Project CARS 2, developed by Slightly Mad Studios, builds upon its predecessor to deliver a racing experience that emphasizes player choice and deep simulation. Born from community funding and feedback, the game’s core philosophy revolves around empowering players to craft their own racing journey. While visually stunning, particularly due to its use of laser-scanned tracks, Project CARS 2 aims to be more than just a pretty game; it strives to capture the authentic feel of motorsports.
The dedication to realism in Project CARS 2 is immediately apparent in its graphics. Compared to the original, the sequel boasts a noticeable step up in visual fidelity, suggesting a larger development budget. A key factor contributing to this enhanced realism is the implementation of Project Cars Laser Scanned tracks. This technology allows for an unprecedented level of detail and accuracy in recreating real-world circuits within the game. Every bump, curve, and elevation change is meticulously captured, translating into a driving experience that feels incredibly authentic and responsive.
While graphical prowess is undeniable, the core of any racing simulator lies in its gameplay and performance. Project CARS 2 adeptly balances visual appeal with crucial elements like framerate stability. The game recognizes that in high-speed racing, maintaining a smooth and consistent framerate is paramount for precise control and reaction times. This focus ensures that players can concentrate on navigating the laser scanned project cars tracks and reacting to opponents, rather than being distracted by graphical hiccups.
For those who appreciate visual detail, Project CARS 2 doesn’t disappoint. Features like replay mode and photo mode allow players to fully appreciate the graphical fidelity and capture stunning moments. These modes highlight the beauty of the game’s environments and car models, showcasing the intricate details made possible by laser scanned project cars environments. Furthermore, subtle touches like visible pit crews, car damage (though somewhat limited by licensing), and detailed trackside elements contribute to the overall immersive experience.
Moving beyond graphics, the structure of Project CARS 2 diverges from typical story-driven racing games. Instead, it focuses on career progression driven by player choice. The career mode, where players spend the majority of their time, offers a vast selection of championships right from the start. From entry-level Tier 6 to professional Tier 3, and eventually unlocking Tier 1 and 2, players have immediate access to a wide range of racing disciplines.
Players can customize their career path by selecting championships, adjusting season length, and choosing teams. While team selection primarily affects car liveries, the depth of customization extends to race weekends. Options to include practice and qualifying sessions, adjust race lengths, and modify AI difficulty and aggressiveness are readily available. This level of control empowers players to tailor the challenge and pace of their career to their preferences, making Project CARS 2 a truly personalized racing experience across its meticulously recreated, laser scanned project cars circuits.
This freedom of choice is a defining characteristic of Project CARS 2. Players dictate their ascent through the racing ranks, choosing their preferred disciplines and championships. Whether focusing solely on Formula cars, exploring Rallycross, or switching between various racing styles, the game offers complete flexibility. This non-linear progression allows players to pursue their passions without being restricted to a predetermined path, ensuring that they can always find engaging content within the game’s detailed and laser scanned project cars world.
While the freedom to choose is a strength, it also presents a potential drawback. The lack of forced progression might be perceived as a lack of direction for some players. However, the adjustable difficulty settings allow players to fine-tune the challenge to their liking. Ultimately, Project CARS 2 prioritizes player agency, allowing them to define their own goals and experience, whether they seek a challenging climb to the top or a more relaxed and dominant racing career across the visually stunning and laser scanned project cars tracks.
Despite the extensive career options, progression in Project CARS 2 remains focused on racing itself. Cars are readily available, eliminating the need for in-game purchases or upgrades. While car tuning is present, the core gameplay loop centers around racing and mastering the diverse vehicles on the accurately laser scanned project cars circuits. Bonus races and manufacturer affinity offer minor progression elements, providing additional content and challenges to unlock, but the primary focus remains on the on-track experience.
Project CARS 2 truly shines in its wealth of customization options. Beyond career mode, the game provides an overwhelming array of settings and adjustments, catering to both casual players and hardcore simulation enthusiasts. Gameplay settings encompass 16 authenticity options, ranging from driving assists to damage models and manual pit stops. An additional 16 options control the HUD and overlays. Furthermore, visual, audio, VR, and multi-monitor settings offer extensive customization, allowing players to tailor almost every aspect of the game to their preferences and hardware, ensuring an optimal experience while racing on the laser scanned project cars tracks.
At its heart, Project CARS 2 is a simulation racing game. While other titles claim simulation elements, Project CARS 2 leans further into realism, positioning itself between more arcade-like racers and ultra-hardcore simulators. The driving physics feel refined and responsive, even with a controller. The game demands deliberate and precise inputs, rewarding smooth driving and punishing overly aggressive maneuvers, especially when navigating the intricately detailed and laser scanned project cars tracks.
