It’s always impressive to see a community-driven project finally see the light of day. That’s the case with Project CARS, a racing game put together with the help of the same folks that contributed financially to its development.
Slightly Mad Studios did an excellent job in conveying a sense of speed and providing a solid driving model. At first glance, it was easy for me to confuse the game with any of the current AAA racing games. All car models looked legit enough and the track used in this particular show floor demo, the UK’s beloved Brands Hatch, felt great.
The demo itself was only for a handful of laps, but it was enough to get a good feel of the game. Unfortunately for me, I had a couple of crashes when playing Project CARS, not from the driving variety. Still, when the game was running as it should, I honestly could not tell it was any less carefully and lovingly put together than Grant Turismo, DriveClub or even Forza Motorsport.
I’m a very particular kind of racing fan, so it’s just as easy for me to be annoyed with a racing game as it is for me to actually want to stay with it and get better and better. Project CARS looks to be the latter after my demo, surely.
In fact, the level of detail that I got to see from this game at E3 really sent home the feeling that indie developers are stepping their game up considerably in the new generation of consoles. Considering Project CARS still has a few months to go before flooring the gas pedal, it’s already an impressive game that raised my interest in going outside the traditional racing franchises.
Project CARS should see a fair amount of content right from the start, with more than 60 licensed cars and 35 tracks to pick from. It’s worth noting that most of these are being put together with scans from the actual locations, including the aforementioned Brands Hatch. Project CARS is stated for a November release on Playstation 4, PC, Xbox One and Wii U.
