PROJECT CARS:REVIEW

                                        PROJECT CARS 

                                           REVIEW

 Project CARS is a motorsport racing simulator video game developed by Slightly Mad Studios and published by Bandai Namco Games. It was released in May 2015 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Project CARS was originally also due for release on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U but it was later announced that these versions had been cancelled.

 Multiplayer is similarly laissez-faire, with no real progression system to speak of. If all you’re looking for is a chance to hop in against other players, you’ll probably be satisfied, but if you’re like me, you’ll wish there were some sort of skill-based ranking or transparent standings to count on. You’ll also grow to hate the long periods you’ll spend in the lobby waiting for everyone to ready up, as well as the fact that the host can force whatever insane settings he or she wants on everyone else. I once participated in a race where every single car in the game was available, and while it was amusing to see superkarts buzzing around Formula cars and hatchbacks, I wouldn’t exactly call it competitive.

it didn’t help that the AI racers in the Career and Solo modes were so inconsistent. With the default difficulty setting, the other drivers varied between smartly aggressive and totally passive. Why should I spend an hour learning how to master the line at the Sonoma Raceway if I can win by a margin of 12 seconds even when I don’t put in time studying the track? Couple this with a nasty bug that would randomly switch me from first to last place, and the whole experience went from meditative to monotonous. (I hit that bug four times in 15 hours of play, but even that is too many

That’s Project CARS at its best. No experience points. No parts to buy. No cars to add to your collection. The audacious decision to offer everything up front informs the rest of Project CARS’s design, making it distinct (and sometimes frustrating). Other games in the genre work like Skinner boxes, offering rewards according to a special schedule designed to keep you hooked. These games offer the fantasy of plodding, constant accumulation or low-stakes (if high-speed) action. Project CARS offers a different fantasy, one that’s a little less attractive and a bit harder to enjoy: the fantasy of learning how to do something difficult.

Categories: REVIEW