Review
Played on: PlayStation 4
Released: 2015
Apart from the more arcade based racing games, on consoles, the Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo series have divided their "simulator" experiences on two, dominating hardware, brands in the industry. Xbox and PlayStation consecutively. On the PC market, however, there's a far more diverse and larger market for racing simulators. Project CARS feels like it's born out of such a market and offers this experience on consoles.
Project CARS, a terrible brand name by the way, dares to go up against the Forza and GT giants, offering a fairly alike experience, though on a multi-platform level. The potential to fail is risky, but the reward of catching two large markets of customers, over two consoles, is large and tempting.
Luckily, PCars hits the mark in a good way and offers console owners a breath of fresh air and and an equally quality-filled package that Forza and GT have exclusively offered. Does it deliver on all aspects and as such is the new king of the racing sub-genre it delves into though?
Read on and lets take a look!
Played on: PlayStation 4
Released: 2015
Released: 2015
Luckily, PCars hits the mark in a good way and offers console owners a breath of fresh air and and an equally quality-filled package that Forza and GT have exclusively offered. Does it deliver on all aspects and as such is the new king of the racing sub-genre it delves into though?
PCars offers a large and detailed career mode, that is luckily "casualised" by a female announcer explaining the types of races, goals etc. available to the player. You set up your alter ego, a profile that follows you as a racer through your career. I found the options of what type of racer your are, which again reflects which type of cars you begin with, to be a bit confusing. I began in tier 5 racing cars, but in hindsight I should have began at tier 1, building my career from the small races.
Right from the get-go, I felt the racing A.I. was set a little too high for my comfort zone and I felt the practice and qualifying races to be overwhelming and tedious. This of course, depends on how hardcore you wish to play. Luckily, you can skip to the actual races in your season calendar. This calendar shows which races you have signed up for in that season, mainly the career races, but also smaller racing events and championships.
Right from the get-go, I felt the racing A.I. was set a little too high for my comfort zone and I felt the practice and qualifying races to be overwhelming and tedious. This of course, depends on how hardcore you wish to play. Luckily, you can skip to the actual races in your season calendar. This calendar shows which races you have signed up for in that season, mainly the career races, but also smaller racing events and championships.
Progressing through seasons puts you slowly behind the wheel of more powerful and faster cars. Although you start off in slow races, I felt the controls to be very sensitive and the racing felt extremely realistic. In other words, it took some getting used to the driving. Don't get me wrong, it took getting used to in a good way. There are lots of driving aids to ease newcomers into things too, including the option to make the A.I. drive slower. With a few races under your belt, you'll learn to drive more carefully than you're used to from more semi-arcade racers and you'll be winning with practice!
This is the key to PCars: it feels, and should be, driven with a more simulator approach than you're used to on consoles. Respecting this, you'll get much more enjoyment out of it. That said, the career mode could have done with a straight up easy mode, though. Removing warm up laps, qualifying races and making the menus more simplified. The slick presentation of the Forza games come to mind as a great example to follow.
This is the key to PCars: it feels, and should be, driven with a more simulator approach than you're used to on consoles. Respecting this, you'll get much more enjoyment out of it. That said, the career mode could have done with a straight up easy mode, though. Removing warm up laps, qualifying races and making the menus more simplified. The slick presentation of the Forza games come to mind as a great example to follow.
Diversity in racing disciplines seems to have been the goal for the developers behind PCars, there's a large amount of car types. From small Go-karts, muscle cars, small FWD ones and all the way to Formula racers and GT cars. What it lacks, is the total number of cars. There's diversity, but not that many models to choose from in each category.
Impressively, PCars throws up to 40 cars on track in certain races. Seeing them all in front of you, not only looks impressive, but also gives you a challenge to drive carefully, to pass them all. Fans of certain types of cars can stick to racing them in many seasons, or if you're like me: I enjoyed signing up for car classes each season, for the challenge and experience.
Technically, PCars rivals the top of the crop when it comes to graphics this generation. The cars and race circuits all look stunningly detailed. The amount of on screen cars is breathtaking and the varied weather and day cycle effects really add a visual flair to the whole package. It helps vary the racing, with a sunny race suddenly turning into a nightmarish fight to keep on track in pouring rain.
Sadly, there's a cost: PCars doesn't remain it's smooth 60fps framerate consistently. It falls down in the 40-50's, compared to Forza Motorsport's famous, rock solid framerate, it's not a favourable result.
I have briefly mention that the helmet cam, which turns your head into turns and blurs the dashboard in high speeds, is fantastic. It's nod to the similar camera style in Need for Speed Shift 2 Unleashed, review of that here. The amount of camera options is one of the things I love about PCars.
I've enjoyed myself on the track with PCars, at times it has felt sterile and repetitive when you're overwhelmed with tons of races each season. You can skip these and focus on the main races. Nevertheless, it's a great package for the more simulator fans of the genre.
