Customer Reviews

GTR 2: Realism Redefined

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I do a little bit of performance on-track driving (real life!), and I very much appreciate the complete and accurate physics of this game. Understeer, oversteer, trail braking, lift throttle oversteer... it's all accurately represented.

> You NEED a full wheel and pedal setup to enjoy and appreciate this game.
> You need to invest a few hours with the tutorials.
> Start with a lower-powered car (Lotus Elise) and build up to the fast cars. I STILL cannot get the Maserati MC12 to behave, but the Vette C5R is a teddy bear in comparison.
> You need to learn about car setup in order to be fast and stable. Base cars are setup to understeer, which is safe but slow.
> It's not for kids.
> The menu setup is too complex.
> You can download FREE add-on tracks at several enthusiast web sites!!!

Tech Stuff: This game pushes my X800Xl card to the max, and I'm stunned by this. I can only run it smoothly at 1000x800 with AAx4, compared to Toca Racer3 at 1200x1000 on AAx6. This game uses close to 2gb on your hd, and you better have a nice setup to get the most out of this game. Perhpaps there will be some patch in the future, but I'm stunned that this game pushed my 3.2 ht 1.5 gb of memory so hard.
Graphics: The graphics on this game aren't overwhelming, until you start to notice all the small details:building, stands, stadium seating in the stands, dust flying. Overall the graphics aren't close to Toca3, but the cars and tracks are nicely detailed.
Sound: This is where it hits a homer! Whether in car or out of car, the engine sounds sound so real! Shifting, braking, or throttling up, the game scores huge points on realism. Even when you are pumping the brakes, you can hear and feel the action of the car.
Sim Racing: This aint no easy game by any standards. You really have to know how to enter and exit corners on this game. You just can't drive thru them, because you'll end up off course. Thankfully there is an extensive training guide to assist the average racing fan like your truly. You can practice so many aspects of the game, that it will help alot. You start out with about half the tracks unlocked and about half the cars. You unlock them by winning or accumulating points. Online play is the best, and I really enjoy it. There are literally hundreds of people online worldwide at any time of the day or nite. I work a third shift job, so I unually race around 2:00pm. Still there are hundreds of folks online.
Summary:
This is one of the finest pure sims out there, and maybe to date. I don't enjoy it as much as Forzo(xbox), Test Drive LeMans(dreamcast), but I do like it better than Toca. Toca has too many racing dune buggies and crazy vehicles, and this game centers on my euro-style racing and GT cars. Get this game if you have a nice system. I have a 3.2ht with 1.5gb ram, and my x800xl. the game runs smooth on it at reduced settings, but you need to have good specs to get the most out of it. Wish the game could have been easier for an average racer as myself, but overall I can't complain. Nice game!

I have been using GTR-2 with the Logitech G25 wheel/shifter/pedals on a massive machine with the NVidia 8800 Ultra feeding a 32" HDTV, and the experience has been absolutely incredible. Not only is it a lot of fun, but the knowledge I've gained of certain tracks has dramatically improved my ability to really drive on those tracks (novice DE lapper). This is not nearly as much of a game as it is a simulator - albeit a fun simulator - but one that will require a serious dedication to learning how to drive hard and learning tracks really well, if you want to be good at it and ultimately enjoy it.

This game attempts to be a realistic driving sim and in my view it takes some of the fun out of the game. I anxiously awaited the game, but after trying it for a while, it made me reach for Colin Mcrae Rally 2005 with new appreciation.

I'll keep at GTR2, but with reduced expectations. I have a Logitech Momo force feedback wheel, which is essentially the only way you can sense whether you are overdriving the car. Unfortunately, there is no sensation through the wheel indicating that you are losing grip either by sound or by force feedback. Flooring the gas pedal can put you off the road, too, but without any accompanying sound warning you that you're breaking the tires loose and giving it too much gas. Of course, there is no force feedback coming through the pedals. The game seemed more frustrating than fun, but now that my expectations have been lowered maybe I'll enjoy it more the next time I try it.

October 18, 2008
This game was so frustrating I hardly ever play it. I read the comment on my first review and gave it another try. In a no time, I was cussing like a kid who just discovered swearing.

The problem with this sim, is that it gives you, allegedly, real world physics of driving a real race car, but you don't have the benefit of feeling those physics. Granted, my steering wheel isn't the $250 model, but it isn't a mouse, either.

