‘Project Cars 2’ Review (PS4)

When it comes to racing games, we are somewhat spoilt for choice right now. Project Cars 2 is one of those games that fights to be noticed with the likes of Gran Turismo Sport and Forza Motorsport 7, but does it have what it takes to be one of the top league racers?

Project Cars 2

What Project Cars 2 does is to throw everything at you. The fact there are 60 tracks and 180 cars available to be played around with shows that. What it also does well is to be a simulator, and a hard one at that. It isn’t perfect, but for car fans, it provides everything they should need in a game.

When it comes to me, what I want from a racing game is a flexibility in the difficulty. Thankfully, with a bit of hunting and experimentation I was able to find the settings and set them to what I wanted. This meant that I could have more fun rather than focus on skill to get me round the track. The ability to have a flexible level of difficulty can be as important as the driving mechanics themselves, so it is good to see time was taken to allow the gamer to set their own difficulty to their own tastes.

Having played the first Project Cars, one thing I liked about it was the single player mode. Moving up the leagues there was a progression there that felt like you really were starting from the bottom and building your way up. Thankfully that is in place in Project Cars 2, and is more streamlined so that it is the racing that is the focus. The game expects you to get down to business, and I’m fine with that.

Another thing that the first game had was the actual feel of the cars. Each car has a different feel to it, and when you move to more powerful vehicles you feel it, and have to learn all over again how to get it round the track. When the race first starts the tires are cold so you have to heat them up before going top speed. That is all in the game again, and refined on, and this includes how the cars handle weather.

With a dynamic system in place, weather can change mid race and cause chaos. This is especially the case when it rains. You see puddles start to form and get bigger, and when you drive through them you are likely to find you lose control of the car easier. I will say that this may need some balancing (on the PlayStation 4 at least) but it is still down to the gamer to adapt to the weather they are facing and to act on it.

When it comes to graphics quality, PlayStation 4 is somewhat of a mixed bag (it may look better on a Pro). While they don’t look bad, there are times when they don’t look spectacular either. This may be down to trying to keep the frame rate stable, which is understandable and important in a racing game.

For racing game fans Project Cars 2 offers everything they should need, but it is far from perfect. With future updates though, the little problems it has can be fixed and the game can be improved through re-balancing and bug fixing. In my view, the important thing is about having fun in the game, and Project Cars 2 definitely delivers on that score.

Project Cars 2 is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC now.

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