no one had it in stock > (ie. they weren;t just saying "I can't sell it to you until Tuesday, > they were saying it hadn't even arrived into the store yet). I bought > my copy yesterday (yes Monday) from Pulsar in the city. They had it > for $108 but were happy to match the DS Powerhouse colour brochure > price of $94. No doubt some of you will get it for $89.95 or whatever, > but I am happy to have paid my extra $4 (based on 6 hours racing last > night that's about 75c an hour - pretty cheap). > > > OVERALL RATING - 9/10 > How could it get 10? Better graphics, and give me an inside mirror. > Otherwise, I can't see much opportunity to improve this sucker (I > concede that AI can always get a bit better and I suppose handling > might be able to be improved on). > > For any people out there that are saying it is an arcade game, > unrealistic handling etc etc, all I can say is that either your setup > is screwed OR you have no idea how cars handle in real life. > > For those that say it is not a SIM because it doesn't let you qualify, > maybe you are right (it certainly isn't 100% pure SIM, more like the > 80% sim I mentioned earlier) - but I couldn't care less. In all the > SIMs I have ever played I would generally skip qualifying anyway (too > boring) and go straight to the race (paying the penalty and starting > from the back of the grid) - at least in this one I am somewhere > between 4th and 10th without the boredom of qualifying. > > I am sure otherwise will have conflicting views to me - which is fine > - but I have written this for all of those people that are not hard > core sim heads, that want to have fun, and that might have been > disappointed to hear some lame / half hearted / ill informed reviews > of this game that have been flying around the net. This is game is > GREAT - and if you want to have FUN, then buy it.On Tue, 27 Aug 2002 14:14:35 GMT, "Luke Phillips"
<(NOSPM)[email hidden]> wrote:
>Since when did V8's have a full field of 14 cars? Not since the late 8's in
>the group a era, and maybee not even then ;).
I'll leave that troll alone :)
Ive heard people have played a
>pc demo, where can you get that from?
>
>Cool Hand Luke
>
If you're in Aus you can get the demo by buying special packs of
Valvoline oil.