I tried going through the driving school, to see if I could get up to speed that way. I found that as the program takes you up to speed before handing over the controls to you for your driving exercise, I had to have the wheel pre-cranked. Instead of the wheel transmitting a heavier feeling to synthesize g-forces, it gives you the feeling that your tie-rod is bent. Meaning, that you get a feeling of heaviness alternating with no resistance. The signals transmitted through the wheel are very confusing, or non-existent.

Then, while pressing the gas pedal, if you press it too much you'll lose traction and too much is very difficult to gauge. This by itself could be overcome, but combined with the steering challenges and you're in for some road rage instead of fun.

For those who excel at this game, I couldn't get past the final driving exercise in "combined hairpins - level 4" or "overtaking through a series of corners part 2." Forget about "circuit driving."

So, I'm going to get Colin McRae out and see if I can calm down. Right now, I want to smash something.

October 18, 2008

Okay, I'm back. I finally got smart and googled, "GTR2" and "forums" and found that there are some helpful hints for setting up your wheel, force feedback and the car.

Here are a few thanks to Spinelli at racesimcentral:

1. make sure ur Logitech Momo Racing drivers are up to date.

2. Play with the logitech profiler OFF, SHUT IT OFF, EXIT ETC

3. Go to Start->settings->control panel->game controllers, and make sure ffb is at 100 ( can change it if you like though), then make sure Damping and Spring are at 0 and centering spring is UN-checked and at 0
(although some ppl like it checked but still at 0, try it urself.)

4. In game, set it for "Momo racing" and im not talking about in the controls section, but in the actual FFB section. Thatll take care of the ffb effects, the reverse forces thing, etc etc. Dont change the ffb from 98 to 100, leave it at 98.

5. make sure your steering lock is not super high. In the garage ull see the option. Try something like 14.5 or so. Lower it if you want to turn UR wheel more to turn the games wheels the same. Jus make sure u dont lower it so much that at a corner you can turn UR wheel all the way and feel that you still have grip remaining and could turn harder if you could turn UR wheel more. In that case you would have to increase your steering lock in the garage. Try .5 or 1 incremnets.

6. In the steering sensitivity slider move it down from 50 to more like 45 or 42. People say well now its not linear, but with a Momo racing and its very limited lock it actually is more realistic and better feeling this way, try it. Ive heard people say do 45, then after getting used to it, do 40 get used to it and do 35 and keep it there, I think thats goin overboard as at 35 the second half of the wheels travel would be too sensitive. I used to use 45, I wanted to go lower but didnt wanna increase the latter part of the wheels travel sensitivity so I play on 42. (I think, 42 on RFactor for sure, GTR2 42, maybe 45 cant remember.)

7. If your still understeering then your jus simply going too fast, slow down more.

If you want gimmicky cop chassing robber driving games this is not yet.

If you want the best racing sim bar none then look no further than GTR2. It's the most realistic, fun, exciting, innovative driving game i've ever seen, on any gaming platform.

I love the driving school feature where you truly learn how to be a great racer.. either that or learn you just don't have what it takes.

You can read all about the great details and graphics this has almost anywhere.. so I won't go there now.

Have used GTR since it came out.. GTR2 is more great racing action with improved graphics and a few nit fixes. Might as well have the latest version I'd say..

As with GTR,(and GTL) hope you have the computer power to run it as it should be run and not just the base system recommendations and on reduced slider settings. It needs max PC power to enjoy the way it was intended to be used.

There's not a whole lot I can add from the reviews below. Maxing out the graphics on a 22" Samsung LCD just immerses me into the simulation (it is a simulation, not a game, just like MS Flight Simulator is not a game). Do not expect to drive at 160mph around the tracks without a lot of practice and skill, because you will go off the road or smash a barrier. The sound, especially if you have a high quality speaker/wubwoofer setup, just blows anything else away. The drive train & gearbox "whine" of the 350Z gives me goose bumps.

As one of the PC gaming review sites mentioned however, the menu interface leaves something to be desired. I find it rather tedious to navigate through all the options and settings. Other racing sims/games have had a much easier menu interface design (NFS Porsche Unleashed, Viper Racing, GT Legends). The options themselves though are numerous and detailed down to adjusting the driver seat viewpoint closer or further away from the dashboard. I find my "sitting" preferences there differ based on the car.

