I bought Pro Race Driver for the Xbox a few days ago, and I am really
enjoying it. I'm not really much of a review writer, so I'll just give you
the Cliff's Notes:
- It's not a sim, but it is a damn good racing game.
- There is a sim mode, but that mode does not work well with a gamepad. It
might work well with a wheel, but based on the PC version I doubt it.
- The sim mode and other cheats are all available from the free cheat
generator that someone posted a link to last week. Codemasters may want you
to pay for the cheat codes, but thanks to the cheat generator you don't have
to.
- Cheats can be turned on and off and also it is possible to create more
than one career game, so it is possible to play it single player with cheats
off and then use the "all cars" and "all tracks" cheats when playing it
multiplayer.
- The default arcade handling is similar to Project Gotham Racing, which is
fine for the type of game it is. If you like PGR you know what I mean. I
got used to it very quickly and find it quite enjoyable. It does respond to
weight transer and friction circle effects, but it is a bit overly generous
in terms of stability control and braking. No problem, that's really a
necessity when using a gamepad. The point is it did not seem to do anything
illogical, and you don't have to throw all you racing knowledge out the
window.
- The "CarPG" aspects are actually kind of fun, giving you a little more
involvement in the career mode.
- The AI is fun. They race just fine at first, but if you start bumping
them they will start bumping you, and not necessarily in the same race.
This is exactly what Codemasters said would happen. I really think the
people that said that the AI bump too much aren't telling us everything, if
you know what I mean. ;o) The cool thing that I think a lot of people may
have missed is that they do display very human-like behavior at times. For
example you can really pressure them into making a mistake on corner entry,
and a couple times guys slid sideways right in front of me on the exit.
They also will occasionally block and do other human things. Nicely done.
- The tracks and cars are gorgeous. There are some annoying low res
textures in places on some tracks, but you will probably only notice it on
replays.
- At last an Xbox racing game with a replay mode that you can fast forward
and rewind. Okay Heat has that too but most don't.
- The replays are just hilarious. Watching pieces fall off your car, or
seeing yourself dragging the bumper around for a lap, is just too much fun.
Nice touch: on one race the rear fascia had fallen halfway off of my car,
but when I emerged from the mandatory pit stop not only was it re-attached,
but there were big hunks of tape holding it on!
- By default damage seems to be primarily cosmetic, but there is a cheat
code to turn on more realistic damage.
- For most of the races the available cars are tied to the track type so
that you don't have illogical things, but there is a freestyle mode where
you can create races and even championship series with any combination of
available cars and tracks.
- I won't list all the cars and tracks since there is plenty of info on that
on the net, but suffice it to say everything from fwd sedans to GTP cars is
available, including some very interesting vintage cars (no open wheelers
though), and the track list reads like one of the r.a.s. polls on what
people's favorite tracks are.
- In case it wasn't already obvious, all of the series are available in all
versions of the game (PRD, TOCA, DTM, etc.). So yes, Goy, it will still
have the Aussie V8 series no matter which version you get. ;o)
- Based on comparing this game to the PC demo, I would have to say that
console racing has been their primary emphasis in the design. So despite
all the good things I have to say about the Xbox game, I still would not
recommend the PC version, unless / until they patch the controller code.
Although perhaps the PC game with a gamepad or joystick might be fun.
- Cockpit and hood views are available, but only in single player mode. Not
a problem, I always end up using the bumper cam in split screen games anyway
so I can see the frigging track. The cockpit view is actually pretty
restrictive, I think the hood view is really more natural looking in this
case.
- There are time trial and free race modes available so that you can
practice the tracks before running them in career mode. You might think
that is pretty basic but some console games leave those things out. The
time trial mode has a ghost car and the ability to save your own ghost lap
if you beat the default one.
Bottom line: it is definitely worth a rental, and if, like me, you are more
of a car nut / racing nut than a sim nut, then it is a must have due to all
the authentic cars and tracks. If on the other hand you are seriously into
simulation accuracy, skip it. It's definitely more game than sim, but it's
a damn good game as far as that goes.
Great write up Hasqau - I am having a blast with it - definitely aimed at
the console market.
