Project CARS Reviews
Project Cars delivers a solid racing sandbox that is both entertaining to play and stunning to see in action. Unfortunately, the game's career system lacks proper progression and any incentive to complete its races. Racing enthusiasts are sure to enjoy all that Project Cars has to offer, while those looking for a game to compete with its console competition will have to keep waiting or look elsewhere.
Once you get the controls where you want them, your car exactly how you like it, and your race day tactics tightened up, it delivers an exhilarating ride, but few will have the patience – or, indeed, the willpower – to reach that point, and thus it's hard to imagine this outing achieving the mainstream success of other competing motoring series.
Issues with A.I hold it back from greatness, but Project CARS is on the right track with its sandbox career, community-focused online experience and A-grade car handling mechanics.
This is a promising start with Project Cars offering one of the most fully featured racers at launch date. Further refinement and expansion on these features and FFB could turn this into a real gem. Project Cars is definitely worth parking in your game racing library.
Project Cars is a massive package that can be tailored to anyone who enjoys racing games. Some may find issue with the lack of unlockables, but there is so much to see and do that I never grew bored of enjoying what was already there.
Project Cars is a game that requires practice, patience and a whole lot of skill. It's not the easiest game to pick up and play, but it's definitely one of the most rewarding when you put in the time and finally nab yourself a podium finish.
Fully patched with a fuller catalog of cars and even more circuits, there is little left to complain about. The racing is as good, as real and as uncompromising as it gets on the console and it is a truly exhilarating experience.
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.
Project Cars offers a new simulation racer to the mainstream audience. Anyone who deals in serious virtual racing will enjoy the game as its details from the car setup to matching race day almost goes unmatched. While offering all that, the game looks beautiful all while offering the full feeling of a race environment. It will be interesting to see what is offered in the future for this game, but Namco Bandai's first effort is as much as you can ask for.
Despite a few disappointing technical shortcomings, Project CARS stands out as a best-in-class sim, both alluring to genre veterans and accessible enough for racing newcomers.
Project CARS doesn't suffer fools, and although the average race requires the need for speed, slowing things down to smell the roses, as well as develop your skills, is the only way you to stay on this all too difficult, yet ultimately satisfying, track.
Overall, though, Project Cars is a welcome addition to the racing genre, with special emphasis on the racing part. If you're looking for sim racer that surprises in a good way, you'll want to give Project Cars a spin.
In conclusion, Project CARS is a great new entry in the video game racing genre which loses out on pole position by a few tenths of a second. The openly apparent beauty of Project CARS is the first thing that draws you in, with an equally gorgeous driving simulator hiding just below the smooth and silky skin.
It alters the racing-car formula smartly in several areas, but the good ideas are often half-baked or hidden behind a load of cruft.
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.