Regarding someone's comment here from 01/2007 about a video card not being powerful enough to run it, there are minimum hardware requirements and then there are recommended hardware requirements. Never, EVER expect to run a game with the minimum requirements to play unless you like really low pixel resolutions. I run what today is considered in the gaming world as a low mid-range system: P4 3.2GHz, 1GB ram, and a GeForce 7900GS AGP card. Some review sites have said this sim has steep hardware requirements, but I haven't observed stutters running a fairly high 1680x1050 widescreen resolution in the sim. If you are not running at least a 2.8GHz Intel P4 or AMD 2.0GHz Athlon, and don't have at least an nVidia 6600GT card or ATI 9800 series card as well as 1GB system memory, you can forget about enjoying this sim.

Amazing physics, graphics and presentation.. Fully customizable vehicles. This is pure racing as good as it gets. GTR had a tough learning curve but GTR2 is much improved and newbies as well as pros will enjoy this game to the fullest. Forget about all the other racing games on the market. This is the real thing. I would also highly recommend 'RACE-WTCC GAME' downloadable via STEAM to the fans of this genre(not in retail stores yet). That one enables you to play touring championship that features slower cars but just as good. If you really wanna get into the action you should get the best racing wheel you can afford (G25 from Logitech my personal favorite). It is a steal at $19.99. My only complaint would be the clutch option does not work %100 accurate. You can still switch gears without the clutch even if you enable this option. Other than that GTR2 RULES...

If you enjoy realistic racing simulation, GTR 2 is a must buy.
The attention to graphic detail of the cars, tracks and surroundings
along with sound and car physics is unmatched in any other racing
sim on any system.
THE GRAPHICS HAVE TO BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED. . .

Without doubt GTR 2 is quite simply the best simulation racing game I have ever played. I am awating GTR evolution, so things may change, but for now GTR 2 rules the roost.

The Simbin development team have thought of everything and this is what dinstinguishes the game from the more arcade style titles such as the Need for Speed franchise. Sure these kinds of games are fun, but what I really want to do is test myself on a realistic track in a car which behaves like the real thing. And that's what you get from GTR: big snorting, fire spitting GT cars which require a mixture of brute strength and ballet dancer finese to ease around some of the world's most demanding tracks.

As soon as you start up the engine in the pit garage you are aware of how much detail there is in this game. The driver's view gives you a close to photo-realistic cock-pit interior where you can see his feet moving on the pedals and his hand reaching for the sequential gearbox lever. Real drivers testing the Simbin titles comment on this level of realism, where visual cues immerse you in the world of the game clueing you into what is happening to the car and things around you.

The physics engine is astonishing, because as you gently ease out of the pit garage and gingerly throttle onto the race track with cold tires there is a flood of visual and audio data to process. Flooring the car in a straight line the car will bounce, tramline and wobble over every bump in the track. You brake into your first corner and notice the drivers head move with the g-force of deceleration and your head cranes left or right as you haul the car through the corner. The world and physics of the game are simply amazing and through a decent momo-force feedback steering wheel you can feel the car grip and slip, forcing you to adjust the wheel accordingly. Watch out for 650hp through the rear wheels and cold tires!

If the visual cues aren't enough, the audio features in this game are simply phenomenal. The engine starts with a roar and the auto-sequential gearbox will blip the throttle for you as you change down through the gears. Your can do it manually if you like with heel toe braking on the right steering system. A spittle and pop will erupt from the rear of the car - depending on which car you have - alerting you of the unburnt fuel flaming from the exhaust(s). Tire squeal, tire rumble, dirt flicking up into the wheel arches, it's all there. Even stationary, blipping the throttle heavily will rock the car from the enormous torque...this is as real as it gets.

This is realism redefined and there is almost no franchise which makes racing so immersive and difficult. The learning curve is steep in simulation mode and it takes many laps to learn the tracks (i've done over 1,000 on Valencia) and work out just how fast you really can go through a given corner. All the cars handle differently and sound differently. The heavy rear end of the Porche's sees them slipping side ways through the corners, whilst the Ferrari 360's are pointy and tricky to avoid oversteering. You learn to adjust your driving style.

I am running a core duo 3.4 ghz Pentium with 2 gigs of ram and an nvidia 7600GT card with 256mb of DDR3 onboard ram. Not too many drama's runnig this game except on the highest resolutions which reduces frame rate.

I love this game, my wife hates the noise of it, but oh...the car details and those engine sounds. Visually a treat, there may be prettier games, but I was happy to see the chalk marks on the front tire recently...realism enough for me.

The game features full championships and practice modes, as well as a driver training feature and challenge feature which unlocks different tracks whilst pushing you to the limit. There is hours of racing and challenging material and after nearly two years of ownership I have yet to conquer all the elements in this game. Definitely worth every penny in terms of longevity. Once you try this game, you won't be keen to bother with anything else.