Smells like a New Console in Here
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There’s a long list of ‘firsts’ I have shared with this game. For the first time, I did sim racing, mouse steering, time wheel steering, time modding, and the very first time; I had goosebumps from virtual engine sounds. And the list goes on. You all must be wondering what I am talking about, so let’s let me describe the game.
OVERVIEW
Blimey developed this car racing simulator! And Simbin Studios. As it was launched in 2006, the physics and simulations of this simulator were ahead of its time. Moreover, as it was a sequel of the game GTR, it had better physics and damage modeling than the last game in 2004.
KEY FEATURES
Physics: The physics couldn’t get any real for a sim this old. The game never fails to awe the fans with its Dynamic Day, weather changes & impressive damage models.
Variety: 144 grand touring cars reproduced with the finest details from real-life cars. The vehicles are from GT and NGT classes. The game simulates the 2003 and 2004 seasons of the FIA GT Championship. It also contains long-running 24hr races.
Original Circuits: An array of 34 original tracks with a selection of layouts.
Tracks
Cars
Anderstorp Barcelona Brno Donington Park Dubai Autodrome Enna Pergusa Estoril Hockenheim Imola Magny Cours Monza Oschersleben Spa-Francorchamps Valencia Zhuhai International Circuit
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BMW M3 GTR BMW Z3 M Chevrolet Corvette C5-R Chrysler Viper GTS-R Gillet Vertigo Streiff Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT Lister Storm Lotus Elise Maserati MC12 Morgan Aero 8 Mosler MT900R Nissan 350Z Porsche 993 GT2 Porsche 911 Biturbo Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Porsche GT3-RS Porsche GT3-RSR Saleen S7R Seat Toledo GT
AI: AI in this sim is pretty quick, and it holds up with the latest Simulators. You can also alter the AI strength as you wish. It can be raised to a whopping 120%. The thrill quotient gets even higher with options to alter the aggression of the AI drivers.
Platform: This Sim was developed for PC users only.
MAIN MENU
The interface of this game is pretty basic as you can’t expect much from a game this archaic. But the number of options it offers never ceases to amaze you. It’s divided into two parts- single-player and multiplayer.
MODES
SINGLE-PLAYER: Single-player offers you 6 different game modes (Driving School, Open Practice, Time Trial, Race weekend, 24-hour races, Championship). Let’s talk about each of them in detail.
Driving School: For the sim racing newbies out there, this mode is your best friend. It will teach you the racing line for different tracks, braking points for the corners, but frankly speaking, people don’t usually try this mode.
Open Practice: This is the mode I use the most as it allows you to try combinations of various cars and tracks. One can freely practice new tracks and cars in customized conditions.
Time Trial: If you want to get out there and put a lap time on the board, go ahead and try this mode. You can do low fuel runs and put on softer tires to go faster. And, now you have improved lap time.
Race Weekend: This option gives you a chance to simulate a race weekend. It consists of a wide range of settings for the weekend. For example, you can turn on Friday practice to practice for the race and apply a setup on the car that suits you. In addition, you can choose to qualify also which determines your grid position for the race. There are options available to calibrate race distance, time of the day, weather conditions, AI level, number of opponents, and your grid position(if you skipped qualifying).
24-hour Races: 24- hour races can be simulated by this mode, like 24 Hours of Spa.
Championship: This mode simulates the 2003 and 2004 seasons of the FIA GT Championship. You can fight for the championship. The driver with the highest points at the end of the season wins the championship.
MULTIPLAYER: The official multiplayer servers of this game are dead!
MODDING
What makes this game a lot more fun to play is Modding. You can download new cars from the modern era or some classics and try them on different tracks. You can download tracks from around the world. There are some known websites to me from where you can download these mods: esport-racing and racedepartment.
COMPARISON WITH MODERN SIMULATORS
GTR2 is a more complete game than anything else we have today. You have things to do outside of just running laps/AI races. In terms of SIM, though… I hate to say it, but it shows its age. I booted it up the other day to mess around with the M3 GTR and found a minimal feel compared to something more modern. There’s definitely something to be said for the immersion that GTR2 still brings to the table, but it’s a bit of a relic in terms of pure physics. In comparison with Assetto Corsa .The visuals Assetto Corsa edges out a little, but they are similar. The tracks in both the games are the same, with some slight detail changes due to the time gap between the games. The pure physics of Assetto Corsa is better, and the response from the car is also a little different, but still, GTR2 holds up pretty well with other sims.
PROS
Freedom: This sim gives you the freedom to try out different things. Trying cars on different tracks, playing with the car setups, changing the weather conditions the way you want, night-time or day-time.
Modding: Mods are a big pro for this game. If you get bored with the inbuilt cars and tracks, you can easily download new cars and tracks.`
24Hr Races: The fact that you can simulate a 24 hr race in 24 minutes is crazy. The game will simulate a whole day within 24 minutes, and the racing conditions will change accordingly.
CONS
Rolling Starts: AI is pretty slow during rolling starts. You can easily overtake them on the pit straight. Also, AI’s pace is slow during the beginning laps of the race.
You can’t race cars together from two different mods, which means only cars from a single mod pack race together.
Modern Equipment: When using a modern sim racing wheel, the force feedback is not proper, so you might have to download some patch files to adjust the force feedback.
Steam Version: The steam version of this game doesn’t contain cars from Ferrari and Porsche, so you have to download a patch file to get those cars in your game.
FINAL VERDICT
I say if you have already tried your hands on this game before, go back and play it again! It will hit you with nostalgia and bring back some warm memories. And if you haven’t tried it yet, I highly recommend you give it a shot, which will definitely impress you.