Sometimes though the AI is just a little too aggressive but payback is a
blast
"ThermosBoy (TM)" <.@.> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted text (10 lines)
> On Mon, 21 Apr 2003 19:03:52 -0400, "Haqsau" <[email hidden]> > wrote: > > >- Based on comparing this game to the PC demo, I would have to say that > >console racing has been their primary emphasis in the design. So despite > >all the good things I have to say about the Xbox game, I still would not > >recommend the PC version, unless / until they patch the controller code. > >Although perhaps the PC game with a gamepad or joystick might be fun. > > It's heaps of fun :)On Mon, 21 Apr 2003 19:03:52 -0400, "Haqsau" <[email hidden]>
wrote:
>I really think the
>people that said that the AI bump too much aren't telling us everything, if
>you know what I mean. ;o)
Have you gotten the cut scene of the guy yelling at you for hitting
him yet? Hilarious. =)
>- By default damage seems to be primarily cosmetic, but there is a cheat
>code to turn on more realistic damage.
Huh I'll have to check for that one. The damage is more intense in
faster cars I'm finding too - smack the wall at one of the ovals in
the Monte Carlo and you can rip off wheels and do serious suspension
or engine damage really quickly. The entry level class doesn't seem
to really factor in damage much. On the plus side, the AI doesn't
seem to cheat much, so if you do lose it and go off into the sand or
into the barrier you won't do very well in the standings.
>- Based on comparing this game to the PC demo, I would have to say that
>console racing has been their primary emphasis in the design. So despite
>all the good things I have to say about the Xbox game, I still would not
>recommend the PC version, unless / until they patch the controller code.
>Although perhaps the PC game with a gamepad or joystick might be fun.
I'd definitely say it's a console-only racer. A very very very good
console racer, on par with PGR (which I admittedly barely play
anymore) but a strictly console racer nonethelesss.
>Bottom line: it is definitely worth a rental, and if, like me, you are more
>of a car nut / racing nut than a sim nut, then it is a must have due to all
>the authentic cars and tracks. If on the other hand you are seriously into
>simulation accuracy, skip it. It's definitely more game than sim, but it's
>a damn good game as far as that goes.
It's a ton of fun that's for sure, and I don't think the handling is
any worse than something like Porsche Unleashed.
Jason
True, but I felt it was "human error" type of aggression rather than bad
coding type of aggression. I did get poked in the rear in the braking zone
several times, but on the other hand I also saw some, but not all, of the AI
cars in front of me just miss the braking point and lock the brakes going
into the braking zone. So I tend to think that some of the bumps I got were
intended to represent unskilled drivers rather than overly aggressive
drivers, which I think is a pretty cool touch. I have only done the first
series so far, it will be interesting to see if the AI drivers get more
skilled as I progress.
"Braddo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:b8238o$7mo7$[email hidden]...
>
> Sometimes though the AI is just a little too aggressive but payback is a
> blast
>
Yes, and I refuse to admit just how quickly that scene came up. ;o)
"Jason Moyer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
>
> Have you gotten the cut scene of the guy yelling at you for hitting
> him yet? Hilarious. =)
>
Agreed. I wasn't even going to bother trying it after playing the PC
version, but I'm glad I did. It doesn't win any awards for handling
realism, but they've chosen a very nice driving model which feels great on a
gamepad. I'm a big fan of Project Gotham mainly due to its very involving
car handling which other games like Gran Turismo 3 lack and yes, it's nearly
as good as PG in the handling department. I haven't really gotten into it
just yet but it's safe to say that the Xbox version is much better than the
PC and PS2 versions. Just need to unlock Bathurst now......
I picked up the PC version for 29.99. It was worth it to me to finally have
a game with the Fuji Speedway represented (though they've removed Mt. Fuji
from the horizon for some odd reason).
"SS" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:
> I picked up the PC version for 29.99. It was worth it to me to
> finally have a game with the Fuji Speedway represented (though they've
> removed Mt. Fuji from the horizon for some odd reason).
>
>
I have heard that Gojira(Godzilla) stole the mountain. Of Course the
Japanese threw every particle beam weapon they had at him to no effect.
dave henrie
Maybe they should have fired the particle beam weapons at him instead of
throwing them at him. ;o)
"Dave Henrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
>
> I have heard that Gojira(Godzilla) stole the mountain. Of Course the
> Japanese threw every particle beam weapon they had at him to no effect.
>
> dave henrie
