Pro Cycling Manager 2018: the review

Pro Cycling Manager 2018, the PC branch of the series that on consoles we find in a slightly simplified form and with the name Le Tour de France, is the most recent chapter of a franchise that in recent years has made clear steps forward, boasting a complexity that, although not all 'height than that of other prominent managers is sufficient to guarantee a good experience. Good but certainly not transcendental, it is good to remember it given the fluctuating qualities of the franchise, although the gradual but constant evolutions have been sufficient to guarantee the survival of the modest but tenacious Cyanide sports series, capable of having its say even on consoles with the aforementioned Le Tour de France. Among other things, the chapter for PS4 and Xbox One finally balances the accounts with the PC counterpart thanks to the Pro Leader mode, practically identical to the Pro Cyclist mode, although some career-related simplifications remain. The substance, however, is the same as it seems to be identical to what is offered by Pro Cycling Manager 2018 compared to the 2017 edition. Yet there is a novelty, a novelty that is good for the entire series and is more important than it seems.



Pro Cycling Manager 2018: the review

All the same as the previous chapter, at least in appearance

Even in Pro Cycling Manager 2018 something has changed but you need to pay attention to notice the most important change. The recipe of this new chapter, in fact, is the same as the previous titles, starting from the mechanics in the race to get to the graphic engine that creaks heavily under the weight of time. Fortunately, we are light years away from the robotic cyclists who moved in unison in the first chapters, but we know well that Cyanide knows how to do better and in the middle of 2018 we start to turn up our noses in front of semi-paralyzed spectators and cyclists with movements. rigid, with models so spartan that they are often distinguishable from each other only thanks to the difference in build. The glance with the view from above holds, also thanks to the number of cyclists and thanks to the good work carried out on the landscapes, while the distinctive signs on the faces of the athletes are not lacking, but certainly do not attract attention because of the limits of an engine that stands out mostly for the lack of details, leading many to turn up their noses in front of a chapter that from the point of view of technical improvements brings absolutely nothing new. And we do not find anything new even in terms of content, with the main mode remaining the queen of the experience asking us to fill the role of manager and coach of a cycling team. We are dealing with sponsors and budget management while we are looking for new champions with whom to enrich a roster of athletes to train and encourage in view of all the great two-wheel competitions. Between races for single runners, high mountain stages and time trials, our main task is to choose the fittest and most suitable athletes to face a competition that can have mixed characteristics or even be characterized by challenging hills. Challenges of this kind may require both mixed-skill athletes and pure climbers, but sprinters can not be overlooked as they can be crucial in both time trials and sprints. According to the latter, however, they must be protected, organizing the team so that the most resistant pull the others, carefully evaluating the water supplies and using the energy gel when necessary. All this, managed in the best possible way, actually allows to obtain good results even if the challenge, and here we finally arrive at an important news, has become more demanding. The first race we faced immediately gave us an example of the improvement of theartificial intelligence which, combined with an overall overhaul of the athlete transfer system, is undoubtedly capable of enhancing the experience.



Pro Cycling Manager 2018: the review

The importance of artificial intelligence

The revision of the promotion and transfer system increases the realism of the management dynamics, giving depth to the coaching career that already enjoys, like the Pro Cyclist mode, the evolution of artificial intelligence. This, as we have anticipated, is less inclined to embark on reckless escapes to which it prefers sensible strategies that make more balanced challenge, preventing us, together with the limits introduced on the possibility of sprinting, from exploiting the stupidity of the opponents to obtain too easy victories. Such a change has a net weight on the quality of an experience that still does not fare badly thanks to the improvements and additions of the previous chapters. We are talking about the dynamic climatic conditions, the use of authentic names, the increasingly less sterile music, the multiplayer and the falls that are added to various finishes as important as the data of the athletes or the races that are more readable. Also not to be forgotten, the evolution of the interface, the implementation of various disciplines including Keirin or Omniun, faster loading than the pachydermic ones of the first chapters and the Cyclist Pro mode which in this new chapter improves in terms of ability to customize the athlete's abilities. And it is by choosing this path that it is possible to partially recover that epic breath of cycling that ties badly with the figure of the coach. Dressing in the shoes of an athlete, following orders and increasing statistics power the experience with the sense of growth and identification, even in the shoes of a good wingman who is an important pivot in a team and can become a protagonist by facing competitions and workouts.



Ma Pro Cycling Manager 2018 it is still a technologically modest management system. There is no trace, both in the mechanics and in the staging, of that legendary effort that crowned the greats of two wheels and this slows down a process of identification already complicated by the technical poverty of the models, by the familiar glitches to the faithful of the series. that generate visual anomalies in profusion and from the portraits that make our young athlete look like a hundred-year-old on his deathbed. In Pro Cycling Manager 2018 statistics, peak form, health, freshness and quality of training are much more important, vertebrae of a title that, as we have seen, has everything you need to be able to say a complete simulator, even if it lacks necessary innovations and dares nothing from the point of view of technology and contents. The heroes and contradictions of cycling, pillars of European sporting history, remain completely cut off from a title that, taking some risks, could be decidedly more profound and intriguing, also involving those looking for something more.

Pro Cycling Manager 2018: the review

PC System Requirements

Test Setup

  • Ryzen 7 2700X processor
  • Memory 16 GB
  • Nvidia GTX 1080 Graphics Card
  • Sistema operativo Windows 10 64-bit

Minimum requirements

  • 2.5 GHz dual-core AMD or Intel processor
  • Memory 4 GB
  • Scheda video ATI Radeon HD 5570, NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 o Intel HD 4600
  • Sistema operativo Windows 7/8/10 a 64-bit
  • Internet connection required for activation

Recommended Requirements

  • Processore AMD o Intel quad-core 3.0 GHz
  • Memory 8 GB
  • Scheda video AMD Radeon HD 7850 o NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560
  • Sistema operativo Windows 7/8/10 a 64-bit
  • Internet connection required for activation

Comment

Digital Delivery Steam Price 39,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

6.8



Readers (1)

7.0

Your vote

Pro Cycling Manager 2018, older brother of Le Tour de France that finally welcomes a mode similar to Ciclista Pro, does not change in appearance and content but improves in substance thanks to the revision of the transfers, thanks to some refinements in the interface and thanks to an artificial intelligence finally capable of making sensible decisions. An evolution of this kind is undoubtedly important for the only cycling simulator in circulation, so much so as to have a rather significant weight on our judgment, but it took too long, arriving with a chapter that, although sold for 39.99 euros, which become 49.99 for Le Tour de France, it brings nothing new in terms of mechanics and creaks under the weight of an outdated technological sector.

PRO

  • Finally an artificial intelligence worthy of the name
  • Improvement to promotions, transfers and interface in general
  • Improved Athlete Evolution in Pro Cyclist Mode
AGAINST
  • Contents and mechanics are the same as in the previous chapter
  • Several long-standing glitches are still unresolved
  • The graphics engine feels the weight of its limits and of the years
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