REVIEW

Critic Score

GamingTrend : 70 / 100
Gamer : 8,5 / 10
HonestGamers : 7 / 10
GamingExcellence : 7 / 10
TotalScore : 8



RACE 07 is a serious racing game, but it's one that feels authentic without being stuffy. The game can be tailored to create the experience you want, with numerous driving assists that can be disabled to make the game more difficult. Antilock brakes, traction control, and stability assists can be turned off at any time during the race, but disabling them makes cornering all the more difficult. You can also make the game harder by choosing from the preset racing levels at the beginning of each race. On the novice setting, the damage level of each crash is limited to 30 percent of the real-world effect, while mechanical failure is turned off to prevent your car from ever breaking completely. On the pro level, damage affects your car more both technically and aesthetically, meaning that each bump has a noticeable effect on performance.

As if wrestling with your own car wasn't enough of a challenge, RACE 07 also provides some of the most convincing artificial intelligence that we've seen in a driving game. The AI does a convincing job of driving competitively, steering into your path to stop you from passing and even giving you the odd nudge, something which also happens between computer-controlled opponents. At the beginning of a race, you'll frequently see AI drivers tussling to the point where one car will end up going off the track or spinning out completely. Given the short nature of touring car races (most tend to stay below 15 laps, although this can be decreased if you like), there's relatively little thinning out of the pack, leading to some incredibly exciting races as a result. Even on the novice setting, it's difficult to gain a lot of time on your opposition, which means that you have to concentrate all the way to the finish line.


There are only a couple of weather effects in RACE 07, and while their visual impact is limited, their effect on the driving experience is tangible. Light rain causes a small amount of sheen on the track, while heavy rain makes even the most gradual of corners a challenging exercise. It's some way off the huge puddles that can be seen in Project Gotham Racing 4, but the level of detail extends to being able to turn on the windscreen wipers and headlights. Some dexterity on the keyboard is required to master all the controls in RACE 07: It's definitely a game that's designed to be played using a racing wheel.

RACE 07 is a charming racing game that won't fail to appeal to enthusiasts. You have to applaud the effort that's gone into making the game authentic but also accessible, and at any level, it is always a joy to play. While there's no getting away from the fact that it looks dated and could certainly do with an engine overhaul, the new classes and vehicles make this an attractive addition to the franchise. If you have the money to spend on a racing wheel, as well as the time to play though the season and online modes, you should definitely invest in RACE 07.

REVIEW

Critic Score

GamingTrend : 60 / 100
Gamer : 7 / 10
HonestGamers : 6,5 / 10
GamingExcellence : 6 / 10
TotalScore : 6,5




Every platform gets a piece of the avalanche of advertising that permeates the game. Sure, races in real life are heavily sponsored, but ProStreet takes it too far--there's nary a stretch of track where there's not some sort of advertisement for motor oil or car insurance. It doesn't seem possible, but 360 and PC owners get to enjoy even more advertising thanks to dynamic ads that will be downloaded when you start the game up for the first time. Even better, some of the achievements are sponsored by a car insurance company. It's too bad that the cost of the game and the ridiculous amount of advertising isn't making EA enough money--on the Xbox 360 (and according to EA, soon on the PS3) you can use real cash to unlock cars and upgrades. Every single time you go to buy a car, you're asked if you want to use in-game cash or real money. You don't even need to have unlocked a car to be able to purchase it with real cash, which is really unfair since you can use that unlocked car to zoom right to the top of the leaderboards on the early courses.

If you've got a rig that can handle it, the PC version of Need For Speed looks just as good as the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. With all of the visual options enabled the game looks very nice--particularly its cars, which look fantastic. They look great when they're shiny and new, but they look even better when they're all smashed up. It hurts your wallet when you total a car, but it sure is entertaining to watch the windshield shatter, the bumper fall to the ground, and the hood peel away like a sardine can lid. Unfortunately, enabling smoke effects, car damage, and bumping up the detail causes the game to run poorly. As mentioned earlier, the game doesn't give off a tremendous sense of speed, even with all of the bells and whistles turned off. This is partially because you'll spend a lot of time driving slower cars, but also because the frame rate isn't very fast and is frequently choppy. Everyone gets in on the terrible career menu, which is ugly and difficult to navigate. We also experienced numerous crashes, regardless of the visual settings.