Thursday, September 27, 2007

GTR2

You must have been guessing all this time what kind of games do i usually play. Haha sorry to disappoint you guys i don't counterstrike or do i dota... tried them but not really into strategy games, more into another kind - racing simulators.
I'm an avid racing fan and an incurable motorhead. It's something about engines that always calms me down. Being deprived of my all-time favourite racing game GT4, I've got to know of this pc racing simulator called GTR2 and i'm totally soaked into it.

GTR2 is based on the real European GT series event, where European super cars such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Saleen, Mclaren F1, and Porsche participate battle it out for the FIA touring car series GT Championship.

GRAPHICS
Graphics wise, this has got the most stunning graphics I've ever seen in a racing game; several times better than GT4. Take a look at the pics below:


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check out the detail of the car interior and the landscaping plus the degree of realism in the modeling of the real racing cars.

If you set the damage effect on, you will notice the damaged areas on the body of the car, depending on the severity of it: from light scratches to missing bodykits until totally wrecked undercarriages.

SIMULATION
Talking about simulation, every part of your machine can be tuned: from engine power displacement, rev limiter, air opening, moTEC control, wheel balancing, tire compound, temperature and pressure, suspension dampening, suspension rebound level, camber angle, stabilizer level, ride height, weight distribution, brake balance and bias ratios, downforce angle, fully independent and adjustable gear ratios.... (if you know what I'm talking about). Even your seat height and distance between your view and the steering wheel is fully adjustable... nuts.

Game physics is also top notch. The tire simulation responds real time to the weather and track temperature where the tire needs to warm up to a certain temperature degree only you are able to get the optimum grip and traction from the tires. There is also a degree of slip curve on the tires which adds more to the handling realism. Over time you can feel your tires wearing away and traction and handling will deteriorate depending on your driving intensity. During braking and cornering you will also notice the weight transfer of your car. This can help you to control your car to optimize your cornering stability, if you can understand the physics of weight transfer and how and to take advantage of it.

Another interesting thing I've noticed is, your windscreen will start to get clouded with exhaust fumes and grime, preventing you from getting a clear view of the track as you advance through the number of the laps. To me this is really cool.

The weather and temperature is also time-simulated and changeable too. A good O' bright sunny day good for racing weather can later turn into a flooded rainy afternoon. This will also affect the tires which you are using and your driving ability.

The only thing i wish they would include is a windsceen wiper which i can turn on during rainy days of driving haha...

GAME PLAY
This is not your normal Need for Speed arcade racing game. In fact its not even a game if you ask me: it's a simulator.

It's a virtual environment for me to be able to test out the level of my racing skills in a virtual track racing with professionally programmed AIs. To really appreciate and enjoy the game to the fullest, first you need to ditch off your particular arcade driving habits behind, go the the virtual driving school in the game and learn the basic driving skills of motor racing. It covers everything you need to know from how to tackle different types of curves and turns, braking points, determine the best apex entries and so on... you will need time to get use to the physics of the game and months of practicing to prepare you for the main league. Blindly attacking corners without proper braking and gear leveling will surely leave you ended up lying on the gravel bay. Don't even think about drifting before you are able to control the car to complete a lap without spinning off the track.

Should you feel that you are good enough and need more realism to feed your racing needs, you can turn the flag rules on to the where you will now be adhering to the real racing rules: no cutting through or going through short cuts in the track, bumping into other cars or speeding in the pit lane. Violation of rules will result in a pit stop drive-through penalty or in severe cases disqualified from the race.

I'm currently participating in the 2004 season, now in 4th event. I'll need to endure 35 minutes of precision driving until i pass through the chequered flag, not to mention constantly monitoring my current standing, my fuel level and going easy on my tires and brakes to last through the entire race.

On other days, i'll let loose and host a weekend LAN race with all my housemates in our all-time favorite local Sepang circuit. (yes it even includes Sepang circuit in the game)

Basically it's a real racing simulator where you will need to have a play it in a professional mindset, constantly experimenting with different set of tunings on your machine to the optimize the handling characteristics of your car to suit the particular track which you are racing, which is fine to me.

I think GTR2 should be more considered as a platform for game designers to experiment with their own add-ons and updates to constantly improve the game. Everything about the game is customizable: Even the game itself is customizable. I've replaced the soundtracks with my favorite songs which i can listen to as I'm racing. I've just downloaded a formula 1 update recently from someone who created the patch and voila - i have a new set of cars to drive, and a whole new total formula season to participate. The only thing i'm not too happy about is why until now still nobody created Super GT series?!!! I want to drive ARTA NSX...

Anyway, those who have a pure racing spirit will totally enjoy this game.

A good alternative to experience motor racing without spending a bomb on a real track car and track renting fees and putting yourself in danger.

Do try it out and have fun ^^

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