Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)If you're looking to have a great experience with online racing, and you want to know what a track truly looks like from the cockpit, then this is for you. Many would say it's pricey, but you really do get what you pay for.
Anyone who has been involved in online gaming knows that there are a few things that can ruin the whole experience. In online racing you have those that come in, wreck everyone, laugh, and leave. Well, with the iRacing (FIRST) sanctioning body, this problem has been removed. People here are friendly, respectful (for the most part), and the staff take their role of creating a "professional" environment seriously.
As for the graphics, you won't find much better. Although this is a bit of a subjective topic, there is probably a unanimous agreement that the tracks are spot-on accurate. The signage, bumps, curbs, and marks have been laser scanned and digitized to create the most realistic experience out there. These are not created in someone's home office based on info off the web. These look and feel realistic!
The physics of the cars are incredible; however, they're not exactly like driving a real car. We're never going to be able to feel the g-forces or true feedback from a brake pedal, so there is a bit of unrealisticness (is that a word) here. However, you will have a tough time ever playing one of your boxed up simulators again after this. Their press reports say that their cars' physics are perfect, but I've never seen that statement from a pro driver...it only is said through their press releases. Still, you won't be disappointed.
The competition is where you're going to truly start seeing the major difference between this and other sims. This is not a CD that comes to you in the mail, you install it, and that's what you run offline with. Everything is run via a web-based console which fires up a program on your machine. You can run all the solo practice sessions, or solo time trials that you want, but you must be connected to the web. If you want to run a qualifying or race session, you will be on track with other real-life people. There are no computer AI cars. You will grow to absolutely love this!
Don't worry about not knowing which server to connect to anymore. These servers are ALL run from iRacing's service. You simply say you want to race, and when the race begins, you are grouped with others at your ability (iRating) level. Sometimes you will be the leader of the pack, and others you will be pushing hard to keep up. Every session is a learning experience.
The only reason I couldn't give this 5 stars, as bad as I wanted to, was because of this final (and sometimes the best) quality. This product is constantly under development. It is constantly being improved. Major enhancements come every 3 months at the end of each full season. Minor enhancements come at fairly regular intervals. Tracks are constantly being added, and tweaks to the competition are always under consideration.
Because of this, sometimes the product feels unfinished; it is, and always will be. This, at times, can become frustrating when you see a problem and there are so many solutions proposed in the forums, but new problems sometimes are created. However, the staff is there! The forums have not been left behind by the creators. If you type a post, they will read it, and often respond.
Your voice matters here! You're buying more than a game. You're buying an experience unlike any other online game you've been a part of. If you're a racing fan, you owe it to yourself to at least give this a try!
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