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GTI Racing
19 years ago
General
GTI RACING / by Techland
-Foreword-
This game surprised me. I went into it expecting either an NFSU clone; or a Gran Turismo clone. I was pleasantly surprised to find a very original and refreshingly consistant game, that really gets back to the heart of racing games.
-Availability (cars)-
If you didn't pick it from the designation "GTI" in the title, GTI Racing's carlist is comprised entirely of Volkswagon vehicles. DONT be an idiot and think this means every car in it is a Beetle or a Golf; Volkswagon have produced a pretty wide range of vehicles in their time.
In fact, the beauty of GTI Racing is its carlist is only further enlarged by encompassing a wide array of VW vehicles from past to present, and even future in the form of VW concept cars, some quite exotic at that.
-Difficulty-
GTI Racing is genuinely challenging. Not difficult; not ridiculous; the opponents are fairly 'skilled' and perceptive, and the tracks are genuinely, technically demanding.
-Tracks-
GTI Racing features one of the most ingenious track systems I've come across in a racing game. Rather than going over the top (and far too ambitious) by creating a single, huge city, and deriving the tracks from that (NFSU2/Most Wanted), or creating a plethora of individual tracks in random locations (Gran Turismo, earlier Need For Speeds), GTI Racing's developers have produced LARGE, highly detailed and quite believable areas of specific states/provinces from countries around the world (Scility, Italy. Parts of the UK, Germany. Texas, USA), and the track layouts are divised -realistically- from those areas. This also presents much more realistic, and highly varied environments and track conditions, as a result.
-Performance-
GTI Racing uses a highly customized rig based on the Chrome engine. It is excellently generous in terms of quality versus performance.
-Visual-
But for those of us that do have the hardware to go nuts, it really delivers. This is one crisp, clean, attractive game. But the best part is it's not over-ambitious, it doesn't try TOO hard. While the reflections, environment effects, geometry and everything relating to the visuals, visual appeal, and aesthetics are of a high quality standard and very attractive and crisp, the game doesn't try to look "too real to be taken seriously" like the newer Need for Speed's Most Wanted and Carbon, for example.
-Audio-
Aesthetic and general sound effects, environment, vehicle sounds, and whatnot, are all fairly good. The soundtrack is quite limited, original, but limited. But then, GTI Racing doesn't -try- to be a game and a mix album at the same time, like NFSU/MW.
Honestly, it COULD do with some better driving music. But I highly doubt it would be very hard to add your own music, and the game performs so well you could just run winamp in the background, really.
-Faults-
The game is, stunningly, flawless. It appears to be the first game in a long time that has actually shipped free of any glitches that you can actually notice, if any at all.
One thing I DO criticize about this game, though, is the title screens going into the game. There are three or four developer title screens before the game, as with almost all games, but you can't MAKE them skip to the next at all, you have to sit for 15 seconds or so for each one. It gets pretty annoying. But that's about it.
-Final Word-
If you're a racing game fan, especially if you've been pining for something up to par with Gran Turismo, or even if you liked Gran Turismo but are looking for a game that doesn't go so insanely overboard with the detail and overly complex configurations, GTI Racing is right up your alley.
If you're a racing/driving game fan at all, I highly suggest you at least try the game. It WILL surprise you.
Total: 9.5/10, deducting that .5 solely for the annoying, if tiny issue with the title screens.
Devon.
-Foreword-
This game surprised me. I went into it expecting either an NFSU clone; or a Gran Turismo clone. I was pleasantly surprised to find a very original and refreshingly consistant game, that really gets back to the heart of racing games.
-Availability (cars)-
If you didn't pick it from the designation "GTI" in the title, GTI Racing's carlist is comprised entirely of Volkswagon vehicles. DONT be an idiot and think this means every car in it is a Beetle or a Golf; Volkswagon have produced a pretty wide range of vehicles in their time.
In fact, the beauty of GTI Racing is its carlist is only further enlarged by encompassing a wide array of VW vehicles from past to present, and even future in the form of VW concept cars, some quite exotic at that.
