Project Cars 3
Project Cars 3 is primarily a game that should never have been called Project Cars 3. The series was known as a game that was relatively close to the known simulation racers, but had a somewhat more accessible level. Project Cars 3 takes a completely different direction, namely that of a much more arcade approach, while there are still some features that would fit well with a simulation racing game. It gives the game a split personality. Chaotic pushing and pulling work, but with strict enforcement of the rules if you get off the track for a while. Accessible and a lot of freedom in what kind of classes you ride, but occasionally also a considerable degree of difficulty. This game will contain some elements for almost everyone that will appeal to him or her, but at the same time few people will like everything in the game. The final settlement is less beautiful due to the fluctuating difficulty and the changeable graphics. It is hoped that Slighlty Mad Studios will return for a possible fourth part to where Project Cars started, because this way this is not the ideal racing game for anyone.
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Final verdict
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We experienced our best moments in Project Cars 2 while sitting in a playseat with a VR headset on our heads. In the virtual world, armed with a racing wheel and pedals, the game delivered a motorsport experience not often seen in gaming. Project Cars 2 did not approach the realism of known racing sims, but it sparked that idea. If in the spectrum of racing games you put arcade on the left and simulation on the right, Project Cars was on the right. Beyond all other mainstream-focused games and just not quite the iRacings and RFactors of this world. The fact that Project Cars 2 is getting a successor must have sounded good to many fans. There is one problem, however. Project Cars 3 is little like its predecessor. In fact, this is a completely different game, made with a different idea. That does not immediately make the game bad, but it does cause a significant break in style within the series. That may come as an unpleasant surprise for fans who have blindly ordered the third installment in the series, without waiting for the reviews.
Images from the Windows version of Project Cars 3
Another choice, another idea. And yet not quite. What makes this game more ‘arcade’ than its predecessors, we’ll get to that in a minute. What makes it all so striking is that there is also a series of features that seem to belong to the old style. There are two new features that seem small, but mean a lot for the experience. First, you can set that from the cockpit view you automatically look towards the apex of a turn instead of straight ahead. In addition, the degree to which the camera vibrates and shakes during racing is also adjustable. Both features work great when it comes to how much they enhance the feeling of real racing. A race car is not at all quiet or stable. It shocks and vibrates quite aggressively when you hit your accelerator or brake, let alone when you hit curbstones or other bumps. In that sense, Project Cars 3 knows how to visually present car racing very neatly.
If you look beyond the visual aspect, everything changes. Project Cars 3 is a more casual game in the structure of the game, in how playing against others works, and in the driving itself. The atmosphere is looser. The motorsport atmosphere has been exchanged for a more colorful, more flashy whole that at times reminds of a game like Forza Horizon. This includes features such as a more elaborated photo mode and the possibility to provide your cars with all kinds of decoration. The nice thing is that Project Cars 3 does this fine. It is easy to give your car a cool look, whereby a large number of available logos of sponsors can provide your car with a recognizable ‘motorsport look’. You can also save your design and transfer it straight to your other cars. Of course none of that is groundbreaking, but you better have it in order.
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