GTR FIA RACING

GAME DETAILS :-

Developer : SimBin

Publisher : 10tacle, Atari And THQ

Engine : Customized ISI Engine

Genre : GT / Street Racing

Release Date : May 3 , 2005

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS :-

Operating System : Windows 2000 / Windows XP

CPU : Intel Pentium 4 Processor / AMD Athlon XP 1800+

Memory (RAM) : 384 MB

Graphics Hardware : DirectX 9.0c Compliant Card with 64 MB Ram

[NVIDIA : GeForce FX 5500 Series
ATI : Radeon X600 Series]

Hard Disk Space : 1 GB

GAME FEATURES :-

GTR keys on the FIA GT Championship, a European-based series featuring high-end, high-level sports cars adapted for racing conditions. One of the many nifty perks of this approach is the inherent variety. The game sports nearly 20 unique drivable racecars, including a wide assortment of Porsches, Vipers, Ferraris, and Lotuses. Some are considerably faster than others, and that's why both the real-life series and its fully licensed digital peer offer different classes. Players that select "arcade" from the main menu are presented with a stripped-down and simplified version of the game that abolishes nuisances, such as garage modifications, qualification runs, race lengths, and other event parameter decisions. Arcade mode is further subcategorized into four distinct classes, each of which delivers a slightly more authentic experience than the one before it. The racing is a bit faster and far more forgiving than you'll find in the game's semipro and simulation modes, though even at its most simplistic, arcade still manages to showcase 10tacle's glorious, road-clawing physics model. 10tacle does, however, enforce an engine limiter throughout arcade mode that keeps you from running away from the field. The only way to rid yourself of that limiter is to leave the arcade appetizer behind and begin sampling GTR's meat and potatoes. Rough pavement, wet-weather handling, braking, accelerating--it's all infused with so much intricate physics that most drivers will have a tough time even coming to grips. Indeed, the GTR physics model is so good that many may feel they need to experience the actual tactile sensations of g-forces just to be successful. This can't happen of course, so the best approach is a smooth, unerring driving style, along with total and complete concentration, particularly during the first few opening laps when your tires are cold. The game's multiplayer mode permits up to 56 drivers to compete via LAN or Internet, theoretically anyway. In practice, we found stuttering and other frame rate problems when a dozen or more cars were on the track simultaneously, particularly when grouped together.

If you create an accident or merely come to a stop anywhere on an oval (or a road course, for that matter), you can clearly see a gaggle of confused competitors slow to a crawl or stop right along with you, waiting patiently for you to extricate yourself, even though there's plenty of room to squeeze by. On a more positive note, oval racing in the Semi-Pro or Simulation levels with driver aids off can deliver some addictive bumper-to-bumper action. GTR audio is far from pretty. And in a game that professes to be "the most realistic racing simulation ever," it's a very good thing. Road noise is particularly extraordinary, barking and rumbling and effectively translating the struggle of rubber as it fights to hold your car to the track. Tire scrub is deadly authentic--varying from moment to moment and always keeping you informed. Engine notes and gearshifts are both exclusive to the type of car you're currently driving, and they're utterly convincing. Downshifts in particular have a wonderfully grating, mechanical sound, especially in some of the more esoteric vehicles. In a graphical sense, the game delivers a mix of goodies and is generally not a quantum leap forward from other recent top-level sims. That's not necessarily a condemnation, because other recent top-level sims have been pretty darn credible, but one of GTR's most conspicuous troubles is its hunger for computing horsepower. Watching day turn into night and night turn into day is an equally striking event, particularly as 10tacle has effectively captured all the associated nuances. One moment you're heading west facing the gorgeous orangey hues of a setting sun, and the next you're driving into a considerably darker eastern sky. The subtle variations along the way are simply beautiful. Drivers who appreciate racing's inherent violence will enjoy the game's approach to breakable cars. GTR cars shed parts, and those parts then bounce about the track and react with other automobiles. This is a rarity in racing games, where detached hunks of car generally lose their physical properties or harmlessly disappear. Granted, those parts break off along predetermined seams, but that's a petty complaint. Otherwise, crashes produce enough view-obscuring thick, black smoke and bright orange flames to be truly frightening. Despite its blemishes, GTR is the breath of fresh air this genre so badly needed.

GAME REVIEW :-

8.5/10

GTR FIA Racing Trailer :-