Race On Continues Realistic Racing Tradition
The is one thing I have to give credit to Swedish developer SimBin for. Their GTR/Race series truly delivers in giving hardcore racing fans a true simulation experience. Race 07 was an amazing PC racer designed for those who want to test their driving skills to the limit, and now with Race On they are continuing that tradition.
Matter of fact, Race On actually is a continuation of Race 07. The review copy I received included the full game of Race 07 as well as STCC: the Game which centered on the Swedish Touring Car Championship, a game that was only offered for retail in Russia and the Nordic territories, now available in the States.
But it’s also about the new material that matters, and Race On centers on the epic 2008 World Touring Car Championship (WTCC,) which is considered by many a racing fan to be one of the most exciting and competitive in touring car history.
Five new tracks are introduced to the series, for a total of 47. Popular US tracks such as Race America and Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca are now here, dreaded corkscrew included!
Race On also debuts the new Formula racing series as well as a series dedicated to American Muscle Cars. The latter includes my latest dream car, the 2009 Chevrolet Camaro. Now if only I can get it yellow with black racing stripes, I’d be driving my own version of Bumblebee. In total, there are 39 unique car models, but with all the variations available, you are looking at over 450 cars!
One thing I always liked about the GTR/Race series, in addition to its hardcore racing appeal, is the fact that it runs great even on antiquated hardware. In this age of high end graphics cards and SECUROM, I drifted away from PC gaming but am always brought back to the Race series, and Race On leads this charge.
The tradition continues and the game still looks fantastic for the PC. Sure it’s not as detailed as current racers (including NFS Shift and DIRT 2) but it’s gameplay that matters, and in this case, SimBin Studios delivers once again!
Installation is also a pleasure for me. I’m not a big fan of distribution services such as Steam, and while Race On has an online installation that requires Steam, there is the option of an offline installation which just installs the game without any of the bumps and hurdles that Steam provides. Thank you SimBin and Viva Media for giving me that option!
Even better, the game costs only $30, which for the complete Race 07 package is a very appealing offer. I should mention a caveat though. As mentioned above, this game is more of a standalone expansion package, so if you have Race 07 all that will be new is the STCC and the new cars and tracks. The other issue is that the GTR Evolution expansion pack is not included, and must be purchased separately.
But for those who haven’t played Race 07 yet, this is the perfect opportunity for anyone who has a true love for hard-edged racing to try out an amazing title. Once again SimBin brings their best to the table and I was more than happy to be part of it.
PROS: Standalone expansion to the excellent Race 07. 47 tracks! Installation can be done either offline or online (via Steam,) preventing any DRM issues! Debut of the Swedish Touring Car Championship. Debut of Formula racing and American Muscle Cars (including the Bumblebee Camaro.) Runs great even on older hardware. Only $30!
CONS: If you have Race 07 all that will be new are the expansions. Does not include GTR Evolution, but that can be purchased separately via Steam.