Among the game’s multitude of realistic aspects, changing weather patterns that affect driving conditions, collision damage that looks cool and can impact how your vehicle handles, and a customizable pit are key components to the racing experience. In the garage, you can even modify and fine-tune your ride by adjusting stats to affect suspension, performance, and other settings to gain the edge over the competition.

It takes seconds to pick up the keyboard controls, but keeping your car on the race track – even under the clearest skies and the best road conditions – is no easy task in GTR Revolution. This is where the physics begin to impact the gameplay. Anyone coming into the game with prior experience with other racing games featuring very unforgiving, true-to-life car control should be able to get a handle on the situation here without much fuss. However, this is not an entry-level racing game by any means. Even on the novice realism setting, which allows for automatic shifting and stabilizing guides, these racing machines don’t drive themselves. You have to watch your speed around every single curve, take care not to accidentally tip another car the wrong way, and be wary of the forces of gravity. Failing to do so will send you spinning wildly out of control far more often than you’ll enjoy. Once you end up wiped out in the grass, caught on the loose gravel, or bashed up against a guardrail, it’s very hard to make your way back to the track and impossible to recover. Unfortunately, it seems even the slightest touch of a feather or gentle breeze has such an impact.

Hardcore racing fans will likely get a big kick out of the immense challenge presented by the quality physics and the satisfaction that comes with mastering them. For the rest of us, the process is likely to cause some serious irritation. Flip the reality meter to pro, and it becomes damn near impossible to keep the car on the track beyond the first sharp turn. Blowing donuts and smearing rubber lines into the concourse is fun, but that’s not particularly useful when you’re being lapped by every other opponent in the competition.

In the proper hands, the game can be a breeding ground for racing bliss. GTR Represents racing simulation realism at its absolute best, even if that means it sacrifices accessibility and broader appeal for general gamers. At a price of $19.99, you certainly can’t get much better than this.

By Nathan Meunier
CCC Staff Contributor