March 17th is fast approaching and Bandai Namco Games and Slightly Mad Studios are prepping to release Project CARS for the home consoles and PC. To help move the promo-train along a new trailer was released to get gamers in the mood to start their engines. Check it out below [via VRFocus].
First up, the music and the build-up of the music is absolutely superb. That's an awesome track they used for that trailer. I wonder if it's going to be on the official soundtrack? That would be cool.
Next up, there aren't a whole lot of new things showcased in the trailer that we haven't seen in other trailers released by Jonz. In fact, I think that Jonz has kind of spoiled us with his car-porn videos that focus less on trying to entice gamers with tricky photography and angles, but more-so focused solely on the appreciation of the cars, graphics and technology powering the game. Jonz also managed to pick some really great tunes for the videos as well, such as his “Taming the Wild” trailer that featured Radiohead's I Might Be Wrong. That was an awesome trailer.
Here, Bandai Namco seems to take a lot of what we expect and give us a sterile look at the game and the graphics. The best way to describe it is “safe”.
Even still, the game looks just as promising as it did when Jonz was regularly dropping trailers and getting the racing sim community excited and frothing at the mouth.
The only drawback is that some of the community seems to have a bit of a chip on their shoulder when it comes to the latest build of Project CARS. There are some claiming that the A.I., is broken, the tracks are incomplete and that the physics are “off”.
From all the videos I've watched I think the A.I., looks challenging and cerebral. There's an organic feel to the way they command space on the track that seems reminiscent to Forza Motorsport's Drivatars. Anything close to or resembling the Drivatar A.I., mechanics is a step in the right direction... in my opinion.
Regarding the physics being “off”... the best description of this comes from someone who claimed Project CARS was a prettier version of Need for Speed Shift 2: Unleashed. If that's true then I'm already disappointed. I really hated the physics in that game. The only way it was remotely playable, to me, was by turning on all the assists. Without all the assists on, it felt like there was an invisible weight on the back of the car creating drag and that out of nowhere the track would turn to ice on some turns at inconsistent speeds. That's the best way to describe it.
Now, from what I've seen Project CARS does not look like it handles like Shift 2: Unleashed. I've watched some first-person videos where the user had a decked out steering wheel setup, and the physics for Project CARS look absolutely marvelous. Then again, it could be people who are really good at the game and just know how to make it look sexy.
Anyway, I'm really hoping Slightly Mad Studios have all the kinks ironed out for the games mid-March release. You can learn more about the game by paying a visit to the official website.
