SimHQ.com - Motorsports Zone: Review

SimBin has been a principle player in the PC motorsport simulation arena for a long time now, first as a maker of freeware mods and later as a company with a number of great racing titles to their credit. So naturally when word that this same developer was working on a racing simulation for the Xbox 360 broke across the break room at SimHQ Towers, the staff was more than a little happy — ecstatic might be the better word.

The game was supposed ship in late 2008 but suffered delays, as most games do. Then it seemed to drop off everyone’s radar scopes. With no news being anything but good, it started to look like SimBin’s foray into console gaming had collapsed into vaporware or had been scrapped due to budget cuts. This is exactly what happened to SimBin’s still-born first attempt at a console racing sim back in 2006, so the concern for Race Pro was well-founded. Then one day in late January, there appeared a very brief press release: “Race Pro has gone gold”. Two weeks later, with little fan fare, the title started appearing in stores. Magnum eagerly picked up a copy at his local GameStop, whereas Chunx ordered his copy from Amazon. Both tore open the cases and booted up their Xbox 360s.

The game case contains the game DVD (of course), and a very basic 17 page manual, regrettably typical for games these days. The manual covers the basic controls, how to connect to Xbox Live, and then reviews the nine different segments of the game based on the main menu. Little, if any, text is devoted to easing the casual racing gamer into the relatively unforgiving-yet-rewarding world of simulation racing. More content here would have been helpful. A slideshow of various menus available in Race Pro is here.

According to Atari UK’s press release for Race Pro, “There is nothing closer to the real thing than Race Pro. Race Pro is all about replicating the thrill and realism of racing in todays world, delivering its fantastic gaming experience with amazing Physics and handling. You will be immersed into exclusive official championships and famous licensed tracks! Race Pro has the widest variety of ultra realistic cars from production to racing cars also its has an extensive online multiplayer feature.”

Race Pro package SimBin boasts the following features list for Race Pro:

Racing realism
Ultra-realistic handling
Accurate physics engine
Speed sensation
Car damage
Weather conditions
High precision car settings
Racing immersion with FIA championship series
World Touring Car Championship
Formula 3000
Formula BMW
Mini Cooper Challenge
13 official FIA tracks
Non-official championships include the R8 Audi, Radical, Koenigsegg, WTCC extreme cars
350 models out of 48 cars with horsepower from 200 to over 1000 horsepower
World Champion '05, '06, '07 Andy Priaulx's BMW 320 Si

During the course of thoroughly testing Race Pro for our members, SimBin and Atari released a software patch automatically applied via Xbox Live that addressed several issues and enhanced a few game features. SimHQ re-tested the game and updated their review comments, giving you a first-ever look of this paradigm-breaking console race simulation in its most current form. We hope you enjoy SimHQ’s review of Race Pro — the patched version.

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