RACE Pro Game Review - Xbox 360

OUR RATING:

7.4

VERY GOOD

TANGIBLES:

Gameplay:		8
Visuals:		8
Audio:		7
Value:		7
Quality:		7

Why you should buy it: If you want the absolute most realistic racing physics on the Xbox 360, this is the game you want to own.

Why you should rent it: You might want to give it a try first, especially if you like a game with a bit of personality.

UNIQUE RATING:

7.4

SUGGESTION:

Buy It

RACE Pro

Written by: Filippo Dinolfo | Tags: RACE Pro, Xbox 360

February 28,2009 - Swedish development house SimBin has been making PC Racing Simulations for years now. Their GT-R and Race series have been well received by PC Racing enthusiasts looking for the pinnacle of realism in racing. Race Pro is SimBin's first entry into the console market, and it manages to stick to the formula that they've established for their PC games. This is a bit of a mixed blessing, since Race Pro carries over both good and bad points from the PC games.

The first thing to know about Race Pro is that it is a game that strives for realism. This is most evident in the game's absolutely excellent driving physics. Every car feels unique to drive. Light cars feel nimble and lively while heavier, more powerful cars reflect that extra weight in their handling. They may be just as capable of going around a corner at speed as the lighter cars, but you'll be reminded of the extra weight you're carrying if you push the cars limits of grip. Some cars will let you get away with quite a bit, while others will kill you if you make the slightest mistake. If you're new to this style of racing, you'll be making a lot of mistakes early on. Race Pro has three difficulty levels, Novice, Semi-Pro, and Professional. Novice and Semi-Pro both have some driving assists turned on, while Professional turns them all off and lets you fend for yourself. The game seems to want to default to the Professional difficulty, which should tell you something as to who this game is really intended for.

The performance of the cars is also affected by how you set the cars up prior to the race. There are several categories of tuning options for you to tinker with (Gear Ratios, Suspension, etc.) and the degree of precision you can get is staggering. This is great for those people that really love to get into the nuts and bolts of a car's performance. It's not so great for newcomers.

The game features several game modes to play through. There is a tiered Career mode where you'll be given the chance to try out for a racing team contract. Once you succeed in the tryout you'll then have to drive a series of races for that team, earning credits for the races you place in the top 3 in. There is also a Championship mode where you play through a racing season. The driver with the most points at the end of the season is the winner. You can also play single races, time attacks, and practice your driving in the game's Open Practice mode.

If you want to play the game with friends you have a few different options. There is online play over Xbox Live, System Link LAN play. There are a wealth of options for setting up your online game. You can customize just about every variable you can think of. Performance over the internet is fairly good, though it's a bit difficult to fill a game completely at times. There is also the unique Hot Seat mode where you can play with a friend on the same console. In this mode you'll both use the same controller and pass it between the both of you at set intervals. Hot Seat mode can be played in Versus Mode, and Co-Op mode. It's a lot more fun in Co-Operative mode, where you and a friend can take turns and are working towards the same goal.

The game doesn't suffer from a lack of content. There are a total of forty cars from major manufacturers and thirteen tracks from all around the world. Most of the tracks are based in Europe, as are most of the cars. That is one of the reasons that Race Pro may have a bit of trouble getting a foothold in the North American racing market. Most people around have don't follow series like the WTCC. That isn't Race Pro's biggest stumbling block though. Where the game really falls flat is in its overall presentation. Race Pro is as plain and sterile as a hospital gown. From the bland UI to the seemingly abandoned race tracks, Race Pro just lacks personality. This point is driven home when you hear your pit contact over the radio. He talks to you in a monotone with absolutely no emotion whatsoever. Worse than that though, the game doesn't give you anything to identify with. You're just a racing driver with no real identity. Maybe that's what being the Stig feels like?

Visually the game is pretty good. The cars and tracks all look very accurate. The game defaults to the in-car camera for races, though you can change this if you don't like it. For this game though, the in-car view is the best way to play. It gives you a great sense of scale and heightens the sense of speed greatly. The only real trouble with the visuals is some framerate and graphical glitches that crop up now and then.

The game's audio is another matter. In the UI you'll have some rather bland background music. It's nothing particularly special. That goes away when you get into a race though. In fact until you start racing it's almost as if the sound disappears entirely. Once you get going though, you'll be listening to the sound of pure horsepower and tormented tires. That's the most important thing to hear in a racing game, and SimBin does this well. It would've just been nice if they could have also given some more thought to ambiance.

Race Pro isn't a bad game by any means. It's strong where it needs to be; the actual driving part, but lacks any kind of personality. To put it another way, Race Pro is a diamond in a plain white paper bag, and it loses some of its appeal as a result.