Yeah, that looks pretty good. Should Forza and Gran Turismo be worried?
Historically, the racing game war on the consoles has been between two sides – Forza Motorsport on the Xbox and Gran Turismo on the Sony PlayStation. Other forces have tried to mount sneak attacks, and some, such as the Need for Speed series, have had some success. But generally, if you want as much realism as that little box under your TV can manage, the Big Two are the ones to go for.
Could that be about to change? The team behind Project CARS has just dropped this trailer for their new game, and by gum if it doesn’t look pretty darned good. It might have a slightly pretentious name (CARS stands for Community Assisted Racing Simulator), but the developers, Slightly Mad Studios, talk it up well.
Project CARS takes an unusual approach, not just in its foundations. Funded without a traditional publisher, the game immediately gives you all cars and all tracks, meaning you can instantly jump in to any of the vehicles and head out to any of the tracks for some petrol-powered fun. No more slogging through the 80bhp hatchbacks before you get to the good stuff.
The vehicles range from shifter karts through to track day cars like the Caterham Seven and supercars like the McLaren P1, and a wealth of different types of race cars. Le Mans prototypes, GT cars and single seaters are all available, with a focus on realistic physics. The trailer suggests that there will be a ton of classics to choose from as well.
Tracks announced so far – and there are a lot of them – include the full Circuit du Sarthe at Le Mans, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Donington Park, Silverstone Snetterton and the “Azure Circuit” which looks suspiciously like Monaco. There’s also the Mount Panorama circuit at Bathurst, our very own Dubai Autodrome and road tracks too, from the California coast to the south of France. You can play online or on your own, battling through career mode.
Will Project CARS be able to take on the big boys? We’re excited to find out. The game is released in March on PC, Xbox One and PS4, with later released planned for Wii U.
Source – Bandai Namco Games EUROPE
