Recent reviews by Déesse

Crème de la crème sim racing endurance experience <3

The survivor trilogy is my favourite Lara Croft timeline, and all three games I find are fundamentally similar, the major distinctions being the story and the setting.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the weakest of the survivor trilogy, due to its story.

The setting of the game exudes potential, and the environment artistry once again cannot be faulted. The immersion factor is also boosted by the appropriate Mayan, Aztec and Incan cultural influences harmonising the relationship between humanity and the landscape.

Unfortunately, the story and character development detracts from the spectacle. The main storyline not only short, but also lacks cohesion, substance and direction. The abrupt pacing does not flesh out emotions and identities well, and the story does not paint the primary protagonist Lara in a particularly good light, all of which compounded results in a bland campaign experience.

Hence, the failure to establish a cogent narrative to impart a meaningful impression on the player makes the game fall short compared to the other games in the trilogy, however, the game is still good in its own right, just not outstanding.

Where Dreams Are Driven <3

There is a good game underneath it all, but it was clearly rushed and unfinished. I hope that NASCAR as well as its tracks will instead arrive in rFactor 2 for this game needs a lot more work and polish which is not likely to happen considering the dire state of Motorsport Games. An area that especially needs work is the AI behaviour when oval racing, something which is a very significant problem facing all isiMotor engine games and will be challenging to get right. For now, please continue to look elsewhere such as iRacing and NR2003 if you are looking for a decent oval racing experience.

Keeps getting better and better. The true successor to Project CARS 2, highly commendable work by Reiza in helping the Madness Engine realise its full potential.

> Improved physics and tyre model over pCars 2 contributing to a more accurate and refined driving experience.
> DLC content is recommended as the base game is lacking in content. Go straight for the 2020-2022 Season Pass, it's good value for money relative to the likes of rFactor 2 and iRacing.
> AI a significant step up from pCars 2.
> Ease of setup and accessibility.
> Ability to create custom championships.
> Some cars drive better than others, but overall quality of content is largely consistent.
> Generally improved environment and track models compared to pCars 2.
> Decent gamepad support.
> Regular updates that bring meaningful upgrades and changes.

My favourite simcade racer. Highly underrated and misunderstood game due to botched marketing enforced by Codemasters.

> Superb controller experience, while also easily playable with a wheel.
> Extensive track and car list, not locked behind any significant barrier such as live services and microtransations.
> Highly enjoyable and satisfying driving model that makes sense.
> Well balanced economy and career mode that rewards progression. Not overly grindy like in Gran Turismo, but also not handing you everything like in Forza. Race objectives and some game mode variety to keep things fresh, although I can understand why the latter may be distasteful to some.
> Good car upgrade and easy customisation systems to personalise your vehicles.
> Mediocre AI, but you can still have some decent racing every so often.

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**EXTENDED REVIEW**

It's been many years since I've had so much enjoyment and satisfaction from a modern casual racer. Project CARS 3 is a standout in an era of bland and uninspired racing games.

I shall firstly acknowledge the controversy that envelops this title. The shift of direction towards the more casual gamer alienated much of the fanbase that built it. Consequently, from a simulation standpoint it is undoubtedly a step back from previous entries of the franchise.

It was going to be called something along the lines of Project CARS Revolution, however according to inside sources the change came at the eleventh hour as a result of Codemasters acquisition. Codemasters did not want two arcade racers with GRID and Project CARS Revolution, hence the marketing direction was changed to promote Project CARS 3 as a pretend sim when it was clearly originally designed as an offshoot. Ultimately, especially in hindsight, it was a misguided move.

I sympathise with the disappointment of what the true Project CARS 3 could have been. But lets not ignore how the simulation focus still lives on with Automobilista 2, a game whose existence with the Madness Engine would have been futile had Project CARS 3 taken the same simulation route.

Judging the title for what it is, not what it could have been - it is a stellar simcade racer, one of if not the best ever. While it may not have the graphical glamour of its contemporaries, it offers a very complete package with a superb driving feel - a rare offering amid the lacklustre racing games of recent years. And as such, it is truly deserving of success.

I cannot emphasise enough how enjoyable and natural the driving model is. Having the roots of a sim racer certainly worked in its favour. In fact, Project CARS 3 actually brought in a host of nuanced driving improvements from its predecessor.

But being great is not enough. Media publicity, positive public sentiment and consistently healthy player numbers is what ultimately drives success.

As a result of poorly directed marketing, Project CARS 3 was met with unwavering hostility right from its reveal. The almost universal distaste for the game largely due to misaligned expectations became a bandwagon that spread like a wildfire, ensuring Project CARS 3 was shunned from the limelight and never became the success it could've been.

Project CARS 3 as with everything, is not without its flaws. Optimisation is terrible, especially for the base Xbox One and PS4 consoles, and the AI is mediocre and highly unrealistic, where cars run in artificially bunched NASCAR style packs and gaps between cars fluctuate dramatically through the lap. That said, it still miles ahead of Forza and Gran Turismo.

The simcade approach worked wonders for SMS. Project CARS 2, while a competent racing sim in its own right, never stood out as being one of the top racing sims. Project CARS 3 however, shines as one of if not the best simcade racers out there today.

Sheer Driving Pleasure.

> Awesome physics and FFB.
> Quality DLC content, although pricey.
> Active modding community.
> Decent AI racing although an inconsistent experience depending on car and track combinations.
> Much improved UI and loading times from previous builds.

More like Need for Speed Least Wanted.

Best all round racing sim.

> Comprehensive roster of content in an accessible and consistent package.
> Nice physics and FFB which is to be expected of an isiMotor engine game.
> Low PC spec requirements.
> Great multiplayer community and ranked system.
> Quality AI racing.
> Amazing sound design.
> Fantastic gamepad support.

Serviceable arcade racer, however eclipsed by other GRID series titles.

> Good wheel support.
> Decent enough physics, although flat feeling, a symptom of modern Ego engine games. Cars have a reluctance to oversteer and weight transfer is not well communicated.
> Excellent arcade AI, while rubberbandy at times, they are balanced in aggression and generally have a sense of awareness. They are often willing to fight the player and each other.
> Terrible stock controller settings can leave a bitter first impression. Remove steering deadzones is crucial. Set Steering Sensitivity to 100 and Steering Linearity to 0. This can be applied to GRID Legends as well.
> Half baked content roster.
> Mundane career mode desperately lacking in variety.
> The install size is far larger than it needs to be. Only runs on DirectX 12 and requires a decent PC to run. GRID Legends is better optimised.