SimBin does it again. Was there ever any doubt?
the core gameplay hasn't changed much from GTR2, if you've ever played simbin titles before, you'll feel right at home. championship seasons, quickraces, and the usual multiplayer light up the board, with a slew of options to tweak to your heart's content. if you're new to serious race sims, the learning curve will be a little steep.
graphically, the game looks like any other simbin title, and that's not a bad thing. the car models, the tracks, and the excellent cockpits all show a level of detail and polish that you've come to know and love. the car/track association in the replays is better, but there are times when the cars still look floaty. the game natively supports widescreen res with hor+.
the audio is great as expected, but personally i felt the volume settings were a little off balance, esp with your own engine vs opponents' engines. tweak the sound levels to get the game to sound the way you think it should. collision sounds are sometimes incorrect (ping for a solid rear-end), but these are really minor complaints. the effects themselves are clean and clear. best physics in a race sim, period. get familiar with changing settings, because it's worth it. but i'm sure most race sim fans don't need me to tell them that.
one gripe: NEED MORE CARS! the car list for this game is not impressive at all. one might say it barely meets the mark. now, i know the GTR games weren't really big on number of cars either, but that needs to change. it's clear that simbin has reached a very high level of refinement with their game engine, so it should be natural now to shift to a content-focus. yes, the multiplayer will give it a lot of replay value, but an extensive car list (every year of WTCC) and a handful of additional tracks would have made this a superb game.
i definitely felt the game was thrown together for the holiday deadline, but simbin has perfected the formula, and even their rush job feels like a solid game.
recommend playing with a competent wheel, of course.