Automobilista 2

In a world where aaa titles routinely cost 70+ euro, this game delivers the same quality for half the price. There are so many tracks and vehicles to choose from. That combined with the freedom to fiddle with things like the ai or gameplay in general, makes for an endless fun. If you're into sim racers, you'll love it. I have to admit I suck at these games pretty badly so I sometimes struggle to have control over whatever I'm driving even with full assist.

Automobilista 2 is a realistic racing simulation game that was developed for passionate motorsport fans and sim racers. It offers many different cars, tracks, and racing categories from all around the world. I started playing this game because I got bored of the F1 game series after having played every title for the past 10 years. After spending over a hundred in this game, I can confirm that it is a very enjoyable and exciting experience. In this review, I will explain the best parts of the game and why I like it so much. When it comes to the graphics and weather I have to say that Automobilista 2 has very beautiful graphics and realistic weather effects. The cars and tracks look extremely detailed, especially during sunset, rain or with overcast weather. I also like the fact that you can adjust the number of weather slots with many settings available aside from the usual sunny, cloudy, rainy and foggy weather. There are even several stage of rain, fog and storm available, which allows to create every possible scenario for a race imaginable. That’s one of the feature keeping this game so interesting. The lighting and shadows are very impressive-looking for a racing game. Overall, the game feels very modern and immersive. One of the best things about the game is the huge selection of cars and tracks. There are many, many different racing categories, which are Formula cars, GT racing, Prototype racing, Touring cars, Kart racing, Endurance racing classes, Supercars and road cars, Trucks, Rallycross cars, Porsche Carrera Cup and the Caterham racing series. Several of these categories also contain models from certain years of several different decades. Some even have different models from the same year, especially when it comes to the F1 and IndyCar models, which is utterly insane. For people trying to have the most realistic game possible, you can simply download a skinpack for the respective category of the respective year and then you’ve got everything. I’ve done that with every single F1 and IndyCar model in this game. Now I’ve got every single livery, team and drive name, nationality of the respective car models of the respective years from those two series. Use them on the respective historic or modern layouts they drove and then you really got a feeling for how it was like for the drivers back in the day. You don’t need any other game for this. Ngl, this game alone is what turned me into a massive Retro F1 and IndyCar fan, after I never gave the slightest toss about that time before. Only about the modern history. Another huge plus is like that the game has some of the biggest varieties of race tracks I’ve ever seen. Only Project cars is comparable when it comes to that category. AM2 doesn’t solely include F1-specific tracks such as Mexico or Las Vegas e.g., but simply the classics such as Monza, Spa, Silverstone being primary examples. Lots of the other tracks in the game were never used by F1 or only used in the past. From many of those respective tracks there are even historic versions available, which are insanely well detailed and give you the feeling that Reiza Studios used a time machine to travel back in time in order to laser scan those tracks that’s how extraordinarily well they’re designed. The driving experience in this game is something else. The feedback of every single car is just so damn good and unique that you really get a proper feeling for them, which allows you to properly connect with them. The force feedback on the steering wheel is also very excellent, adjustable and gives you all you information you need, especially when you exceed the limit of the cars you get a perfect feeling for the understeer and the sliding you can hear, which shows you exactly where the limit is. Another great feature is the realistic tyre and suspension system. Drive really learn how to pay attention to changing braking points, tyre temperatures, and fuel consumption, especially during longer races. You really learn how to feel the limit of the tyres, thanks the the slight vibrations as you reach the limit of it right before the lock-up. Flatspotting the them also punishes you severly, as that makes you start getting into a downward spiral, because the tyre lock up way easier, which sharpy increases the risk of locking up again. The only downside of the tyre model is you can take fast corners very aggressively, which gives you an advantage compared to the AI, but that doesn't contribute to the tyre deg, only to the tyre temperature. The advantage you get from that is just so massive and that caused me to be much faster on tracks like Suzuka compared to tracks like Adelaide. The AI drivers are very intelligent, competitive and create exciting battles on the track. I also like the fact that the game offers different difficulty settings and AI behaviors, so either the beginners and experienced players can enjoy it. The setup system in Automobilista 2 is very detailed and realistic. Depending on the vehicle class, drivers can adjust settings such as Tyre pressure, Tyre compound, Brake pressure, Brake bias, Steering ratio, Differential settings (Clutch plates, Power ramp angle, Coast ramp angle), Suspension settings, [Spring stiffness, Ride height, Damper settings(Bump, Rebound, Fast bump, Fast rebound)], Anti-roll bars (front and rear), Wheel alignment (Camber, Toe-in / Toe-out, Caster angle), Aerodynamics (Front wing angle, Rear wing angle, Downforce levels, Brake cooling ducts, Engine cooling openings), Transmission (Gear ratios, Final drive ratio), Electronics (Traction control, ABS settings, Engine map / Fuel map, Turbo pressure, ERS or hybrid systems), Fuel and strategy (Fuel amount, Pit stop strategy, Tyre changes during pit stops), Every single settings is also wonderfully well explained. The sound design in Automobilista 2 is one of the strongest parts of the game. Every engine sounds so powerful and realistic, and the different cars all have their own unique character. I personally enjoy the sounds of the Formula cars (both F1 and IndyCar) the most, no matter what generation they’re from. The crowd sounds and trackside noises are so realistic that they help the player feel like the experience is real. The rain and thunder sounds are so immersive that they add to that feeling and make the game feel even more alive. The cockpit experience in Automobilista 2 is highly adjustable and gives the players many customization options. They can change the seat position, camera movement, field of view, and mirror settings to create a driving perspective, which perfectly caters to them. AM2 also allows adjustments for wind noise, engine volume, tyre sounds, spotter voice, and other audio effects inside the cockpit. In addition, players can customize the HUD, steering wheel visibility, head movement, and vibration effects for a more immersive experience. Because of these detailed settings, every player can create a cockpit setup that perfectly comes to their liking. In my opinion, Automobilista 2 is one of the best racing simulation games currently available on the market and is unfortunately still way too underrated. It offers a highly realistic driving experience, amazing graphics, and a lot of content. The game is extremely enjoyable for both beginners, experienced drivers and proper sim racers. I can recommend it to everyone looking for a superbly realistic racing simulation. Playing this game is always a great experience and never got boring to me, not even for a single second.

