Great game with great graphics but definitely not recommended for racing noobs or people who can't drive manual.
Its because so many people complain about playability. They complain that they can't keep their car from spinning out of control and/or getting terminally damaged.
First off, if you are playing this game using manual transmission then you will very rarely lose control of your car and have it spin out. Just like in real life, if you floor it in first gear while making a tight turn in a high horsepower car, your rear wheels will lose traction and your car will spin out. Just keep the car out of first and second gear during hard cornering and spinning out will become a thing of the past. And those of you who play using only automatic transmission probably shouldn't be playing racing games to begin with.
Also, there have been complaints about how your car loses control when it goes onto the grass and/or sand. Well first off, if you were any good at racing games, then your car should rarely, if ever, go off the main track anyway.
Also, many people complain about damaging their cars to the point where its hard to finish the race. Again, if you were any good, you should have enough control of your car to where you don't run into a wall or another car at every corner.
Now that the main complaints have been taken care of, on to the review.
The graphics are excellent but will require a good PC to run smoothly.
Sound is good, especially the engine sounds, though I usually just listen to my own music while playing.
Gameplay is great and fairly diverse with many different race types. Single player is good though a bit long. Multiplayer is acceptable but could be a little more user friendly. My only gripe about this game is that there needs to be more cars though I like most of the cars that they do have.
Overall, an excellent game but definitely not recommended for:
1. People who can't drive manual
2. People who suck at driving games
3. Impatient people who give up easily