So, it’s good that Slightly Mad Studios have racing in their bones. Breakout is fun (smashing boxes to score points) and Pace Setter is a race against the clock (and yourself), but there’s not much more variety than that. Races are brief – five laps is the most I’ve seen – which means they don’t drag, but the career is processional in terms of events. The AI will dive down your sides if you leave a space, and this adds to the drama of a race as you harry the car in front to find a way through. Despite being on Experienced difficulty, the AI settings were on Easy for some reason.Īnd while the lower classes see AI shove each other off the road, not to mention you with higher classes the aggression is more jostling for space. The AI can be both aggressive and rather slow – if you experience the latter check the AI settings. And then it becomes a case of pinball as you bounce off cars and make your through the pack. Racing in an Aston Martin GT and you can feel its weight trying to unsettle you in the corners, but it’s also less fiddly to drive.Īnd races tend to follow a common narrative, which either sees you get off to a good launch or get bogged down. Cars at the lower end have an uneasy relationship with grip, but as you progress the handling model requires more precise inputs. That seems an odd oversight.īut what about the racing? Well it’s fun and challenging, if not without its foibles. Menus are numerous too, and it’s a bit annoying that when you finish an event the game doesn’t automatically take you to the next one. But the higher the class, the higher the pay-out and as mentioned credits aren’t always abundant. If you’re too impatient you can purchase unlocks for higher classes, so you aren’t restricted to grinding out XP. The problem seems to be just not getting enough credits, and despite winning races and completing events, you’re often left thinking you have more in the bank than you have. Progression can be rather slow despite the shower of XP the game rewards you with. I like the idea, and it creates this notion of you and your car on a journey as you rise through the ranks. The effects aren’t the same for each car, so some upgrades may not give you the boost you desire. Spend it in the right areas and you’ll transform your ride to take on other cars in higher classes.
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That encourages you to upgrade the car by spending credits to purchase performance brakes, better suspension, aero packages and more. The more XP it accumulates, the bigger the bump in reduction for upgrades (level 5 = 5%, level 10 = 10%).
Some are better at acceleration, others have better handling, and your car gains XP by competing in events and completing objectives. One time the race engineer said I won by a mile – it was 0.008 seconds.Įach car has a Performance Index Rating (PIR) for an overview of its stats. It’s not a game that holds your hand – there’s no flashbacks if you make mistakes – but it’s there with positive reinforcement. Your race engineer enthusiastically congratulates you on finding that perfect line, and the game tops up your XP when you master a corner or perform a clean overtake, which acts as further encouragement. Braking in the right place, hitting the apex and accelerating out of the corner is rather obvious, but at its best, Project Cars 3 sends you into a rhythm where all you’re thinking about is achieving those three goals, building more momentum and going faster with each lap.Īnd the game gives you plenty of encouragement along the way. There is skill to it – at least once you’ve jettisoned the assists – and driving recklessly will make things worse.Įven though adhesion to the road feels thin with lower class cars smooth, measured driving is the order of the day. However it’s not a game that rests on luck or pure speed. Cars can be tail-happy and engaging in opposite lock wrestles them back on course.
The result is something of a hybrid between arcade and simulation racing, an accessible racer with depth, and one that’s enjoyable in a rather ramshackle kind of way.īack when the game was announced it was said to be a spiritual successor to 2009’s Need for Speed: SHIFT, and there’s a bit of that DNA as well as a handling model that’s reminiscent of the GRID series. It’s a change from its racing sim beginnings, which may have some fans questioning whether the route this sequel has gone down is the right one. Project Cars 3 sees Slightly Mad Studios return to the wheel for the broadest and most accessible entry in the series.