Project Cars 2 Preview – Racing on Ice (PS4)

With the first Project Cars rated highly by us, it was a no-brainer for me to take the sequel, Project Cars 2, for a spin when given the chance by Bandai Namco during its product press conference in Singapore last week.

Full disclosure though, I played Project Cars 2 sitting on a bucket racing seat and using a steering wheel complete with paddle (and stick) shifters, and of course, pedals. Needless to say, this added a whole lot to the immersion and gameplay “feel” of it, though I didn’t get to try it with the wheel and stuff along with a PlayStation VR, unfortunately.

Spinning Wheels

First off, just want to give everyone a heads-up that I’m in no way a good racing game player. My last real serious foray into the genre was with Gran Turismo 2, and I usually veered to the “kart-racer” genre since it’s easier to get into. That said, I do enjoy playing racing games from time to time.

What’s new in Project Cars 2? It seems there’s a lot. Not only does it have the most tracks ever in a racing game (over 60!), feature career co-op, an in-game eSports racing league and lots more. Safe to say, if you’re a racing fan, there’s more to drive into than your standard career and online multiplayer mode. Oh, and did I mention it’ll support PlayStation VR as well? Because it will, though as I’ve mentioned, I wasn’t able to try it during the event.

When I sat on the racing chair, I immediately tried the new racing conditions that were available, and in this case, it was driving on ice. Unfortunately, this is where all things went south for me. I tried navigating the slippery road but my newb-ness got the better of me, and I careened over and over to barricades and such. It definitely has a steeper learning curve than I expected (and I suck too, I know).

On the regular, vanilla racing side, I managed to run a few laps against the AI, and I tested the paddle shifters and different views available (it’s what you’d expect from a racing sim). While I didn’t manage to beat the enemy AI and nab first place, I did manage to do OK, and I admit, using the steering wheel proved to be another barrier for me (but a welcome one).

Also announced during the event was the inclusion of the Nissan Fairlady 240Z, and NissanGT-R, which is just the tip of the iceberg as we’re assured more cars will be joining the current car list.

Given how Slightly Mad Studios knows their stuff when it comes to racing games, and Project Cars 2 seems to be following the mantra of bigger, better and more of everything, then racing fans have something special to look forward to when Project Cars 2 races out sometime in “late 2017” for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

Travel and accommodations for the press event provided by Bandai Namco. Previewed on PS4.