Back in 2006, Simbin introduced the first RACE title, bringing the World Touring Car Championship to the PC. More than three years later, the popular RACE series is being extended by its latest installment – RACE On.
Is newest RACE offspring worth its money or is the RACE-series starting to fall behind the competition? Read the review to find out.
Unlike Simbin’s earliest titles GTR, GT Legends and GTR2, the RACE series was not just the start of WTCC simulations from the Swedish studio, it also marks the start of the company’s “multi-series simulation” approach.
RACE – The WTCC Game was the first Simbin product to feature more than one series, pairing the Mini Challenge alongside the WTCC series. RACE 07 further extended this strategy, combining open wheel racing and touring cars in one title.
The following titles, GTR Evolution and STCC – The Game, were all released as addons for RACE07, extending the simulation with a different theme. While GTR Evolution focused on the Nordschleife and GT racing, STCC – The Game brought sim racers the Swedish Touring Car championship.
And now RACE On, a title that once more tries to please everyone, adding touring cars, open-wheelers, street cars and GT-like cars to the mix.
The Cars
RACE On adds another WTCC season to the mix by introducing the 2008 season of the series. That includes two brand-new car models, the SEAT Leon TDI and the Lada 110.
Open-wheel fans will be pleased to see the sim racing debut of the International Formula Master, a series that was launched in 2007 to support the WTCC, giving young drivers the chance to prove themselves in open-wheelers built by Tatuus, using a 250hp Honda engine.
One of RACE On’s cornerstones are the muscle-cars, modern versions of popular American muscle cars like the Dodge Charger, the Chevrolet Camaro and the Cadillac CTS-V. The cars are included both as street version and in fictional race-trim.
Furthermore, the full version of RACE On also includes all content of STCC – The Game. Since I have reviewed that title in-depth already, please visit the STCC review to read more about this part of RACE On.
The Tracks
RACE On includes three brand-new tracks as as 2008 updates for popular WTCC venues.
New tracks in RACE On include Okayama, better known as the TI Aida circuit. The Japanese track first hosted a WTCC round in 2008, making it the first Japanese track to be included in a Simbin title.
First introduced in Simbin’s RACE Pro for Xbox 360, Road America and Laguna Seca are making their PC debut in RACE On, giving the US muscle cars some proven ground to race on. Adding to these new tracks are 2008 updates for the WTCC tracks, including the recently-changed Imola layout.
The full version also includes seven Scandinavian tracks used by the Swedish Touring Car Series, giving touring car racers some excellent tight and twisty tracks to compete on.
Graphics
Like all other Simbin titles, RACE On uses Image Space Incorporated’s gMotor 2 graphics engine. The result is a solid graphical experience as you would expect from Simbin, featuring good-looking car models and tracks.
The new WTCC cars fit right in with the existing touring car bunch and the muscle cars come with very detailed cockpits. One of Simbin’s strong suits has always been track modeling and the studio once again delivers in RACE On.
Both the American tracks and Okayama come with lots of details, sadly spoiled by fictional advertising boards. While the WTCC tracks are mostly clean of fictional track-side objects, the American tracks use fictional advertising boards to promote various products.
Aside from this annoyance, the graphics in RACE On are a solid job despite some graphical bugs and low-resolution textures here and there. All in all, the graphics engine is starting to show its age though as RACE On fails to really impress in terms of graphics
Sounds
Most of the new sounds in RACE On are absolutely spot-on. The muscle cars offer a nice V8 rumble that will make your headphones shake and the Diesel engine of SEAT’s Leon TDI WTCC car sounds just as dull as it does in real life.
A little annoyance is the menu music, featuring Tom Coronel’s happy outburst after winning his first WTCC race at Okayama last year. While Major Tom is certainly a very sympathetic driver, his screaming on the radio gets dull very quickly while browsing the menus.
Physics
Simbin’s touring car physics have received lots of praise from various touring car drivers and RACE On is no exception.
The two new WTCC cars blend in right with the existing bunch with the SEAT Leon TDI being the new top-tier car. Just as in real life, SEAT’s Diesel challenger is the dominant car in the WTCC and will probably become a very popular car in online races despite its Diesel sound.
