Review: Race Pro
My Impressions - "Magnum"

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Cars

The features list claims 350 different cars for the game, which while factually true really just counts the various teams’ cars with different sponsor liveries. Even so, you still get a good healthy selection of car types and models, everything from the Mini-Cooper’s to Formula Racers.

Don’t think you’re going to get this game, jump in and start driving any car you please. When first starting out, you have a very limited selection of cars to drive, and only on certain tracks. One of SimHQ’s most despised features from SimBin’s “GT Legends” title as found its way to RacePro — you have to play through the single player career in order to unlock all the cars. I can understand this to a point, say to reward you for doing the single player career, but I do think this is a ridiculous restriction when it comes to open testing or online racing. If I didn’t want to do any single player action with this game, then I should not be penalized in free/test drive or especially multiplayer. Some of us bought Race Pro for one purpose only, and that is to get online via Xbox Live and race other humans.

The cars are nicely done, and each feels completely different to drive like it should be. But the cars are not perfect — if you really look close you can see the cars all fit a certain design box or shape, and the paint/exterior features though good are not great, certainly not “next gen”. But the cockpit views are fantastic. Some cars have the roll bars, along with the safety net and features; some are open and clear, while some feel tight and cramped. You get a good sense of each type of car as you sit in the cockpit. When driving from cockpit view you’ll feel (well, “see”) the G forces pushing on your body — what I mean by this is that if you’re sitting in a Formula race car and you drop the hammer, the point of view will slightly move back, giving you that feeling of being pushed into the race seat. If you brake hard, your view slides forward, giving you that sense of deceleration. All this makes driving in cockpit view is a joy, and is the only way to fully enjoy this game — once you learn the track, of course. Oh, and by the way, if it’s raining you have windshield wipers clearing your view, somewhat.

Force Feedback Controller

While I too drove Race Pro with a Microsoft Force Feedback wheel, I will defer my comments to Chunx.

Physics

As mentioned elsewhere, I really like how the cars drive, and how each car has it's own unique feel or response. I am sure that's the mark of a physics model with a lot of fidelity. I also appreciate little contributions to conveying the sense that you're really driving a car, like the cockpit view flexing in response to braking and acceleration forces acting on the driver. Complex physics certainly add to the challenge of driving these cars, and that's a good thing when it comes to entertainment, because when you finally get the hang of the cars it gives you a real feeling of accomplishment.

Garage Setup

I appreciate the wealth of tuning options available in modern racing simulation titles, and Race Pro is no exception. But as a more casual gamer who just likes to get together with friends and do some racing, I really only drive the cars with the default setup, and don't mess around with tweaks to spring rates or bump settings.

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