| GTR2 Facts : | ||
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| I recently received my review copy of GTR2 in the post, the front cover was cool however it looked like the cars were floating a bit, superimposed on the track, I hope this wasn�t indicative of the ISI engine, but lets see! So here we are... GTR2 the latest version of the hugely popular GTR 1. Now I have been driving the GTR series since F12001? I can�t even remember it�s been that long, one thing is for sure Simbin know how to please their fan base. GTR2002 was in many people�s eyes the bee�s knees and possibly the greatest mod to come out of sim racing. Following the huge success of their first commercial venture with GTR, GTR2 was the next logical step. With over 100 cars and many different track variations the excitement has been growing for some time. In this version a driving school has been included to help the average driver, it�s a great idea and having done every challenge I would suggest that it should be done even if you are an expert driver just for the fun of it. As a training tool however it doesn�t quite live up to expectation, quite often the challenges are just hard and don�t explain the driving procedure well enough... N2003 training was more interactive and interesting, perhaps due to the voice comms. The training also lacks in respect of difficulty levels, one minute you are doing something easy the next very hard, the training should be a gradual introduction. Similarly as you are racing the AI car in many training sessions you can beat them easily but going faster through chicanes (Enna challenge for example) My suggestion is that next time Simbin should use a real sim driver not an AI car. During this training you win special prizes, unlocks for championships, this is quite good fun, but it would have been nice to see a different movie and background image for the cup you have just won, also it was difficult to find the actual championships in the menu after you have won them. Training aside we have the standard format of GTR with a more slick menu system, albeit slightly confusing, a more minimal approach with selections ala N2003 would have been better. However it is miles ahead of the current ISI based menu systems which are over clunky and slow as they usually load a huge model into the menu. What I like about GTR2 is the amount of cars, a vast amount and something for everyone, I've always loved the Ferrari 360, so this was the first car I tried on track in a race session. The first thing I notice is that GTR2 has atmosphere, in many sims we have the model and physics etc blah blah blah but not a lot of ambience, GTR 2 has this, not in abundance however but its an effort... I have always thought a bit of ambient sound and people round the track make a big difference, GPL had this and of course it had the nostalgia factor. Even the animated gif�s of GPL characters are better than nothing! SOUNDS So starting up the engine of my 360 ooo nice , HIGH FIVE! I love the sounds Simbin do, yes, yes, I know they are not dynamic however they have so much depth to them, I remember firing up GTR2002 and having the same thoughts, beautiful sounds and immersive, that�s what were all looking for right, immersion! GRAPHICS I also noticed immediately the graphics have had a make over big time over GTR, GTR2 is a feast graphically and has everything a modern sim needs, night driving, rain, transitions etc�this all stems from the new graphics engine licensed from ISI, it�s a huge difference for the old engine with dynamic lighting and special features on the agenda, these effects were also shown in GTL which is a graphical feast and in my opinion better than GTR 2. The graphics run well on my system also, from the back of the filed at Donington I was getting 24-42 fps on a P4 2.4 6800GT, this was surprising considering the detail of the models and textures, the cockpits were vastly improved over GTR also, the windscreen dirt is not gradual enough like N2003, it just looks like you have crashed into a gif at 100 mph lol. We are still miles behind consoles in the graphics department however this is a step in the right direction. The tracks are beautiful, nuff said. GAMEPLAY Starting from the back of the grid in my trusty 360 I knew things would be difficult and they were! The walkthrough at the start seemed lifeless and just had pit sounds? Anyway I skipped this as it didn�t give me any information and went straight into the race! The excitement really builds well on the warm-up lap and I was salivating in anticipation! Green light GO! after overtaking 10 cars at the start (will any developer ever get this right lol) I found my self pressured by a couple of Porsches who didn�t give a damn! Slowly but steadily I managed to keep the gap at between 0.5 to 2 seconds, but this is my gripe with the AI, in some parts of the track they are very very quick but others you can catch them up so easily, it belittles the actual racing when the AI drive differently to a human. Despite this the racing was fun and would provide a challenge for all sim racers and normal racers alike. There are a number of aids to get you going on track, like traction control, steering and braking help etc and most important invulnerability!! You will need this for you first forays into the game. It nice to see a range of stats about the cars you are racing, like seeing sector times and viewing the competitors via the TV option, Simbin pioneered this in GTR2002 straight from the GPL