The absolute highlight in RACE On are without a doubt the Formula Master cars. If you liked the F3000s in RACE07, you´ll love the IFM cars. Fairly powerful and with lots of grip, these Formula cars are very rewarding to drive, offering close wheel-to-wheel racing.
The muscle-cars are a different kind of animal. Powerful but heavy, the cars love to drift through corners. The racing- versions are made for tough paint-trading racing as these cars can take quite a beating. The street cars are a nice addition, being even more drift-happy than their racing counterparts.
Conclusion
When thinking about how to describe RACE On, one word quickly comes to mind: Solid.
RACE On is a solid title through and through, offering solid content with solid graphics and neat physics. What RACE On completely lacks is innovation, after three years of RACE addons it becomes harder and harder to get excited about this type of title.
While some simulations keep on pushing the envelope in terms of brilliant physics and other titles keep raising the bar in terms of graphics, Simbin keeps on delivering more of the same. This is by no means bad as RACE On is a worthwhile title, it just feels that the time has come for the Studio to deliver something new.
Whether or not the title is worth it’s price is hard to judge. If you don’t own STCC – The Game yet and have a soft spot for touring cars, the full bundle is great value, including 10 new tracks and lots of new cars from various types of racing.
The RACE On expansion alone is good value if you´re looking forward to another WTCC season, some excellent open-wheelers or American race cars. Even though three new tracks are also included, the price for the expansion is kind of steep considering it sells for €25 – More than any other RACE expansion before.
Screenshots
homerfreak
October 21st, 2009 at 00:35
“RACE On was the first Simbin product to feature more than one series, pairing the Mini Challenge alongside the WTCC series. RACE 07 further extended this strategy, combining open wheel racing and touring cars in one title.”
…it was “WTCC: The Game” ;)
Anyway, good review =) I’ll buy it as soon as the expansion doesn’t cost more than 10€.
Mr. A
October 21st, 2009 at 00:51
Actually, the first Race game was called “Race – The WTCC Game”.
Nice review. I’m still not sure I want to pay €25 for it though. If it was possible to give Race 07 and STCC to someone when buying the full package then I would have done that instead.
homerfreak
October 21st, 2009 at 01:19
However, I didn’t play it for years… ;)
Filipe Galego
October 21st, 2009 at 01:35
I’ve all other addons and now I’m forced to buy again the STCC???… Should be another pack without the STCC for the people how has Race07, GTRE and STCC… And cheaper.
Maddmatt
October 21st, 2009 at 03:20
No. The Steam expansion does not include STCC.
Personally I wont be buying it. I’m tired of Gmotor games. Waiting for something new, I’ve got other games to play in the meantime :)
felipe
October 21st, 2009 at 04:35
lower the price for the STCC and Race On expansion bundle to U$15 and I’ll be getting it.
shame on you simbin you’ve become a dustbin trying to take advantage of your customers! Simbin you may milk my “down under” parts but not my wallet!
@Maddmatt – Steam had the STCC and Race On expansion bundle for U$25 but instead of making it a better value for money deal they went the Adolph Hitler style! Crazy people!
scca1981
October 21st, 2009 at 04:55
Agree with most of what you said. However couple things… The US Muscle sounds are very weak. Maybe you have a different copy than I do but I run a 6 channel sound system and the sounds just are not full at all. They lack that deep v8 rumble and the rasp you get at wide open throttle. IMHO the sounds are the biggest let down of the game. Sounds are a very important part of the immersion factor and these just aren’t doing it.
On the US Muscle Race versions they lack a couple of things graphically. Exterior views have stock cockpits, some cars have a race seat and stock seat(how’d they miss this?), no roll cages, paint on tow-hooks, some low quality textures and more. The wheels are all oversize compared to real life and the ride heights almost make the cars look like small trucks. I like the cars but I was quite disappointed with the overall quality and don’t feel its up to par with their previous games. Sure the models are nice, but they don’t have those finishing touches found in the games all the way back to GT Legends. I wasn’t sure on the physics of these cars at first but after a good amount of laps I do enjoy them.
The new tracks are nice but I despise the fake advertising billboards littered all around. Some of the textures could be better but overall they are at Simbin quality.