Automobilista 2 is great for the actual racing, but it is simply a total sandbox game with no sense of progression. For pure racing, this game gets it right. There's a TON of tracks and different cars available just with the base game. Enough to keep you entertained for hundreds of hours without even needing any DLC. The physics feel good and you can really feel it when you go on the curbs. Going in the grass feels like driving on ice, which it should, unlike most other racing games. You can totally adjust how tough the AI racers are so that you always have a challenge but aren't blown away by the difficulty. Racing wise, it's a great game. BUT... this game is a total sandbox game. It feels like a game from the 90s in terms of its user interface and explanations. There's simply no tutorials at all. You start the game with all tracks/cars/liveries unlocked. There's no sense of progression. You have to totally make your own fun. There's no achievements to work towards, nor is there any type of a career mode. If you win a race, there's not even a little animation or anything for it. There were better trophy presentations on the SNES... Also, the game doesn't explain ANYTHING. It started raining during a race so I drove into the pits. It simply put on more dry tires and booted me out of the pits. I had to lookup multiple youtube vids just to figure out how to change into wet tires. It turns out you have to make a "preset' before the race that says wet tires. I also wanted to rename the AI competition to be my friends and family to make it more interesting. To do this, I had to goto a 3rd party mod website, register, download the mod, THEN find the mod's text file and manually edit each entry in a text document. This game is that sort of oldschool and doesn't explain anything. In in the end, the racing was great but I just had no feeling of accomplishment. The devs are aware of this and claim they are working on a career mode for next year. If they actually do it, this game will be worth revisiting. Until then, the game just wasn't fun enough to justify taking up 130 gigs. If you like pure sandbox sim racing or multiplayer, you may well like this. But if you're used to a Grand Turismo or Forza style of progression/achievements, this game will disappoint and feel pointless within a few hours.