Full Review RFactor

rFactor is the latest race simulation from Image Space Incorporated. Professional virtual drivers will already know this company from games like F1 Challenge and Nascar Thunder. The game is said topromote a stunning realistic online race simulation like never seen before. Like everybody with a clear sense of mind already knows, we have to be careful with the fancy talk of developers. Time to get behind the racing wheel ourselves so we can discover the truth.

A small amount of readers may think: rFactor...rFactor...didn't that game came out ages ago? (Yes, we can hear you!) Actually you're right, rFactor was previously released but only available as a download, the reason we're reviewing it now is because Image Space Inc. released a boxed version of rFactor with some additional features.

Customize. Control. Connect. It's not only the slogan of rFactor, the game is also built on these three important keywords.
Almost everything is customizable in this game. In the options menu you?re given a ridiculous number of options to customize and tweak your car. Because the game is really close to reality, it's almost impossible to play with your keyboard unless you enable the steering help, braking help, etc. It's advisable to play with a decent steering wheel or at least with a joystick because most servers don?t allow the options I mentioned above. In the customization menu you can also buy new cars or upgrade your car. Besides all the in game customizations the game is also created to easily develop mods, skins, tracks or setups, this way the developers encourage the players to be creative and develop cool new features for the game.

Control your car! Or rather try to control your car! It?s been a long time since I played a race game where I could actually feel and experience the speed of the car. This game is far from easy if you want to play it without any help options. The graphics are a little bit outdated but you?ll almost never notice because you?ll have your hands full concentrating on your driving instead of on the view. It?s sad to see that the damage model is rather poor so when crashing at a speed of 300mph you barely notice. This feels pretty odd in such a realistic simulation! Speaking of damage, the pits are an important part of the game, you will run out of fuel or your tires will overheat if you don?t visit the pits once in a while. If you break the track rules, like driving too fast in the pit lane, you?ll have to pay a penalty.

When you think you have the necessary skills, then take your car online. When you create a profile, you can login in Racecast. Racecast is a utility and is one of the new features in rFactor. Racecast organizes all the online racing games. You can create or join a server here. When you login in to a server you can view a lot of information about the track and the applied rules. You can also chat here with other drivers or follow the game in a separate small window.

Conclusion

If you think you can drive and you have the appropriate gear then you must play rFactor. Though the graphics aren?t breathtaking, underneath is great and fun gameplay. You?ll find it a lot harder to race against human opponents instead of racing against the computer. If you?re bored with the standard tracks then you can easily download new content. Though I must warn you, this game is not for everyone! If you?re used to arcade race games, like Need for Speed, you won?t even get your car out of the pit lane!


Reviewed by Fenn Segers

http://www.zfxgamer.com