GTR Evolution (PC Games, 2008)

I'm still exploring the game but what I found is very interesting and nice. The physics are very realistic when racing, I love that you can create skins (paintings or design) for any car to your liking (the process is quite complex but works), and love the multiplayer environment where you race against real people somewhere else in the globe. I'm using a Thrustmaster Steering Wheel 3in1 (PS2, PS3 & PC) and is working perfectly and was very easy to set up and customize buttons and functions.

I'm missing a better car tuning panel in the sense of having better variable descriptions, more variables to customize per car and better tweaking possibilities for each variable (as in Gran Turismo 4). Also haven't been able to find a tuning guide in the Internet to understand what variable does what or the impact on the car's driving. But that's not critical also since you can download tunings from the internet that other have made.

In general I've been having much much fun playing the game, you won't be disappointed for the money invested!

Franz.

After two WTCC-based RACE titles, Simbin is back in a proven environment by releasing GTR Evolution. Is the newest Simbin tile just what GTR2 fans have been waiting for or is it not able to do the famous name justice? Read the review to find out!

GTR Evolution is sold both as expansion to RACE 07 and as standalone game. Since most of you are probably aware of the RACE07 content, this review will solely focus on the new content that GTR Evolution is bringing into the mix.
GTR, GT Legends, GTR2 & RACE. All these Simbin/Blimey titles have one thing in common: They focus on a single licensed series. By releasing RACE 07, Simbin left this road, turning the game into more of a general racing simulator and GTR Evolution is a further step into that direction.
Keeping that in mind, the title is one of GTR Evolution’s biggest flaws. During the weeks leading to the game’s release, many people built false hope that GTR Evolution would be a different name for GTR3 - But that’s not true. Simbin would have been better of naming it “RACE Evolution” as that’s what it is, a further step in the “RACE07 concept”
The Cars
GTR Evolution features a heap of new cars in three different categories. The bulk of them are GT cars, spread into three different classes. Known cars from GTR2 are paired up with brand new GT machines such as the Aston Martin DBR9 or more exotic race cars like the Audi R8 GT.
Porsche and Ferrari fans will not be happy with GTR Evolution though as the game lacks both prestigious makes due to what was probably a licensing problem. To make up for that, Simbin has packed up a very exiting mix of cars that represent almost all concepts of modern GT racing.
While the cars themselves are real, the liveries aren’t. GTR Evolution isn’t based on any real life series, featuring mostly fictional liveries. Even though some real cars like the Gulf Works Aston Martin can be found, most cars sport fictional liveries that have been sponsored by various companies.
The positive side of this is that Simbin had remarkable artistic freedom, allowing them to balance the cars for close racing. Instead of one or two “killer-cars” in each class, every GT car in GTR Evolution is competative within its class.
This does not mean that all cars drive or handle the same, every car still has realistic and unique physics. While the Audi R8 GT is a handful to drive, the Corvette C6.R is easier to be quick with - In theory and depending on your driving skills, you can reach about the same lap times with both cars though. This will benefit online racing a lot as nobody will be forced to drive a certain car just because it’s the most competitive.
Alongside the GTs, the game brings another new class of cars - WTCC Extreme. For the first time ever, a Simbin game includes completely fictional cars as Simbin has taken the World Touring Car Championship to the next level.
What if WTCC cars had 600hp engines, wide-body kits and rear wheel drive? WTCC Extreme shows how it would be - and WTCC officials should definitely take a closer look! The cars are not just great looking and sounding, they drive like a blast too.
Even though the cars themselves are fictional, Simbin has not created unrealistic-looking freakshow cars - Those cars could very well be real - in a perfect racing world, they would be. The biggest flaw of the WTCC Extreme class is the limited car count.

Tons of fun to play (Race). Can race against computer controlled cars at your choice of difficulty levels and strength of competition. Or, you can play online and race against others from all over the world. There are many different divisions of cars to choose from. The cars are adjustable to suit your own driving style and level of skill. This game is totally immersive and addictive. It is the closet thing to driving REAL RACE CARS as you can get. I wish more people would get it and race online. I highly recommend this to any one who wants to try their hand at racing. Note: For best possible experience during gameplay, your PC should have a good quality processor and video card with at least 1GB of RAM. Video card should be NVIDIA 8000 series or 9000 series with 256 RAM, but 512 RAM video card would be better. You will also need a USB steering wheel and gas/brake pedal set. I recommend a Logitech Momo Force Feedback wheel and gas/brake pedal set. (Of course there are other brands that will work fine but the Momo gives a good bang for the buck.) In conclusion, if you search around on eBay, you should be able to find this game NEW for around $20 and the Momo Steering set for $50 to $100 depending if new or used. This is the best racing game I have ever played and I have played a lot of different ones over the years. Online play has people ranging in age from 8 to 72 years old that I know of, so don't think it's just for kids. Get yourself this and have aball! Hope to race you online soon.

This would be a great game if it worked. The graphics and physics are the best ever. Using a steering wheel with this game are almost like actually driving. It takes some practice to judge distances on a two dimensional screen.

The only problem I have had is that with all the tracks and vehicles available, in offline race event mode, I can only get one car, Radical, one one track, Zandvoort. I sent an email to Simbin, but never received a reply.

Maybe they will release a patch that fixes this problem. It is unfortunate that with all the work that was put into making a very realistic game that a small programming error makes it impossible to access most of the game features.

You need to know up front that you must get a wheel/pedal set to fully enjoy this game. I played this game for the first two months with an XBox 360 controller and after much prodding from my league, got myself a Thrustmaster Universal Challenge Racing wheel/Pedal set. What a difference it made. Car control happens on a totally different level with a racing wheel/pedal set. Single player has so many options it's amazing but online multiplayer is where this game really shines. The number and variety of cars is astounding but once you join online communities, you will find various skins for existing cars, the PTSims car add on for the GT Pro class (which brings the Lambo, Mazzarati, and Ferrari to GT), SCCA1981 GTS car add on (which brings the Ferrari 360 Modena and Porsche 997 GT3) and many many track addons including the infamous Le man 1979 track (without the Chicane). There is even a GTRGT mod that brings Ferrari, Lambo, Mazarati, and Porsche from GTR2. I have to give big shout outs to two AWESOME SIM RACING LEAGUES- RACE2PLAY and TPGLeague. Top notch clean racing from a great bunch of guys. Oddly enough, the only racing game that can even touch this one is made by the same guys who made this one. GTR2. Fire up your race car and hit the track for an experience that is second to none in online SIM RACING!!!

If you love driving games the way I do, you'll take advantage of this one. The game is a couple years old now, but it remains one of the best. It's accessible, easy on the CPU and GPU, has a natural feel, and will challenge you and delight you for more hours than you'll care to admit (to your wife!).

Buy this now, and put it in your collection with the best of all time, from any era. This will be playable in 20 years, the way pac-man and asteriods are playable today.

Mick
PS Get a force feedback steering wheel, or none of the above applies. Just do it.

Sick of the few cars in Race 07. So was I. Add a bunch of cars and some tracks and you've got GTR Evolution.

#1 item on it and fast shipping ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,