➤ Project CARS GO, the review 🎮

In making the journey that culminates today with the Project CARS GO review we have experienced quite contrasting moods, going from an initial enthusiasm mixed with curiosity to then arrive at a burning sense of disappointment, once we discovered that the reduction of the famous title by Slightly Mad Studios for devices iOS e Android is nothing more than a simple drag racer.

What is a drag racer? We are talking about a casual declination, if we want to define it that way, of the normal driving games: experiences based mainly on the single touch, in which in fact it is not allowed to control the car but only asks to complete a sequence of quick time event that provide the necessary starting point to cross the finish line first.

Project CARS GO, the review — Project CARS GO, a race sequence.

One of the leading exponents of this subgenre on mobile devices it is undoubtedly CSR Racing, a title developed by NaturalMotion almost ten years ago, whose success paved the way for the arrival of more or less valid clones. Among them we like to remember the excellent Fast & Furious 6: The Game, produced by Kabam but unfortunately no longer available for download.

Leaving aside the discussion on the dignity and value of these productions, which over time have also introduced various new elements capable of adding depth to the starting formula, the problem with Project CARS GO is obviously that everyone expected something different: a reduced version of the excellent racer available on PC and console, which could help relaunch the entire genre on smartphones and tablets.

Gameplay

Analyze the gameplay of Project CARS GO immediately brings us back to the discourse on the value of drag racers, because unfortunately the title created by Gamevil right from the start, it returns the feeling of having been badly conceived, on the basis of wrong ideas and assumptions, trying in practice to offer an alternative experience to that of the already limited Forza Street and instead putting on the table some counterintuitive, unnatural dynamics.

Completed a short tutorial that leads to the contents of the package, represented on the map in a rather confusing way, the races that characterize the campaign of the game, in fact, ask you to adjust the acceleration to optimize the start by touching the screen as if it were the gas pedal, then to raise your finger instead of continuing to press so that the car begins to move. Counterintuitive, as we said.

Along the route, which in normal events is not the straight line of drag races (also present but to a lesser extent), there are checkpoint that require our intervention: the light blue ones are used to change gear and are activated more or less correctly with a single touch when the car passes under the signal, while the red ones imply the beginning of a braking in which we will have to keep the finger on the display and then raise it at the green checkpoints.

That's all. There is no management of the timing of the gearbox compared to the grip of the tires and the starting point of the engine as in the aforementioned CSR Racing, there are no skids on Forza Street, there is not even nitro and the race itself is visually represented as if we were in front of us to a traditional racer, without framing changes for the use and consumption of spectacularity, but remaining anchored to a flatness that extends to the graphics.

Structure

The system at the base of Project CARS GO is undoubtedly simple and with the help of a minimum of variety in the routes (which is initially a little pray: the tracks tend to repeat themselves a little) things get geared up enough to offer enjoyable entertainment. However also on the front of the structure the project appears messy and confusing, it is not clear how the events are organized and beyond the traditional categories of cars, it is limited to answering in the affirmative to the question that recurs in the menus: do you want to race?

The setting freemium is too convoluted, there are six different types of currency (credits, diamonds and three different tickets) and we must also take into account the fuel, as is usually consumed with every race we play and requires a bit of waiting before restore. Watching a commercial trailer should be possible to refill the tank, but at the moment this option does not work.

Technical realization

Drag racers take the collectible aspect of the garage, of the purchase of new cars and their aesthetic customization, but also on this front the Gamevil title is lacking: in addition to changing the paint it is possible to do very little and the polygonal models of the vehicles, although detailed, are made toy and uninteresting from excessive reflections on the bodywork.

Once on the street, fortunately, the situation improves, but a lot depends on the setting: the daytime ones are a bit too flat and desolate, the evening ones raise the level but without ever bothering the best exponents of the genre, although as mentioned they have now several years on the rump. To make a recent comparison, Forza Street offers a much better visual impact and direction, albeit without a strong aliasing.

Comment

Tested version iPhone Digital Delivery App Store, Google Play Price Free Resources4Gaming.com

6.0

Readers (3)

1.7

Your vote

Project CARS GO is a disappointing title, on the one hand because it underestimates the ability of mobile devices and users to try their hand at a real driving game, on the other hand because not even as a drag racer it manages to stand out. We are talking about a sub-genre that bases its charm on precise elements that are punctually disregarded here: from counterintuitive touch controls to too limited gameplay, from confusing and complicated structure to excessive attempts to monetize, to finally get to graphics and sound. The mechanics of the quick time events mixed with the general progression are able to entertain pleasantly for a while, but that you could do much, much more now is even superfluous to say.