Xbox Live is something of a saviour to the action with the chance to join a variety of games in various car types. There is a noticeable problem with jumping straight into a game already in progress as you do tend to find you enter proceedings at a rather inappropriate stage, such as qualifying with barely time to get a lap in, or towards the end of a race where your driving does nothing but hinder your opponents. But when you do finally get on track, there is something rather more appealing about taking on real people rather than the ever-predictable AI.

As you might expect from a game that has so obviously been pitched at the hardcore racing fan, the game works best with a feedback wheel, although even that doesn’t feel as responsive as it might do. As with the traditional controller, you never quite feel as though you’re driving, more that you’re working the car around corners. Thankfully, that can be counteracted somewhat with a switch of view to the driver’s seat, which makes you feel much more in-tune with the action. And if you are after that track racing realism, the in-cockpit view is the only way to play.

Graphically, RACE Pro surprisingly suffers from the straight down the line realism approach that SimBin has opted for, as it never seems to push the Xbox 360 as much as it should. The cars all look the part and the damage modelling is good – although it rarely seems to have any impact on your vehicle’s handling – but it all feels rather static. There is a nice array of choice when it comes to car selection, from Minis right up to supercharged high-performance vehicles such as the F3000 cars, and they all seem to have their own little traits and impressive handling models which you need to get a feel for. The tracks too are plenty realistic, but there never seems to be any sense of atmosphere – a crushing blow for a game where one wrong gear change could cost you dearly.

RACE Pro is a racing game for racing fans and, to its credit, never tries to be anything else. It’s by no means one for the Continental Circus breed of arcade racing junkies, but it will have an appeal to Gran Turismo-style gamers. To get the best from the title you need to have time and patience to learn how to master each track’s intricacies as well as unlocking and tweaking each car’s performance to snatch that all-important extra tenth. RACE Pro never feels like a lapped back marker, but you also never feel that it has the technical depth or raw realism to be up in pole position. However, if you have the hours at the wheel, there’s plenty to enjoy and more than enough content to keep you entertained.

Pages: 1 2

Have you downloaded the latest issue from GamerZines yet? Check it out here!