Customer Reviews

GTR FIA GT Racing Game

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

If you have any interest in racing games, and you own a PC, then this is the game for you. Two words: Incredibly Detailed. You can customize nearly every aspect of the game. For example, want to drive in the cockpit view but can't see over the dashboard? No problem - use the hotkeys to adjust the drivers seat. You can even tell the game to add driver head movement so you can actually look through a turn the way real drivers do. You can adjust every part of the car to make it handle exactly how you want it to handle.
The graphics are fantastic. You can adjust so many graphic settings that it should run on most computers. The car detials are exact, though most of the race car sponsors are unfamiliar to me. The cars have different paint schemes and customizations. Even the cockpits are exact replicas of the real sports cars.
The gameplay is near perfect. That is, you can modify the game to make it as hard as you want it to be. The cars all exhibit real physics with down forces and tire wear just to name a few. The game gives you three modes to play, from Arcade mode to Simulation. Remember, this game is designed as a simulator, so the game has a steep learning curve. I recommend a good two analog stick game pad to get the most out the game. And practice changing the setting to make the game comfortable to play.
Overall, the game is fun and deep, with excellent graphics and sound. What more could you want in your race car driving simulation?

---Update: For a game with so many settings, you can't adjust the number of laps in the arcade mode. Seems like they should have added that. Also, the game is very hard. I have spent most of my time playing in Arcade mode. Just be prepared to practice,

Just got the game last night (mid-October 2005) and did the normal, for me, up all night tweak, play, tweak more, play more. This game offers everything GPL (Grand Prix Legends) does but in most areas it is better. The physics is more up to date, the sounds totally immersive and the upside is endless.
A major advantage GTR offers over GPL is that its 'innards' are a known commodity. Unlike, GPL, many mods already exist; you wlll not need to wait for someone to create new tracks, cars, utilities etc., they are already available. Best news of all is that you can use all the skills you have mastered in previous sims. Within a night I was already within five seconds of the AI in full simulation mode.
The standard cars are great and the add-ons from around the world may be as equally good. Most of the additional tracks you learned in GPL are available and may be an improvement over the originals.
To get the most out of the game some tweaking and/or hardware upgrades may be needed to, but that's somewhat normal for most of us. The menus could be easier to get from one function to another and some of the in game graphics are sacrificed for playability and the game loads reallllly slow, but after a few minutes those issues go away.
Warning: GTR makes you work, HARD. But the reward in self-satisfaction is unbeatable. Please also note that the same firm, SIMBIN, just launched GT Legends, another great effort if the demo is any indication, so they are committed to bringing really great titles to our community. The game is not perfect, but it is the best 'upgrade' to GPL I have played.

This is, without doubt, the best racing sim on the market. Models are outstanding, physics are tops, sounds are awesome, support is excellent, and the 3 new add-ons are definitely meant for the American market: the creators of GTR have already added 3 ovals to satisfy left-turn-itis... You have 3 levels of difficuly: Arcade, Semi-pro, and Simulation. Simulation is very difficult, while Arcade is quite easy. Lots of cars, lots of tracks, lots of options. Have fun!!

I can't add much that hasn't already been stated.

This is the most true to life racing Sim produced. It can be extremely challenging, yet still enjoyable. The Arcade version is a great place to start, and familiarize yourself with the circuits, but where this game really stands out is the Championship series. Qualifying is extremely difficult, but that's the way it is supposed to be. You can fine tune almost every aspect of the game to make it as challenging as possible. The graphics are exceptional. The AI is adjustable, but plenty challenging on it's lowest setting.

I'm just using an older Sidewinder gamepad, but I can only imagine how much better it would be with a racing wheel and pedals.

The claim of 70 race cars is a bit misleading. Several of the teams represented have 4-5 cars which are the same, just different colors/sponsors, etc.

If you like Nascar-type racing games(yuck) then this is not for you. The developers do have a free patch you can download which includes some oval tracks. I tried them, but nearly fell asleep driving them. Drive fast, turn left. BO-RING!!

I haven't experienced any performance issues on my machine:
P4, 2.40 GHz
1 GB RAM
128MB ATI Radeon 9700.

If I had to list anything that I would improve upon, it would be the Pit crew request messages. They get a little redundant, and some are difficult to understand with all the background noise that was included for the sake of realism, I guess. The pre-printed manual is pretty basic, but the pdf version included on the disc makes up for it and has LOADS of detail.