-Difficulty-
GTI Racing is genuinely challenging. Not difficult; not ridiculous; the opponents are fairly 'skilled' and perceptive, and the tracks are genuinely, technically demanding.
-Tracks-
GTI Racing features one of the most ingenious track systems I've come across in a racing game. Rather than going over the top (and far too ambitious) by creating a single, huge city, and deriving the tracks from that (NFSU2/Most Wanted), or creating a plethora of individual tracks in random locations (Gran Turismo, earlier Need For Speeds), GTI Racing's developers have produced LARGE, highly detailed and quite believable areas of specific states/provinces from countries around the world (Scility, Italy. Parts of the UK, Germany. Texas, USA), and the track layouts are divised -realistically- from those areas. This also presents much more realistic, and highly varied environments and track conditions, as a result.
-Performance-
GTI Racing uses a highly customized rig based on the Chrome engine. It is excellently generous in terms of quality versus performance.
-Visual-
But for those of us that do have the hardware to go nuts, it really delivers. This is one crisp, clean, attractive game. But the best part is it's not over-ambitious, it doesn't try TOO hard. While the reflections, environment effects, geometry and everything relating to the visuals, visual appeal, and aesthetics are of a high quality standard and very attractive and crisp, the game doesn't try to look "too real to be taken seriously" like the newer Need for Speed's Most Wanted and Carbon, for example.
-Audio-
Aesthetic and general sound effects, environment, vehicle sounds, and whatnot, are all fairly good. The soundtrack is quite limited, original, but limited. But then, GTI Racing doesn't -try- to be a game and a mix album at the same time, like NFSU/MW.
Honestly, it COULD do with some better driving music. But I highly doubt it would be very hard to add your own music, and the game performs so well you could just run winamp in the background, really.
-Faults-
The game is, stunningly, flawless. It appears to be the first game in a long time that has actually shipped free of any glitches that you can actually notice, if any at all.
One thing I DO criticize about this game, though, is the title screens going into the game. There are three or four developer title screens before the game, as with almost all games, but you can't MAKE them skip to the next at all, you have to sit for 15 seconds or so for each one. It gets pretty annoying. But that's about it.
-Final Word-
If you're a racing game fan, especially if you've been pining for something up to par with Gran Turismo, or even if you liked Gran Turismo but are looking for a game that doesn't go so insanely overboard with the detail and overly complex configurations, GTI Racing is right up your alley.
If you're a racing/driving game fan at all, I highly suggest you at least try the game. It WILL surprise you.
Total: 9.5/10, deducting that .5 solely for the annoying, if tiny issue with the title screens.
Devon.
Isnt this for Xbox360 too? It reminds me of a game I saw in an article about a kinda free range driving done outskirts of towns and what not.
The game certainly sounds good.
Im a fan of racing games but Ive always gone more toward the futuristic racers that try to go faster than one can possibly think in time to turn with the track. The faster the better.
Youve answerd alot of questions Id have for the game, but theres one thing missing.
Hows the "sense of speed" in the game?
Does it really feel like your going 60mph or does it just kinda fake it?
Though the sense of speed is usually lost when theres varied sizes of things and lost perspective and all that.
Oh and hows the controls? Im assuming this is a PC game since you spoke about hardware.
Does it allow fully configurable controls or just make you work with what they give ya?
For me I like to use my GCN gamepad for everything so full customization is a must.
Oh ya! One very important one!
Can you get a cockpit view? :3
Love those in racing games ^_^
The illusion of speed is fairly decent compared to some. The cars definetely become realistically stable (or remain realstically stable) at high speed depending on surface consistancy and that sort of thing.
At the same time, it doesn't try to overdo it like some games with the (completely stupid) motion blur and light trail effects.
The controls are pretty good. The PC version is completely customizable, but again I couldn't say with the console releases; I would imagine so, though.
And yes; GTI Racing has a proper cockpit view.
Must get game x-x
I hate how those EA games over use the motion blur when the car isnt actually moving and it come sto a complete stop if it hits anything at the wrong angle. Rubbish.
Full customizing? Good good :3
Well, you convinced me. :3
Love the good racing games ^_^