Project CARS Reviews
Project CARS expects you to spend hours on end, placing all your concentration on the race at hand, perfecting each turn, to chastise yourself for making simple mistakes, and to drive the same course over and over again in an effort to get that "perfect lap". While not all of their efforts have translated perfectly, Project CARS comes pretty damn close. Some frame rate drops hampered my experience, but overall Project CARS has done what it set out to do: build a fantastic looking, authentic racing simulator.
With Project CARS, the simulator aspects are co-opted and somewhat compromised by a desire to simultaneously appeal to the arcade racer crowd - without actually being an arcade racer.
Project CARS is a game that punishes every mistake you make, which makes successes and victories infinitely more rewarding.
Simply put, Project CARS is simulation racing done right. The subtlety of the nearly countless gameplay tweaks, combined with a robust open Career mode, makes for an experience that racing fans should fall in love with.
Whether you're a hardcore or fringe fan of racing titles, Project Cars is a must buy.
It's technically impressive, gorgeous, accessible yet challenging and definitely worthy of your gaming collection.
Everywhere else I'm always racing for a reason -- to earn money for cars, to unlock new areas, to build my driving level for some unknown reason -- but in Project CARS I'm racing for the sake of it.
Project Cars provides excellent gameplay that caters to both beginners and motoring enthusiasts alike. Along with mouth-watering graphics and enough satisfying content for the long drive ahead, this is a game with plenty of longevity.
All substance, not enough style
If you want to learn how to drive the vehicles you can't get ahold of in real life, this is for you. If you want a real racing experience this is for you. If you want to collect them all, or have a bit of fun, then you're better off waiting for Gran Turismo or getting an arcade racer instead. For the most realistic driving simulation available though, Project CARS is all you'll need.
The kind of shake-up that this genre badly needed
Project CARS is a racing game that simulates the act of racing lots of different vehicles in locations all over the world. It is very excellent at that, and if you like the idea of a racing sim you should give it a shot. I had a great time racing around the tracks, but it isn't something I am going to turn on very many more times. If a good simulation of driving cars at moderate-to-fast speeds is what really rocks your world, buy this game because I don't think it gets better than this. If you want something a little more exciting, grab the infinitely-excellent Blur or start rocking your Big Wheel again.
Project CARS is going to give some of the bigger racing games a run for their money. There is depth, detail and fun to be had with this game. It certainly was worth the wait.
A must for casual and hardcore racing fans alike, Project CARS does practically everything right, providing plenty of options for players of all skill levels and persuasions. I'm not much of a racing sim fan, but I found myself completely immersed in Project CARS. This is a good thing. Project CARS is a good thing. The end.
If Slightly Mad Studios wanted to prove they could build an engine to compete with the likes of Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport, Project CARS is a definite success, with driving that feels as realistic as anything else out there. If they wanted to compete with the polish and robustness of those bigger titles, though, they've come up slightly short.
When everything works and with the right control configuration, Project Cars is the strongest sim-style racer on console platforms, and the best all-rounder on PC. Less serious racers may find the career a bit of a slog, but if you prioritize quick thrills over authenticity and challenging racing, then Project Cars is not the game for you. Our only real gripe is that it's still a little buggy, with new issues creeping in with the 1.04 release. There's nothing wrong that the developers can't fix, and if they do they'll have a game that will still be a formidable contender when Forza 6 rolls onto the track.
But to enjoy that game, you have to forgive incomplete or poorly implemented features, and make your peace with the evil AI. They're small problems, in the scheme of things, and they don't spoil a great drive. But they're just enough to deny Project CARS what could have been a clean pole position.
Project CARS is a great example of a game that is designed to get players to be better at what they love to do, without having to integrate designs that can hurts the game's potential for its hardcore audience. It does a good job with its visuals, a fantastic one with its audio, and a superb one with how it handles. For fans who love a sport that requires its athletes to work for every fraction of a second shaved off, this is a must have, but if you need a game that keeps giving you motivation and something to unlock, you may find yourself putting this one in park after a few laps.
The folks over at Slightly Mad Studios should be proud of what they have accomplished. Project CARS may not quite live up to the hype, but considering it has outdone its competition in some critical areas, it should be applauded. It may not be a perfect sim racer, but it's pretty damn near close, and for those willing to put in the time, can be incredibly rewarding.
Project Cars does so much right, but gets enough wrong to be excluded from the grand echelons of Forza and Gran Turismo.