The first available class of vehicle in RACE Pro is the Mini Cooper.‚ The Mini has a slow top speed and can take a fair amount of damage before you’ll really notice.‚ I could see no better way to become introduced to the over the top realism that is RACE Pro.‚ The first couple of races teach you basics of proper braking and accelerating principles that are ever important in the final races.
Each event demands that you finish in the top three, earning Gold, Silver, or Bronze.‚ Each medal corresponds to a number of credits you earn to apply to your future endeavors.‚ Furthermore, if you finish consistently in first or second you will be rewarded with trophy cars that are playable in the Championship game mode.‚ ‚ Every once in a while a message will pop up on screen telling you a certain driver could not attend a race and you are needed to stand-in.‚ You can either race this race right away or save it for later.‚ In order to earn credits in a stand-in race, you must finish again in the top three, the credit reward for these stand-ins is significantly higher, but so is the difficulty.
As you should already know, RACE Pro is one hundred percent centered on delivering the utmost realistic experience to the player, and it succeeds so very well.‚ RACE Pro is not Mario Kart, it is no Need For Speed, it will test your wits as well as your reactions.‚ To approach RACE Pro you must lose all your Mario Kart notions.‚ If you find yourself in last place going into the final lap, you most likely will not win, or even place.‚ You won’t get a red shell or a thunderbolt to knock your opponents around with.‚ The only music in the title is the bland, European pop beat that gets old very fast.‚ On the course it is you, your car and your determination and will to succeed.‚ The latter races demand more attention and alertness than in any other game I have ever played.‚ The courses are unforgiving and if you look away for a second, you can find yourself out of the race.
As far as strategy is concerned, the various quips the loading screens provide are very useful, but like anything else, just getting out there and learning on your own is the best way to succeed.‚ Over the course of your career in the title you will learn how to effectively gauge the correct time to brake, the best time to put the pedal to the floor, and most importantly defensive and offensive driving tactics.‚ Believe it or not there is an entirely different approach to racing when in the lead and defending it, and when you are behind and must aggressively attack the leader.‚ ‚ The bottom line is this, every vehicle class has its pros and cons, handling vs. speed mainly, and the ability to effectively apply those vehicle traits to the specific course on which you are racing lies the path to glory.
Aesthetically speaking, RACE Pro is gorgeous.‚ Every vehicle is modeled beautifully with an incredible amount of detail applied to it.‚ There are a number of ways to view your vehicle during races and as far as looks are concerned, the cockpit view is most stunning.‚ When the driver is taking a corner and his arms grip the wheel and reach for the shifter, you can see the tension as a result of what he is doing.‚ Still in cockpit view, when you take a corner, slam the brakes, or ram another racer, the camera following the outside world follows perfectly and in a sort of surreal way puts you directly into the hot seat.
The outdoor environments could use some work.‚ The same bland sky texture is applied to every setting and oddly enough the same cloud with a distinct gap in the middle can be found on every course if you look for it.‚ Some courses have grandstands lining the walls, but oddly enough the massive people holders only play host to a tiny number of actual fans.‚ This leaves me scratching my head wondering, I thought this sport was popular, why is no one here?
Where RACE Pro stands out visually however is in its urban race courses.‚ Side-winding through a cliff-side village with ocean on one side and apartments on the other truly gives you the feeling of being in this car at this place.‚ The cities look alive, unique spectators, film crews and varied landscape all make for a very immersive experience.‚ Many of these urban courses feature one lane stretches of track that left me with an odd claustrophobic feeling.‚ The artists working on RACE Pro did such an amazing job viewing the world out there, and then building it in-game.
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