Neither one of these are enough to detract from the gaming experience whatsoever. This game is a load of fun and a must have for any racing gamers out there.

do yourself a huge favor, first make sure you have a great gaming pc, then get this game, a logitech wheel/pedal combo WITH force feedback, take a few days vacation off of work, send your wife and kids to someplace special for a little while and engross yourself in this game. eat, sleep, etc if you must, but it will be a chore to pry yourself away.
this is all assuming you love the racing game genre and need something to quench that thirst that forza and gt4 just cant supply you with anymore. thank god the game developers at simbin are equally as psychotic as i am about attention to detail when it comes to a real (and fun as hell) racing sim.
its not the most gourgeous girl out there, but for what it lacks in top of the line appearance (still best car models ive seen in any racing game by the way) it makes up for in sound and physics.
i cant say enough about the addictive qualities of this game, but honestly i would not even bother unless you have a great vid card and wheel, you need a constant 60 fps. also the work these guys spent in translating everything in the game to the wheel could have a thesis all its own. example...the wheel vibrates when in nuetral, blip the throttle and the vibration increases until its gone, like you would think any 600hp gt car might.

ahh, you get the point...i could go on!

You definetely need this, Live for Speed, Richard Burns Rally and Grand Prix Legends in order to have a well rounded real life driving experiance on the PC. These games are simply fantastic. GTR is my favorite because I often have to stop the game to dry my wet sweaty hands from the real stress I experiance while operating these cars. The graphics are outstanding; both the tracks and the scenery are simply excellant. The driveability is superb. I drive all these games on the highest levels of realism possible and they totally deliver on my request. I rate each of these games a solid 10. If you want arcade go elsewhere...but GTR satisfies this too. Simply fun to drive and learn the driving line on each of the tracks with each of the cars.

this is the best experience i have ever made in racing game !
forget about gran tourismo 4. i am now on the game since 1 week and playing it nearly 12 hours a day. my opinion now, this is the most realistic and hardcore game of all categories...

and i love the porsche`s in it... :-)

I'm a racing-sim junkie; have been since I started playing racing games in the early '80s on the Atari 2600 and then later on my trusty Commodore 64. I've played 'em all, including professional cockpit sims that tour with car companies. And now that I'm grown up I like drive my real car on racetracks, so I know what it's really like to make some hot laps.

GTR by SimBin is the most accurate racing Sim I have ever used, bar none. The physics engine is spot on, and the incredible amount of adjustments you can make to the car in GTR actually work as they would in the real world. The graphics? great. Sound? great. Cars? Tons, all accurately rendered. Tracks? Tons, and correct down to the smallest detail. Going back to lesser simulations, like GT4, make it apparent that they are not even clost to being in the same league as GTR.

A must buy for any racing or Sim fan.

For those who have raced sims a lot, this is a good challenge on the "Simulation" level with Ai set to "Aggressive".

For others who have not used racing sims that much, GTR has so many settings, you can taylor it to just what you can handle and still have loads of racing action.

Anything from arcade to full simulation can be dialed in using the menu screens.

Like Papyrus GPL, this one should last you many years, and the cost per hour of fun will get VERY low.

BTW, SimBin is coming out with this one as "GTL" (GT Legends) yet in 2005. Will have classic racing machines to beat on.

I only gave it 4 stars because nothing is perfect and they all can be better. But 5 stars for FUN should tell you something.

Note: You do need plenty of computer and video card horse power to enjoy this one..

Edit: If you have the PC power, you might just move on to GTR2 which is out now.

There are few absolute classics in the sim racing world, I note them as the following: (i) GPL, (ii) rFactor and (iii) GTR. I imported a copy of GT Legends, and while fun and a nice succession of GTR, the career mode killed it for me. Plus, there have been few add-on tracks for GT Legends and the likelihood of any type of mod is slim to none. SO, with GTR you have an amazing platform (although not mod friendly) based on a truly interesting and competitive European-based series with amazing cars ranging from Ferrari's to Listers. There are multiple additional tracks available online, so good in fact that putting Road America out there and running these cars on it is amazing. The multiplayer is not on par with rFactor, which is light years ahead in terms of sync, chatting, etc. But as a true single player simulation, GTR is a fantastic game. Plus, those plugged into the sim news world through bhmotorsports.com, autosimsport.com and SimHQ.com know that GTR II will be released later this year based on 2004 (with Maseratis!!). The preliminary screenshots are amazing, but until that time you should ABSOLUTELY buy GTR and partake in one of the great sims of the past decade.