Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Fun... but flawed and over-ambitious, 5 Jan 2007
Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars
What a disappointment!
Codemasters promised a great deal with this title - a professional career mode for example - that has not been delivered in the end product.
The race/championship structure is completely flat and consists of a basic system involving stepping up one championship at a time in each of the "branches" of racing. No job offers, no sense of having to prove yourself in a weak team before getting asked to drive for one of the top teams. Career mode is so dry it makes you want to grab a cheat code and plunge straight into the DTM or V8 Supercars.
Some of the other "innovations" are also a joke. Tyre temperature does not fluctuate as one would expect in response to how hard the tyres are working - it simply takes 5 minutes of driving for all 4 tyres to miraculously reach working temperature, where they stay until the race is over or you get them changed at a pit stop.
Car setup is extremely complicated. Firstly, tuning options are not explained, and the practice/testing sessions before races don't provide an easy method of going back and forth between the track and the garage. Secondly, the tuning appears to have very little effect on handling - can anything I do cause a Clio to oversteer? Thirdly, the "upgrades" are an annoying distraction in many of the championships, upgrades don't have to be earned, they are annoyingly simplistic and their effect completely unrealistic - laughable in some cases.
Some of the car handling is also laughable, like the 80's Williams F1 car. The thing won't oversteer, even in "pro-simulation" handling mode!
This game is clearly aimed at the arcade market, playstation with a joypad in front of the TV rather than the home PC with a force feedback wheel and pedals. That said, a good wheel is the only way to enjoy the ambitiously named "pro-simulation" mode.
Some credit here - the actual racing is fun. The AI drivers make genuine moves, but in some of the touring car series like DTM, there is just a bit too much carnage in the first corner. Real life DTM drivers try not to bump into each other (most of the time).
I also have many issues with the championships. Firstly, the British GT should not have been included as Codemasters were unable to include Ferrari and Porsche cars, so the game only includes a rag-tag selection of 6 cars from each GT class - this can do nothing to promote what is one of the top 3 championships in British motor racing.
The game features many circuits in the UK, Germany and Australia, with a smattering of famous international circuits and American ovals thrown in. The individual championships should have used this to far greater effect. For example, why does half of the Autosport Clio Cup take place in the UK and half in Australia? Why not have the Clios in the UK and the very similar Honda Civics in Australia?
But does it matter? If the big official series (DTM and Aussie V8) are done well, surely that's what most people will play most of the time? This reviewer doesn't agree - the DTM and V8s are done well, but the game markets itself on having other types of racing too.
Another disappointment was the bug-ridden nature of the original when it hit the shelves, with users waiting months for a patch. Still not resolved are some of the black flag rules, such as running wide on a corner exit (watch motor racing from Snetterton then try to take the correct line through the second turn, you'll get a warning then a black flag in RD3!).
The online play in RD3 is poor, plagued by lag and difficulty in finding a game to join. How they managed to mess this up after the slick lag-free racing in RD2 is anyone's guess.
Now that Amazon have slashed the price and there are plenty cheat code generators on the internet, it is a worthwhile purchase for any PC race fan. Just don't expect it to be as good as Codemasters claim.
What about a TOCA Race Driver 4? No word yet from Codemasters, but this reviewer will take a lot of convincing that they can get it right 4th time...
|
|
|
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good overall, 25 Nov 2006
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
This overall is a good racing game with many different types of cars and tracks. There is everything from F1 to off road buggies. However when you first get the game only about 5 out of the 40 - 50 cars are unlocked. This is fine because you expect to have to work through the game.
There are two ways to unlock cars firstly the world tour which is split into over 30 different tiers with a choice of 2 or 3 different tournements in different car types on each tier. If you complete the tournement goal then you unlock the car you were racing in and the chance to compete on the next tier.
The other way to unlock is to work your way through each recing dicipline unlocking the car if you come in the top 3 or 4 of the tournement after competing on every track the car can race on. This is one of the worst parts of the game because it usually means having to come in the top few after 10 - 15 races 4 laps each. But if you are a racing fan you will not complain as it extends game life. However if you just want to race F1 cars it will take a long time to unlock and this is not the game for you.
There are also time trial and free races if you want to learn the track or just race for fun. If you were getting this game however I would advise that you got youself a gamepad as it is alot easier to comtrol the car and you can play 2 player on 1 PC.
Overall a good game that I would recommend to any racing fans!
|
|
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Flawed But Fun., 4 April 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
It's worth admitting up front that this game has some problems. Some of the vehicles, especially the off-road ones, do not handle well and are best avoided. Also, the steering feedback is a little suspect on all categories. But overall the game is good. The handling is fairly predictable and balanced, the graphics and the sense of speed are good. Many vehicles are modelled well and give good fun. Although this game suffers from being marketed to non-serious sim racers, as the variety of cars has been stretched, it can't quite hide what is ultimately a thrilling and worthy racing game.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). 
Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk 
Amazon Home