Race Pro had a lot to live up to. Maybe not in Halo or Gears of War proportions, but for motorsport enthusiasts around the world, this game could single-handedly evolve the console racing genre forever. And for those motorsport enthusiasts reading, don’t worry. It does.
Traditionally, console racing games have thrown around the “simulation” tag far too frequently in the past. We’ve seen it claimed by many franchises; Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo to name the most poignant two. And whilst they might of taken the genre by the scruff of the neck, it’s hardly fair to call them simulations – especially when compared with the likes of Simbin’s own GTR series, or the massively popular rFactor on the PC.
Race Pro sets the tone straight away; simple, easy to use navigation without getting flashy. It’s not a game for the mainstream. But then again, it never was going to be. So from the menu screen you’re offered Single Race, Career, Championship, Hot Seat, and Multiplayer. Single Race lets you race any of the car classes which you’ve unlocked in the Career mode on any of the 13 tracks for anything up to 75 laps. You can naturally tinker with your difficulty settings, number of AI rivals, and that sort of thing. After about a dozen or so presses of the A button, you’re into a race. Just the way it should be.
Career mode is the beefiest part of the single-player experience, and basically allows you to buy contracts with teams in different car classes, getting harder and longer as you progress through your career. There are 33 contracts in total, each consisting of multiple races, so it’s not something that you’re going to finish in a week. If you don’t really want the burden of an entire career to worry about, then you can just jump into a Championship, consisting of a handful of races in a single series – a more instant way to fill up your trophy cabinet.
Race Pro offers three core difficulty levels - namely Novice, Semi-Pro, and Professional. For the true simulation experience, you’ll want to jump straight into Professional (with all assists off), but for newcomers the option to start off with all assists on, corner makers and a racing line indicator is a welcome addition, and one which will surely entice a few people who would normally of overlooked a game of this caliber.
Driving a car on Professional is simply a joy. Whether you’re using the control pad, or a steering wheel, it just feels right. There is no better way to describe it. The key element that stood out for me is the brakes. On Forza Motorsport 2, for example, if you take off all assists and then touch the brakes, your wheels lock up pretty much every time. No such shenanigans here. Feeling how the car responded to heavy breaking for the first time, pretty much confirmed to me that this was a game that every true racer had to own. The steering wheel does have the edge over the pad, as you’d expect. I played with my official Microsoft Wireless Wheel, and I was instantly a good chunk quicker. So whilst playing with a control pad isn’t going to ruin your experience, I would certainly recommend purchasing a steering wheel if you can.
My second favorite aspect of Race Pro is how everything works on Xbox Live. Taking GTR as their example, Simbin have produced arguably the greatest online lobby that a racing game has ever seen on a console. And it’s so simple. You join a lobby and sit in the pits. Whilst the room is filling up, you can play with your setup, do some hot laps, and even monitor your rivals (with the ability to change camera angles). It’s exactly what you want from a racing game lobby, and it works perfectly. The host can then move the session on to qualifying – which disappointingly is fixed to just one flying lap – and then ultimately to the race itself.
The bottom line is that despite it’s initial lack of polish, there is always something to do in Race Pro. If you’re looking for a break from your career, you can try your hand at a series championship. If you’ve conquered all of those, then you might want to play with your setup, and try to move up on the leaderboards for your favourite circuit. Or if you’re in the mood to just sit back, then take a trip to the Replay Theater where you can simply watch back any of your saved races, both off and online.
Overall, Race Pro is groundbreaking for two reasons. It’s the first true racing simulation available on a console, pleasing the enthusiasts who get a kick out of tweaking their brake balance. It’s also accessible enough for people new to racing simulations who need somewhere to start. How Simbin achieved this is quite remarkable, and they should be praised for their efforts.
Whilst it’s not perfect, certainly to the eye, it handles like a dream, and really does push the genre forward – it’s for sure the new benchmark.
9/10
Filed under: Reviews, motorsport, race pro, xbox 360 |
