izigame.me

So lets start with the simple answers!!!
-If i were to rate this game it would be 6/10.
-Do I recommend a purchase. NO. However if on sale for 25% off id say worth it!
-Do I think the game is fun. Overall Yes but there's really no simple answer here.
-What kind of player plays this game. A car Collector or Car Enthusiast that doesn't mind some inconsistencies with IRL
So on to the more complex review that's really not so complex!
To start with I want to be straight forward with everyone. I don't write reviews very often but this game actually irritated me quite a bit so as i write this review keep in mind that's my current perspective. I would also like to clarify that yes i only have 6 hours on the game right now but i also played the open beta for PC for approximately 20 hours.
Now on to the meat and potatoes of the review! Lets start with the Pros.
- The atmosphere is stunning
Driving around and exploring the world is enjoyable and the game has great roads and great scenery to play around in. I haven't done much off-roading in the game but so far the off-roading i have done has been extremely enjoyable.
- Performance is Good
Now i know alot of people are complaining about the performance of the game. I honestly have no clue what they are on about! I play at max settings at 1440p res. I get on average 68FPS however my lows are 52FPS and highs are around 98FPS. I do turn on DLAA and Frame Generation. My specs are slightly above average to be fair. I am playing on a 4070 paired with an AMD5600x and have the game installed on a screaming fast NVME Hard Drive supported by 32GB of RAM.
I also havn't experienced any network issues what so ever after release. Now to be fair the pre release via the gold edition of which i purchased did have major network issues in fact unplayable issues but so did the beta. However i repeat the release of the game FIXED ALL ISSUES!!!
-The audio quality is amazing
Every car has extremely good exhaust notes and engine sounds. The turbos and blow off valves are stunning to hear. The soundtrack of the radio is exhilerating. All of these amazing sounds are in high quality bit rate so the immersion from sounds is hypnotic.
NOW FOR THE BAD!!! DUN DUN DUN
- What the Actual (insert F word here) is the driving model
I play the game with a g920 steering wheel and have adjusted all the values of the wheel tirelessly to get things to feel good but to no avail. I also play with no assists on (I.E. No traction control and no ABS and no Racing Line) Free Roam is driving is great without all the stakes and being able to freely choose your route. BUT the races are just idiotic, there is so much under steer through corners that its impossible to race. Driving a modified Mustang GT feels like im driving a 1998 Suburban. If i go any faster than 30 MPH around a 90 Degree corner i either under steer into a wall or have to force my car into a drift. Before anyone says skill issue i have tried different racing lines from starting inside to starting outside to dead center driving next to either side of the median and always the same thing either under steer or drift required.
Another thing i would like to point out to those of you saying skill issue... I own a 2014 Mustang GT IRL and have modified it for track and also have a racing license and i will tell you right now the driving model is so far from how the car feels IRL that i would rather it be more arcade than simulator because at least then i can turn a corner!
(Sarcasm Incoming) To give a benefit to the driving model however the jaguar with all wheel drive takes corners like its rear wheel drive so if i could just make the mustang all wheel drive problem would be solved HAHA.
-The AI
I don't know what the DEVs were thinking when they designed this AI. The number one thing i can count on in a race is when it starts all the AI have a homing laser guiding them to ram me. After the first corner they just become another road obstacle that i have to avoid because they offer no challenge and have no awareness as to where i am, this leads to the AI just letting me pass like there on a Sunday cruise instead of trying to prevent a pass like someone who is actually racing would do. Then there's those times where the AI somehow has NOS i could be going 170 MPH and all of a sudden an AI will just blow by me like im sitting still just to brake into a corner going from what i assume was 210 MPH to 25 MPH in one second.
- The Substance
So the game is simple you buy a car you customize said car and you drive said car then you get another car and do the same over and over collecting the cars you want and making them into what you want. You do this by racing and exploring the world to make money and gain EXP. Now i have never played the previous games but i decided to look into them and WOOOOW this game is missing a lot of great things from the previous games. In fact this game seems to be a skeleton in comparison to the previous games when it comes to all the things you can do. DEVs want this to be a social racing game but there's no where interesting to be social at because the social locations are technically just a back drop with no interactions with the world. So this leaves us with racing each other, which would be cool and all except theres one problem no one is ever near the races i have been in, in fact the only time i have raced other people was during the beginning of the story when there wasn't a large selection of races and the game was more linear!
- The Customization
Now in the previous paragraph i talked about customization so now ill dive deeper into that! The visual customization of your character and cars is very in depth and i really appreciate how it feels organic and realistic. For example im not throwing massive GT3 wings on my car that only has 500 hp! Yes people do this but its a very select few and every car enthusiast knows the type of person with a GT3 wing drives a Honda Civic with rust and a rattle can for an exhaust!!!
As for the Performance side of Customization which in my opinion is more important which is the cause for this being a NEGATIVE. Why in the (insert F word here) can i not change my tire compound right out the gate, changing tire compound is locked until you reach level 15 reputation. Now some people will say it doesn't take long to get to level 15 and they are right however when i was driving the mustang without semi slicks and i had a turbo on it all i can do in first gear is spin my tires. This makes races before level 15 in the mustang unbearable in fact you might as well just use ice for the back tires and a stone for the front tires because that's what its gonna feel like until you can upgrade your tires!!! As for the rest of the performance parts they do make a noticeable difference to all vehicles when you install them and feel quite nice!!! Exhaust changes audio of exhaust turbos are actually turbos with lag and anti lag!!! The way you customize your vehicle definitely fits your personality so when you do race or free roam you can feel your own personal touch in how the car drives!
So in conclusion I do plan on playing the game more i personally enjoy it! However i don't recommend a purchase for everyone as this game is only going to be tolerable for car lovers and car collectors. Racing enthusiasts go play a different game like Assetto Corsa or Gran Turismo because this games driving model isn't for you. Those gamers out there that love Need For Speed i wish you the best of luck because that wall is gonna be your friend and the customization options are only going to disappoint you!!!!