
To say that Sweden-based developer SimBin is kind of good at creating simulation racers would be akin to saying that Shigeru Miyamoto has marginally influenced the direction of video games. Racing, quite frankly, is SimBin's forte. With almost as many accolades as Mario Andretti has championship wins, SimBin has truly mastered the PC as their platform of choice on which to create realistic racing simulations.
That's all well and good, but how will such a thorough level of authenticity transfer over to the Xbox 360, a device with fixed hardware and eight buttons of input? SimBin's answer comes in the form of RACE Pro, a simulation racer developed specifically for the Xbox 360, and one we took for a test drive at a recent Atari press event.
Whether you only want to take your dream car for a quick jaunt around a course or you're ready to start an entire virtual career, SimBin features a variety of modes to get racing fans on the road as quickly as possible. Single Race works as you'd expect: pick a car, hop in the seat, and drive around the track of your choice -- carefully, too, since SimBin's specialty of ultra-realism has been faithfully secreted into RACE Pro.
Career Mode is where SimBin hopes most racers will spend the majority of their time. Players start at the bottom of the ladder driving simple sports cars as they work to earn contracts that bequeath better and better machines. Thirty-four contracts are available for the taking, with each contract lasting for three races. So long as you place high, you'll earn big bucks, which can then be spent on better contracts that allow you to drive Formula racers, production cars, World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) machines and more.
Reputation is sometimes more important than the depth of your bank account. Performing well during races might cause sponsors to approach you with prestigious contracts good for one race with a high-end car.
RACE Pro's 15 tracks are expert recreations of actual courses found around the world. Many have been featured in past SimBin titles, but some, such as the U.S.-based Laguna Seca and Road America, are exclusive to RACE Pro. Traversing the tracks is made somewhat easier by a glowing line that extends before your car as you drive, twisting and wall-hugging slightly before each turn so that drivers will know when they need to start pumping the brakes to ease around the bend.
And ease you should, so long as you don't want to batter your car to the point of immobility. This isn't Need for Speed, son -- if you treat this game like an arcade racer, you probably won't be able to finish many races. Tearing down a straightaway is one thing, but don't expect any fancy drifting around corners unless you've given yourself a sufficiently wide berth. Pit crews are available to make most repairs, but if your car suffers too much damage, you won't be able to finish the race.
All aspects of RACE Pro can be heavily tweaked to allow for simplistic, medium, or hardcore levels of simulation driving. Each individual piece of every available car -- from suspension, tires, the wheel, brakes all the way to damage models -- can be modified, helps even the most casual of drivers have fun without getting bogged down in stats.
Given the Xbox 360's plethora of arcade racers, RACE Pro looks to be a breath of fresh, rubber-scented air for console gamers. Look for it to race into disc drives this November.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-23-2008 @ 3:08PM
ESD3 said...
Who are you ???????
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9-23-2008 @ 3:25PM
Xav de Matos said...
David is the Features Editor of BigDownload.com. He had the opportunity to check out RACE Pro so he was kind enough to give us his impressions -- which he has done in the past.
9-23-2008 @ 3:12PM
Muffin_man said...
Identify yourself Mr Craddock.
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9-23-2008 @ 3:17PM
Pixelantes Anonymous said...
"U.S.-based Laguna Seca and Road America, are exclusive to RACE Pro"
Both tracks have been included in Forza Motorsport games before, so I don't think how they're RACE Pro exclusives.
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9-23-2008 @ 3:34PM
AoE said...
well... I think if you read the first half of that sentence it'll clarify things for you. Here, let me help:
"Many have been featured in past SimBin titles, but some, such as the U.S.-based Laguna Seca and Road America, are exclusive to RACE Pro."
The Forza series, you'll note, is developed by Turn 10, not SimBin.
9-23-2008 @ 3:23PM
ObiBen said...
me thinks this is Mr. Craddock, formerly of the IGN Xbox team???
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9-23-2008 @ 3:36PM
David Craddock said...
You are correct, sir.
9-23-2008 @ 3:27PM
Maverick Saturn said...
Doesnt look half bad, interested to see how this thing goes.
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9-23-2008 @ 3:27PM
Muffin_man said...
I like Haddock fish; but then I like a lot of fish.
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9-23-2008 @ 3:30PM
Jonman said...
Funny. I had a 10 minute hands on at PAX, and it wasn't enjoyable. Admittedly, I was driving a crap car on an empty circuit, but nonetheless. Handling felt odd, to say the least. Didn't seem as involving as Forza, and certainly wasn't as fun as GRID.
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9-23-2008 @ 3:31PM
cee1003 said...
They're RACE Pro exclusives b/c they're not in other versions of the SimBin titles.
As far as this hands on goes, could you tell us whether or not you ENJOYED the game? Technical details are all fine and good but how much fun is it, as far as sim racers go? How does it compare to Forza 2? etc.
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9-23-2008 @ 3:36PM
David Craddock said...
I only played one track; the rest of the time was spent listening to a SimBin rep detail the game's features while he drove around and showed off this, that, and the other - which was fine, since I got to learn more about the mechanics after he peeled my car from a wall.
I enjoyed what I played.
9-23-2008 @ 3:33PM
Tony said...
Really looking forward to this. Hands-on were favoarable, Simbin is awesome and the graphics seem to be coming together more. It's no PGR4 in that department, but it's decent.
I hope it turns out. If we don't know anything more about Forza 3 by the time this rolls around it's a likely a definite purchase for me.
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9-23-2008 @ 5:52PM
Jimmy James 70 said...
There's an excellent round up of all the racers for the 360 over on The Goozex Report. It provides some reviews, rumors, game values, and metacritic scores.
http://thegoozexreport.blogspot.com/2008/09/racing-on-360.html
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9-23-2008 @ 6:02PM
Sharp said...
If you can't exceed or at least match what the GT series on Playstation has done in a sim than I am not interested. My budget can afford only 1 sim racer and looks like it will continue to be GT unfortunately because I would really like one of these racing developers to at least match them in graphics and handling.
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9-23-2008 @ 6:53PM
Shape said...
This game should kick GT in the teeth when it comes to simulating actual car handling.
That is not to say that it will be a game you would prefer to play over GT.
9-23-2008 @ 8:45PM
AoE said...
Sharp, I take it you haven't played Forza 2? I mean I suppose it boils down to what you're looking for, but if you sit down and play GT5 Prologue and Forza 2 side by side... Forza wins on handling, graphics, and tuning hands-down (and for the record I say this as a GT fan who really was expecting GT5 to spank Forza 2 easily)
If you want something even more of a simulation than GT or Forza can provide however, this will be your game.
9-23-2008 @ 6:39PM
Mr.U2 said...
Thanks Mr. Craddock!
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9-23-2008 @ 8:13PM
DJcube said...
I've got an odd feeling that the next Burnout will be called "BURN Out" or just "BURN"
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9-23-2008 @ 8:49PM
ESD3 said...
Good review David thanks for taking the time to swing over here to X3F. Looking forward to more reviews.
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