idea and it�s a good one! Once your race or test session is over you can watch the replays of your exploits, which is usually entertaining to say the least! However as many of you know the replays in ISI are poor in comparison to all other sims lol�it�s a pity Simbin couldn�t fix this and make them look like you are on track instead of floating! Let move to the online side of things! Having signed up with my username and password and entered my reg key which was all pretty straight forward similar to GTL I couldn�t help but think that Simbin has to monitor this and drivers more closely as GTL multi has been left untouched and its full of wreckers, it�s a pity Simbin cant sort this out as it really angers people. Anyway I searched through the lobby for sessions to join, this layout is similar to the original GTR so don�t expect anything different from there, it works which is the main thing. After entering Imola with 14 others, the feeling of online racing against people all over the world came back to me�though my fps was quite low the challenge of racing others is always sweet. The actual code seems very similar to GTL , so with a good server you can probably expect fields up to 28 or so, let�s hope Simbin can license rFactors online code which has seen up to 50 on some server with no issues whatsoever. I wish the guys managed to do driver changes online, the endurance racing would be incredible. PHYSICS The physics engine is the new upgraded ISI pmotor, so far this is a good engine powering rFactor, though not as good as N2003 or LFS yet. However it doesn�t matter how good a physics engine is when the values input into it are dumbed down to appease the market. There is vastly too much grip, catering toward the magazine readers, Doug A, the mastermind of previous physics such as GTR/GPL etc and a real life driver winning many titles has obviously been reigned in with these physics. It�s a pity Simbin had to pander to magazine critics in this respect, I think the community is in agreement that this is a backward step. This is a HUGE pity, and the main reason I cannot drive the sim anymore... A good thing to come out of this is the source code has been left open appeasing the hardcore crowd by letting make their own physics. In this case we are lucky, the NAP mod physics is vastly improved and finally something to make GTR2 enjoyable. Make sure if you want a more realistic experience you try these physics. Conclusion Graphical feast, with accurate cars and tracks, I love the sounds for the immersion factor, however its difficult to see this other than a highly advanced mod of rfactor due to the many options which are identical, that said I look forward to Blimey Games new creations over Simbin which now seems to be heading toward the console racer. Can�t help but feel, putting the �Sim� in the �Bin�. Graphics: 82.5 Sounds: 87 Gameplay: 70 Online: 70 Physics: 10 Overall: 64 out of 100 |
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Comments : |
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| Author: Duggs | 31-10-2006 |
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Sorry Bud....Can't agree with any of your points....GTR2 is the target for all others to aim for. It diesn't get any better than this. |
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| Author: John | 31-10-2006 |
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Great review. Right on the money. |
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| Author: stavwolf | 01-11-2006 |
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poor english. Too much internet jargon 'lol'. Too short for such an important release. |
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| Author: Patrik G�rdewall | 02-11-2006 |
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i dont agree that there is to much grip in GTR2. if you think you have to much grip you probably drive to slow. sure you can slide the cars around but that doesnt make the lap times better. you can slide but you cant do it for more then 2-3 laps then your tires is gone. you have grip but if you want to drive fast constat in a longer race you cant use all the grip you must save it. sorry to say it but that review is far from what GTR2 is. i think GTR2 has the most realistic physics to date. the feedback you get from the cars are spot on! it cant be better. |
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| Author: juan manuel | 02-11-2006 |
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i don�t agree with this review. the physics maybe are not perfect but a huge step forward in the racing sim genre. as patrik says, if you push harder in the track you will notice very good behavior of the car, more natural and realistic. |
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| Author: MiniFan | 02-11-2006 |
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Although the bias of the reviewer is clear from the opening paragraph, most of the review is fine until you get to the physics. I am amazed that such obviously biased and badly informed comment is put out in the BHMS name. I suggest the reviewer reads ASS magazine interview with Doug Arnao to find the real reason why GTR2s tyre physics are much more forgiving than GTR. Thankfully, the community is less blinkered and while a few will stick to GTR, holding on to the myth that realism equals driving on ice, most have clearly made the move to GTR2. |
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| Author: MiniFanFan | 02-11-2006 |
