Ah Project Cars, how shall I describe you? Many words come to mind. Let-down, bulls***, what's-the-big-deal, shiny? It's hard to put a finger on my opinion of Project Cars, but I can start by saying, I've seen the light.
My praises (complaints) with Project Cars have nothing to do with how hard the game is. In fact, I quite enjoy it. No more winning a race because I got the best engine, or the top turbo kit installed earlier than I should have. No, I win because I actually ran a damn good race, with clean lines and solid braking. Didn't use one of my competitors as a bumper to bounce me around a turn, or skip a corner by launching through the grass. No, because that kinda nonsense in Project Cars will put an end to your smooth run rather sudden. No I win because I restarted the race 83 f***ing times until I finally followed the race line to a T, and for that I can be proud of myself.
But let's not talk about its difficulty, but let us talk about what the game has been so praised for. "It's the most realistic, and fluid driving sim out there." "Some of the most gorgeous graphics and car models ever seen on systems." "A wide selection of top of the line cars to race so you can finally feel what it's really like to drive them."
Well let's start with that last one. Yes, a wide variety of cars for many car aficionados to drool over in stunning, water droplet covered beauty. That is of course, unless you're a fan as such car brands as Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bugatti, and Porsche (and by this I mean REAL Porsche, not custom made mock ones from RUF). No my friend, if you're a fan of those obscure brands, then PC has no place for you here. But don't worry, if you're a fan of Ford, they got'cha covered. It takes me back to those days of playing Gran Turismo on the PS2, and saying, "wow, 722 different cars? That's way too many. I was thinking more like 74. Yeah, 74 is a good number, I'm sure they'll only pick cars I'm a huge fan of within 74 models." That's next gen! That's what all that extra power is for. Featuring one tenth of what was available two generations ago.
Then there's the gorgeous graphics. Now, maybe it's because I'm on a PS4, and it's power is vastly superior to the PC version as we all know, but nothing says great graphics like floating cars. Do you like your shadows to look like they're actually coming from the car itself, well get out of here you freak, no, our shadows float a few inches below our cars, and sometimes half way through the wheels. Hey, like it when stuff happens in racing games, like the brakes turning red, fog wafting over the track instead of just being a slight haze filter over the video, or drivers in open karts flailing about when in a high speed impact? Well seriously, what are you still doing here, freak, because we'll have none of that! When you hold Project Cars' models up next to Forza, The Crew, and the other racing games that have come out in the last few years, you may say, "It looks exactly the same, maybe even worse in some cases," but that's the brilliance that is Project Cars. They've gone so detailed, that it warps reality and you'll head out to your car after playing the game, and realize that you've never noticed the angular polygons on your grill, or that the scratches from your fender bender were merely painted on the unscathed shell. And as you drive, you'll notice the textures of the road, and trees in the distance, suddenly appear as if from thin air, and you'll scream "how is this reality possible???" That is the magic of the graphical prowess that is Project Cars.
But the most important part of Project Cars, the very foundation to which it stands, is the realism. The most realistic racing game to date, they say. I can't help but agree. As I play the game I was blown away by how many moments in the game I've seen recreated in reality. I remember last year's Grand Prix, when Michael Schumacher's car, passed right through his opponent, like a specter cursed upon the track. I remember in every LaMans when everyone who made pole position in qualifiers, somehow found themselves in the last spot when the actual race started. I think about how during rolling starts of races, the car drives on autopilot, and that autopilot frequently drives itself straight into a wall, right before the lights go green and the real driver takes over. It happens so often in real life, I was shocked it took someone this long to finally include it in a game. I couldn't help but test the realism of this game, by turning the "real damage" feature on, and then taking my carbon fiber supercar up to 175mph right before slamming it head first into a steel track wall, only to have it bounce right off and keep racing down the track. Yes Project Cars, realism, you nailed it.
Project Cars is a symphony of brilliance. It keeps you on your toes by changing all your settings every F***ING time you change screens, until you learn to embrace your OCD by checking 4 godd*** times to make sure your setting stayed how you left them. By taking your replays when you're done, and showing you instead, what it would have been like if a brain dead five your old had done the race, in your place. It helps you appreciate the win that you had, once the replay shows you that you actually lost by driving backwards on the track and you return to the game to find that that is now the new outcome on the board, because the bugged out replay is law. It helps strengthen the mind with counterintuitive menus that make little to no sense. Do you want to see the layout of the track you just picked for your solo race? Too bad, because that's the point of the game, you have to race it to find out. Do like to decide what color your car is? Nope? Perfect, because Project Cars will pick a random color for you anyways. Do you like getting penalized for going off the track, even when it was because the mindless AI came out of nowhere and slammed you off? Awesome, because that's how it is in reality, the other driver never gets blamed. And don't worry, those AI drivers will have a party in the grass together, with absolutely zero repercussions to them. Enjoy your disqualified lap time, I know they will. But most of all, Project Cars is what the masses have been begging for when they say, "I don't want to play a game. I don't want to have an objective, or strive for a prize at the end of the day. I just want to race for absolutely no reason, because winning stuff, is for losers." Project Cars heard that call, and answered by giving you everything right off the bat. Been excited to get behind the wheel of the elusive McLaren P1? Well worry no longer because you can drive it seconds out of the gate. No more earning money, buying upgrades or better cars, no more improving as you go along. No sir, you start right at the top and you can't even fall down. Project Cars, because working for a higher standard, is for p***ies. REALISM!
...I f***ing HATE this generation of over-hyped gaming. God I hope Witcher III actually lives up to the hype, or else I'm quitting entirely.