Project CARS 2 strikes a balance, offering a more serious simulation experience than mainstream titles without becoming inaccessible to players new to the genre. Understanding racing lines and apexes is crucial, and track limits are strictly enforced. The simulation is realistic enough to feel rewarding, yet approachable enough for players to quickly grasp the fundamentals and enjoy driving a wide range of cars on the laser scanned project cars circuits. Controller support is well-implemented, making the game enjoyable even without a dedicated steering wheel setup.
One standout feature of the simulation is the dynamic weather system. Races can start dry and transition to wet conditions, significantly altering track grip and handling. This dynamic weather adds a layer of unpredictability and challenge, forcing players to adapt their driving style in real-time. The changing track conditions, realistically depicted on the laser scanned project cars surfaces, create a truly immersive and engaging racing experience.
The weather system’s impact is particularly noticeable in race formats like Rallycross, where multiple sessions on the same track within a day can experience varying weather conditions. The realism of the weather effects in Project CARS 2 is exceptional, adding a significant layer of depth and challenge to races across the diverse and laser scanned project cars locations.
However, the AI difficulty in Project CARS 2 can be inconsistent. Finding the right difficulty setting can be challenging, as the AI performance seems to vary between different race types and disciplines. The difficulty slider requires frequent adjustments to maintain a balanced and engaging challenge, highlighting an area where the game could benefit from further refinement. Despite this, the adjustable difficulty allows players to customize the AI challenge to their skill level and preferences when racing on the accurately rendered, laser scanned project cars circuits.
Car tuning is another welcome feature in Project CARS 2. While not as deeply customizable as some simulators, the game offers a user-friendly mechanic interface that guides players through the tuning process. This mechanic provides helpful suggestions based on player feedback, making car setup more accessible to newcomers while still allowing experienced players to fine-tune their vehicles for optimal performance on the laser scanned project cars tracks.
Content-wise, Project CARS 2 boasts a substantial offering with a large number of tracks and car models. The track list features diverse locations, including karting circuits, rallycross tracks, and famous circuits like the Nürburgring and Circuit de la Sarthe, all recreated with laser scanned project cars precision. The car selection is varied, encompassing a wide range of manufacturers and vehicle types, although specific car preferences may vary.
Beyond career mode, custom races offer extensive flexibility, allowing players to create almost any racing scenario imaginable. Endurance races with time dilation and customizable race rules further expand the gameplay possibilities. Online multiplayer features include ranked and unranked races, tournaments, and time trials, providing ample opportunities for competitive racing against other players across the meticulously designed and laser scanned project cars environments.
While Project CARS 2 offers a generally robust experience, the penalty system can be inconsistent. Penalties for corner cutting are implemented, but the system sometimes overlooks contact between cars. This inconsistency can detract from the realism and competitive integrity of races, particularly in close battles on the accurately depicted, laser scanned project cars circuits.
The lack of a structured progression system can also become more apparent over time. While the freedom to choose is initially appealing, the absence of a more guided career mode might leave some players wanting more direction and long-term goals beyond simply choosing races and championships. However, for players who value freedom and self-directed gameplay, Project CARS 2 provides ample opportunity to create their own racing narrative within its detailed and laser scanned project cars world.
One notable issue is the simulation’s sensitivity to framerate fluctuations. Performance drops can significantly impact the driving experience, highlighting the importance of maintaining a stable framerate for optimal gameplay. This sensitivity means that players with less powerful hardware might encounter challenges in achieving a consistently smooth and responsive experience on the visually demanding and laser scanned project cars tracks.
In conclusion, Project CARS 2 is a highly customizable and visually impressive racing simulator that offers a deep and rewarding experience for racing enthusiasts. Its project cars laser scanned tracks contribute significantly to its realism and immersion, creating a truly authentic driving feel. While minor flaws exist in AI consistency and progression structure, the game’s strengths in customization, simulation depth, and content variety make it a standout title in the racing genre, especially for PC players seeking a more realistic and player-driven racing experience.
4.5/5
This rating reflects the PC experience, with console versions potentially scoring slightly lower due to platform-specific racing game competition. Project CARS 2 is highly recommended for racing fans, particularly those who appreciate simulation realism and the ability to tailor their racing experience to their preferences within a visually stunning and laser scanned project cars world.
Final Thoughts: An excellent simulation-focused racing game that empowers players to craft their own racing career. Highly enjoyable and recommended for racing fans seeking a deeper and more realistic experience.
Stats: 23.1 Hours played, 21/47 Achievements earned.