Formula Masters (without the helmet view) are the highlight of the add-on/game. Hands down best car released by Simbin since GTR2. Quality its top notch. I just wish they would have put that same quality into the US Muscle Cars.
UncleChuckle
October 21st, 2009 at 04:59
While thing just felt rushed. Which given how long it’s taken and how much hype was behind it is somewhat disturbing.
jcchaconjr
October 21st, 2009 at 06:21
I have to admit that my feelings were mixed with this expansion. I’ve driven a few of the muscle cars, and they just feel slow and unresponsive – not “drift happy” as described in the review… I’m not being critical of the review’s opinion, mind you – just voicing my personal opinion. :)
The IFM cars, on the other hand, are an absolute blast to drive! Driving this car made me stop regretting my purchase, lol.
My biggest disappointment, however, is that the Race On Expansion as sold on Steam does NOT include the Camaro Cup cars. Apparently, this is actually part of STCC – The Game (Check the details for STCC on Steam), and is not included in the Expansion, only the Bundle version that is sold on Steam.
ForzaBarca88
October 21st, 2009 at 07:04
Sounds about right, I’m pretty sure the camaro cup cars are actually run as a support class for the STCC.
michael
October 21st, 2009 at 09:55
“is starting to show its age”
Erm, not really, it was starting to show it’s age when GTR Evo was released.
ScHiRoCk
October 21st, 2009 at 13:25
Why without the helmet view scca? I always play from inside the helmet. Seems more realistic to me, becuas in RL they also wear it.
Beh, i want to buy it. But after the price drops. I already have all the expansions, so i deserve a discount to others that do not have stcc for example.
scca1981
October 21st, 2009 at 14:32
Well I can’t argue with a helmet view being more realistic but i’ll try!
I feel the helmet view is much more restrictive than in real life. The helmets i’ve warn I can’t see a few inches in front of my chin. All I can recall seeing is a little of the sides of the padding. Kind of hard to explain but it feels in the game like i’m wearing a helmet 4 times larger than my head.
paupau
October 21st, 2009 at 16:11
I always felt RACE was due to fail from the begining. I’m not saying its a bad sim, I only feel the graphics are the big let down in this series. It gets boring after a while, having felt what I like to call a grey sim experience(the lighting and textures give a certain achromatic impression) and for one I go back to GTL and GTR2 for a more colorful drive
scca1981
October 22nd, 2009 at 00:54
+1 To what paupau said. The lighting in GTR2/GTL even rFactor looks much better and more realistic. In the race games it seems its always one time of day with no dynamics at that. I believe it was a major step back. Regardless of night racing or not you can still have dynamic lighting.
Cenotaph
October 22nd, 2009 at 05:19
Its really a shame the price for the expansion is so high, but those formula masters are amazing to drive. I bought it just to get the full race content, couldnt help it, even if i promised not to with these prices.
I feel this game, Race 07 and expansions, is the best sim for public online racing which is something im really enjoying lately, i think thats its strength. For private leagues im not sure since it lacks a few features that ppl might want, like night races and such. I also love how it drives, specially because the FFB works like a charm. I love rFactor for what it is, but even with realfeel or other plugins I never feel so much in control as in Race 07.
But Simbin really needs to look forward or it will definitely fall behind and that would suck because i really like their idea of what a simulator should feel like and what is truly essential in these kinds of games. Dare I say a GTR3 with iOpener?
Sensekhmet
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:01
They also do in other cars. Call me crazy, but I’d like to get a helmet view (maybe not as restrictive, though) in tin tops too.
F1_fan_1
October 22nd, 2009 at 12:21
I’ll buy the whole package, since rFactor is the only sim I currently own. 30 euros for Race 07 + STCC + Race On isn’t much, although it would be better if it included GTR Evo as well.
Sensekhmet
October 24th, 2009 at 10:01
About the engine… I’ve made some comparison tests between GTR2 Viper CC and GTR-E Viper CC and I’ve noticed that GTR 2 actually looks better. The cockpit in GTR 2 may be a bit blocky but it actually has dynamic shadowing: not NFS: Shift style but it can get ‘dark’ in the cockpit, unlike GTR-E.