For PlayStation 4 owners it's totally a must-buy, as the GT series is a no-show to this date. For Xbox One owners, whom have the fantastic Forza Motorsport games to delve into, there's still a lot of fun to be found here still. Although Forza Motorsport 6 is just around the corner, with weather and night racing. Although PCars is available right now and it does these effects on all tracks.
So, if you're in the mood for a technical racing package, with a ton of options and races to dig yourself down in, PCars really is warmly recommended. Though perhaps isn't something I'd recommend to more casual racing fans.
Sadly, there's a cost: PCars doesn't remain it's smooth 60fps framerate consistently. It falls down in the 40-50's, compared to Forza Motorsport's famous, rock solid framerate, it's not a favourable result.
I've enjoyed myself on the track with PCars, at times it has felt sterile and repetitive when you're overwhelmed with tons of races each season. You can skip these and focus on the main races. Nevertheless, it's a great package for the more simulator fans of the genre.
For PlayStation 4 owners it's totally a must-buy, as the GT series is a no-show to this date. For Xbox One owners, whom have the fantastic Forza Motorsport games to delve into, there's still a lot of fun to be found here still. Although Forza Motorsport 6 is just around the corner, with weather and night racing. Although PCars is available right now and it does these effects on all tracks.
So, if you're in the mood for a technical racing package, with a ton of options and races to dig yourself down in, PCars really is warmly recommended. Though perhaps isn't something I'd recommend to more casual racing fans.
Review
Played on: PlayStation 4 & Xbox One
Released: 2014
Released: 2014
This game took me by surprise. It was on sale and my wife pointed it out as something she'd like to play. Initially, I was a little sceptical, as a lot of these type of releases feel low-budget. My wife played through it and warmly recommended it, so I gave it a chance. Luckily I did, because I ended up really enjoying the experience!
C&P is divided into six cases to solve, each one taking around 1-2 hours to complete. The main part of the game is exploring various locations that are connected to the case and finding clues and evidence to solve it. Interviewing suspects and witnesses, will allow you build a brain map of the whole case, choosing certain clues will then lead to a conclusion. There's a lot of different conclusions per case, so you can easily arrest the wrong person. Replaying the cases is highly recommend to get each ending.
There's also a lot of mini-games, such as studying evidence and dramatic scenes like fights and shootings. Though these dramatic scenes feel a little misplaced, they're luckily few in number and short. It wouldn't be Sherlock Holmes without a little drama in a case!
C&P is divided into six cases to solve, each one taking around 1-2 hours to complete. The main part of the game is exploring various locations that are connected to the case and finding clues and evidence to solve it. Interviewing suspects and witnesses, will allow you build a brain map of the whole case, choosing certain clues will then lead to a conclusion. There's a lot of different conclusions per case, so you can easily arrest the wrong person. Replaying the cases is highly recommend to get each ending.
There's also a lot of mini-games, such as studying evidence and dramatic scenes like fights and shootings. Though these dramatic scenes feel a little misplaced, they're luckily few in number and short. It wouldn't be Sherlock Holmes without a little drama in a case!
The presentation is good, while it doesn't look cutting edge graphically, it really has some good looking locations, with a superb Victorian atmosphere. There's great variety in locations you visit in each case. I liked that you return to certain locations too, like Sherlock's home or the police station at Scotland Yard. It's cool to roam these old streets of London and the buildings from another era!
I also found the menus to be very smartly designed, making browsing through evidence, previous dialogues and clues a breeze. Essential in a game about solving crimes. You can even look at this evidence while travelling by horse and carriage between locations, in other words, while loading!
I also found the menus to be very smartly designed, making browsing through evidence, previous dialogues and clues a breeze. Essential in a game about solving crimes. You can even look at this evidence while travelling by horse and carriage between locations, in other words, while loading!
The way you set up a brain map to solve the case is cool visually and easy to navigate. At any time you can change your conclusions, it even lets you replay the conclusion if you convicted the wrong person, without replaying the entire case. In other words, there aren't any the typical annoyances, like having to replay the entire game because you did one wrong decision.
I thoroughly enjoyed my playthrough of C&P, finding it a relaxing experience, to just sit back in the couch and play. It doesn't really require any fast paced movement and can be played at you own pace. The story and exciting cases pulled me in and kept me interested from start to finish. The atmosphere, dialogue and unpredictable cases really help build it's own little world, making you feel like you're playing a Arthur Conan Doyle novel.
I would recommend this for those seeking a game that they can relax playing and really enjoy a murder mystery! I'm looking forward to the developers making another Sherlock adventure in a similar fashion!
I would recommend this for those seeking a game that they can relax playing and really enjoy a murder mystery! I'm looking forward to the developers making another Sherlock adventure in a similar fashion!
