Project CARS (PlayStation 4) Review

There is absolutely no question that Project CARS is 100% designed for racing sim fans first and foremost, and that is one of the main pieces of information anyone interested in this game should take on board before splashing out on it. Forget drifting and nitro boosting around corners at breakneck speeds, forget taking rally and hordes of sports cars for a spin, forget customising and doing up old bangers and turning them into beasts, forget fun mini-games for a break from the norm, and certainly forget driving on the moon in buggies as in Gran Turismo 6. There is no messing about in Project CARS. It is a motorsport racing sim and a motorsport racing sim only.

There are no unlockables; every car, every track, every competition is available from the first booting of the game to ensure everybody has the opportunity to immediately hop into the car of their choice, get tweaking, and get driving. Many sim lovers won't have this any other way. It's not always fun to spend hours grafting and grinding, racking up in-game currencies or winning tough tournaments to eventually get hands on that long sought after set of wheels, after all. The seriousness and lack of content to unearth gives a particular message about who this game is for, and it means plenty will end up going elsewhere.

It's a rather alienating experience to begin with, for any newcomer to the genre. The option to choose from novice, amateur and professional setups on first play is granted, but there is no way at all to then jump from one standard to the other later on, despite the game saying it is possible to do so when the choices are presented. What it really means is that every intricate detail and setting can be altered in the options menu at any time, and while it is the case that there are sliders for just about every possible function - including steering, throttle, brake and clutch dead zones and sensitivities, force feedback and soft steering - it is impossible to know what the default settings are for each of the three initial difficulties.

The volume of changeable intricacies is massive - more so than any other similar games - and it cannot go unappreciated at all. It is not friendly at all to those who find this to be unfamiliar territory, though. No help is given to explain what certain functions mean, and what should be altered if having trouble controlling cars. Rather shockingly, the default setup of the controller is so poor that it is left up to users to go online and hit the forums to find the best configurations to suit their needs, and to try and replicate the feeling of analogue and steering as smooth as is feasibly possible with a gamepad.

Project CARS' core focus has been on creating the most realistic racing simulator to date, and it is hard to argue that there is anything else out there that can match it. Once the preferred and most comfortable setup has eventually been found, getting onto the circuits properly with any one of the machines on offer delivers an unparalleled escapade. One of the real beauties is just how audibly spot on the vast majority of the vehicles are, including modern openwheel Formula One types, Le Mans Prototypes, GTs, supercars, road cars, retro touring cars and track day cars. There are even 150cc shifter karts and 250cc Superkarts for a slower, but thrilling, alternative, and are great starting points before delving into the meat of motorsport racing. Going on-board from cockpit view gives a huge sense of immersion when the roar of the engine is whirring, and, combined with the gorgeous aesthetics and precise physics, this is as close as it gets to replicating actually being on the track and in the car itself.

Apart from time trialling and racing online, the Career mode is where most people will spend their time. Different motorsports can be chosen to play a season in, and calendar years are worked through, entering championships and tournaments, and trying to perform well to get scouted by various race teams that offer positions to race for them in upcoming events. Multiple profiles can be created in order to focus on particular classes, but one of the biggest and most fun draws is starting out at the bottom in the 150cc go-karts, working through the multitude of championships of each motorsport, and eventually getting into the pinnacle of racing, Formula One. Although real drivers aren't named in the game, going this rookie route and climbing through the ranks gives that impression of trying to be the next Lewis Hamilton - many current F1 racers began their careers in karts, progressing through these championships and getting promoted into higher classes and events to get them to the level they are at today.

The realism doesn't just stop in the vehicles themselves. Full race weekends can be competed in, with practice sessions, qualifiers and the actual race day itself all making up the event. Adjustments can be made to the difficulty of the AI and length of each race, and the choice of restarting if messing up in a qualifier or main event can be turned on or off to force handicaps or keep things as realistic as possible. Sequencing all of these comprehensive tournaments together each year is what makes the Career mode of Project CARS so appealing. It is easily one of the drawing factors of the game. The one real downside is again the fact that all content is accessible from the get-go. Eventually, the excitement begins to wear away, as the lack of unlockables dampens the replayability. With no in-game currency to rack up, no cars to buy, no customisations to win, and no tracks to unlock, the average racer will find themselves losing the urge to come back.

This is where the time trials and online mode get their worth. Time trialling is always a favourite of any racing fan; whether it's a hardcore sim like this one, arcade-style racing in Project Gotham Racing or Burnout Paradise, or even multiplayer-centric kart racers like Mario Kart, time trialling is constantly on the agenda to share and contest records with friends and strangers around the world. Online racing allows all sorts of settings to be applied, but the mode itself runs into some problems of its own. For one thing, some users will force some setups that others won't enjoy, and although other lobbies can be joined to find a new group, it can often take a while before everyone indicates that they are ready to race.

When finally able to get onto the track, whether by patiently sitting in until race start or hopping into a session in progress, it is often the case that players only in it to cause misery for everyone else will be encountered. Equally frustrating can be the novices that still haven't got to grips with their own cars, bumping into others and sliding all over the place. It can be a torrid and painful time, but since this is a community-based game, there are no shortages of like-minded individuals in forums that form friendly, competitive and legitimate groups that play the game fairly, always looking to bring new people together to have a proper go of it. It pays dividends to seek out and organise such networks of friends, where the online experience can always be an enjoyable one.

Keeping to the community theme that Project CARS prides itself on, the feedback in the forums for the game does mean future updates are on the agenda. Sure enough, patches are on the way at time of writing, which aim to iron out plenty of issues that do unfortunately aggravate already. AI is a big concern, with some racers driving idiotically at times, often causing crashes on the first corner of a race, or unexpectedly swerving to throw personal positioning and control off balance. Examples like this are aware of and aiming to be addressed, with the current large list of plans demonstrating that Slightly Mad Studios is committed to working with fans and their proposals to continue to provide the ultimate sim racer.