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MiniFan/Stavwolf nailed it. |
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| Author: Elod | 02-11-2006 |
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This review was written entirely just to use the last line... "Can�t help but feel, putting the �Sim� in the �Bin�. " Review was way off. |
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| Author: Jaco-P | 02-11-2006 |
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I think the physics review is a little exagerate but has a true base. I dont find the handling very intuitive, less than rfactor for sure... And the wheels are impossible to lock... Very unrealistic I think. I think the NAP mod is perfect cause you dont have the impression that you are driving on wet all the time but you have to be carefull with the braking and acceleration and you get better feelings from the car. But he, who are we to say that its not realistic? Only real GT drivers could talk about sim realism... |
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| Author: M vd Meulen | 03-11-2006 |
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I also disagree with the opinion off the reviewer. I Think GTR2 is a massive step in the right direction towards simulation the grip levels of high performance GT cars with modern slick tires. Had my first two 90 minutes league races and the feel/grip/loss of it, of the tires, over long runs is done great. I also think that the feel of the weight of the car, especially under braking, in this Game is absolutely awesome. When reading page 3 of the review, I lost any respect I previous had for BHMS, it is that bad, IMHO. |
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| Author: cramlo | 03-11-2006 |
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I think the review is a little over the top also on the physics, but i think it is more or less correct, the cars have much grip, cannot lock wheels and lap times are much faster even tho tracks are accurate, even simbin said the grip is higher for market. |
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| Author: Frenk | 04-11-2006 |
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If physics are so correct and tracks inch perfect, why FFS are the lap times 10-20 sec faster than real life. Stop kidding yourself and admit it its been dumbed down for the masses aka arcade racing. Learn to take criticism like a man. Damn fanboys. |
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| Author: Olivier | 08-11-2006 |
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Concerning the physics and the grip, I disagree. For regularly driving Porsches and Imprezas on real tracks, I can say that the grip in GTR2 is much more realistic than the twitchy grip in GTR. Add this to the fact that in game simulation we don't have the G-force to let us know when we are about to run out of grip and I think they acheived a great balance. Now, little controlled powerslides are possible (it's not a rally game though) and late braking induces some oversteer that is possible to dose with braking variations. Spot on. |
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| Author: Joav | 28-11-2006 |
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Kudos to BHMS for editing this review. Next time let my 2 year old kid write one. LOL |
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| Author: yarp | 07-12-2006 |
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Miles behind consoles in terms of graphics? Hardly. PCs have been pushing much more in terms of graphics than consoles for awhile now. |
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| Author: zoomie2 | 13-12-2006 |
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I think it's safe to say the community is NOT in agreement about the physics. I'd also like some info on your rating system. It seems very ad hoc to me. |
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| Author: MAXPOWER | 16-01-2007 |
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Right, LFS physics > GTR2 physics.. |
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| Author: asdasd | 26-01-2007 |
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pffft |
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| Author: Cherokee | 15-05-2007 |
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Having not raced sims in many years, I can't really critique him too much, but having just got the game and done a few laps, it is head up on any old sim I have owned. Graphics, Physics, Tracks, Cars are all awesome. As I mentioned above, I have only recently picked up GT simming again, I find myself overriding the cars, which I could easily do in older sims, so it is nice to not be able to. This sim is awesome, as is GTL. WTG guys!! |
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| Author: Jim | 17-08-2007 |
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Very true, there is too much grip. However when I had a go on GTL, the Lotus Elan had rubbish handling and was as heavy as a tank too drive, and I drive a Elan to work most days. It put me of Simbin forever. |
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| Author: Andy | 19-08-2007 |
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Jim, who ever you, you hit the nail on the head. Simbin is all talk and no walk. They should focus on realism not the critics. |
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