Project Cars 2 hands on
It wasn’t the best start to my time with Project
Cars 2 as the PC running the demo crashed as soon as I sat down. Which is funny
as that’s exactly what my race began with too - a crash - as the wheel seemed
to be pointing the wrong way and instead of screeching away I did a massive
donut into the nearest wall!
After the disastrous start I slowly settled into the race (or as it now was - a drive around an empty track). I can’t really comment on the dirt racing action as I never managed to catch up with the other cars but the handling and driving experience is still fantastic. The new dirt tracks in Project Cars 2 are a real handful - sliding the car about with the wheel setup is fantastic fun and needs some practice to get right. More practice than I have time for in this all to quick demo. I finish the race way back in last place slightly deflated.
Not to be defeated, I return to the Bandai Namco
stand the next day for another go. This time I check out the three options
available more carefully before jumping in:
- A Rallycross Stage - Leahac, France in a Honda Civic
Coupe GRX
- A Road Circuit - Bannochbrae, Scotland in a McLaren
720s
- A Circuit Race - Autodromo Internacional do Algarve,
Portugal in a Ferrari 488 GT3
As the McLaren 720s is on the booth it seems appropriate to give that a go. This time I got off to a much better start – no crashing of the game or my car on the start!
I thought Project Cars was a stunning looking game but this sequel is looking even better. The other cars are beautifully rendered and I had to stop myself admiring the Scottish Highlands scenery during the race. The Bannochbrae circuit is featured in the original Project Cars as DLC but without playing one straight after the other I can’t say for certain how improved it is. One thing is for sure the chicane through the town was definitely catching out a lot of people unfamiliar with it!
I finish the race in a respectable 5th place and feel happier with the whole thing – I’m so glad I came back for another go. If you liked Project Cars then you have to get Project Cars 2 when it’s released on 22nd September 2017. It’s set to feature over 170 licensed cars, the most tracks of any console racing game and support for PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. This is a racing game that can rival the best from Microsoft and Sony but be warned you need to put the practice in if you want to compete – particularly on the new dirt tracks.
- Giles