A True Sim with Frustrating Flaws
I do love a racing game, so when news came through that there was not one but two new racing sim games set to appear on the Xbox, the race was on to get on the review process.
The game I’m going to look at today is that of Project Motor Racing, and is coming from Straight4 Studios and GIANTS Software. Those of you with a racing disposition will no doubt be aware of the Project Cars series of games, and this game is widely touted as a spiritual successor to Project Cars 2, as the development team features several of the original team who made that game, including Ian Bell, the founder of Slightly Mad Studios from back in the day.
The question is, can Project Motor Racing live up to the game it is citing as its predecessor, or should we be looking elsewhere? Fire up your engines and let’s find out!
Now, kicking off with the way Project Motor Racing presents itself, and everything does get off to a promising start. The cars that we can choose from all look very nice and while there are a few missing cars (no Ferrari or McLaren, for instance) there is a good selection available. Everything from a Mazda MX-5 to the latest LMDh Hypercars are available to be taken for a spin: 70 in total gives a really good choice of classes to race in.
Northampton and Grainy Textures
The circuits have also been scanned in to the millimetre for “ultimate precision and authenticity”. However it’s a shame that this drive for realism didn’t include the names of certain tracks. I’ve never raced on Derby or Northampton racetracks, for instance, but luckily the layouts are the same as Donington Park and Silverstone so I wasn’t completely lost. It is a bit jarring to be driving down the main straight at Silverstone and see “Northampton” on the bridge over the track!
Once we are racing, everything looks very nice, if slightly washed out for my money. Normally these games tend to slap everything with the HD stick (looking at you, Forza Motorsport) but here everything seems slightly grainy; not unpleasant, but definitely strange until you get used to it. There’s also not a true front bumper cam in the game, which makes me sad and the closest we can get is about halfway down the bonnet of the cars. One nice trick is the day/night cycle,
Sound is an area where things are also pretty good, but not quite as good as I hoped. See, the roar of the engine sounds okay, but it all seems to be lacking the raw power that proper race cars have. While the gearbox whine from proper race cars works really well, that is largely the noise you’ll hear over the engine, rather than in conjunction with it.
And further, the sound of collisions is very much like two cardboard boxes bumping into each other, and this is a bit disappointing: a proper crunching collision would make you drive a bit more carefully I feel. Luckily, the music in the loading screens is quite good, especially in the multiplayer registration screen, where it isn’t unusual to be sat waiting for ten minutes while players are sought; the stirring music is an odd fit for sitting twiddling your thumbs, but it works pretty well.
Single-Player Strategy
We can skip over the narrative section of the review, as a racing game is usually famous for not having one, and this is no different. The closest we get in Project Motor Racing is in the single player championship mode, where we can create our own team and then see how fortunes play out. This section is very well done, with not only three different funding models to start from (ranging from what you can scrounge from down the back of the settee up to money no object, buy what you want) and also different sponsorship deals. Do you choose a flat rate, gamble it all on winning, or just get your repairs covered? The choice is yours!
AI Ineptitude and Track Limit Tyranny
But what of the actual gameplay? Looking at Project Motor Racing from purely from a content point of view, the choice is large. There is the traditional multiplayer mode, where we can race against other people from around the world, the single player mode I touched on above, or there are various challenges to try out, where various people have set times in certain cars on certain tracks and you have to try and beat them. So, plenty to go at, and that must surely mean the actual racing action, the beating heart of this game is going to be awesome, right? Well, not so fast, there are some absolutely howling errors here that I need to make you aware of.
The first is the AI drivers in the single player mode. They own the racing line and will drive on it, regardless of where you happen to be. On the racing line and slowing down for a corner? Prepare to be punted into the gravel as an AI car drives straight through you. Alongside an AI in a race to a bend? Well, you’ll be spun into the gravel like you were an American fugitive running from the police. Spin out on your own? Don’t expect the AI to brake: they will literally drive through you, and if you are at the front, it isn’t unusual to be hit by 5 cars in a row, leaving your car absolutely undrivable and a restart.
The other really annoying thing is the track limit police. If you so much as look at the edge of a track, you will be slapped with a penalty and these range from having to drive slowly for a period of time to time penalties. Of course, you’d expect that if the other cars punt you into the gravel, this would be taken into account, right? Well, forget it. Going from 1st place to 8th, and then taking a two second penalty for breaching track limits is normally the way it goes. These two factors take the racing action from fun to frustrating in 2.3 seconds, and really spoil the entire game.
Demanding Physics, Twitchy Pad Controls
The actual driving, when you manage to find a bit of space and actually drive, is very good, by and large. The cars demand respect, as even an MX-5 can bite if you try to take liberties with it, and the higher up the tree you go, the harder the cars are to drive. I think Project Motor Racing has been pretty much made for wheel users, as the controls on a pad are so twitchy that even a slight mistiming on the throttle can send you into a spin and end any chance of you winning a race.
This is even worse online, where there aren’t many people playing, but when they do play, they are on a PC with a wheel, by and large. These people literally run rings around poor old controller users, and no amount of sensitivity tweaking seems to help.
A Sim with Strong Foundations, Poor Execution
Project Motor Racing is a game of two, uneven halves. The actual driving is properly challenging, as you want a sim racer to be, but the rest of the experience is ruined by some over zealous AI, bad controls and ridiculous track limit rules.
There is fun to be had here, but you really have to dig for it, and while managing your race team is pretty good fun, the rest may well feel disappointing.
Important Links
Project Motor Racing Sets November Release Date, Full Mod Support Confirmed for Xbox, PS5, PC – https://www.thexboxhub.com/project-motor-racing-sets-november-release-date-full-mod-support-confirmed-for-xbox-ps5-pc/
Project Motor Racing Adds Porsche, Spa, and the Nordschleife in Major Gamescom Reveal – https://www.thexboxhub.com/project-motor-racing-adds-porsche-spa-and-the-nordschleife-in-major-gamescom-reveal/
Project Motor Racing Details No-Nonsense Online Multiplayer, Adds Sebring, New Cars and More – https://www.thexboxhub.com/project-motor-racing-details-no-nonsense-online-multiplayer-adds-sebring-new-cars-and-more/
The New Benchmark in Racing Simulators? Project Motor Racing Launches on Xbox, PlayStation and PC – https://www.thexboxhub.com/the-new-benchmark-in-racing-simulators-project-motor-racing-launches-on-xbox-playstation-and-pc/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/project-motor-racing/9P6P724SLKDQ/0010
