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Race Pro recreates a breathtaking reality giving gamers the ultimate racing simulation experience — with precision physics and handling, racers will feel every bend and burst of acceleration along with every emotion from pre-race tension in the pit lanes to the exhilaration of capturing the checker flag. Race Pro provides unrivalled realism and deep immersion into the racing world through ultra realistic car models and official FIA championships and tracks. Putting players in the driving seats of their simulated racing careers, racers will have the opportunity to work their way up the leader boards through intense training and winning key races. Race Pro has something for everyone, allowing players of all levels to pick up and play, while offering challenging tracks and advanced modes for the more experienced players.

Race Pro offers a wealth of cars ranging from 200 to over 1000 horse power, as well as a host of championships including WTCC (World Touring Car Championship), Formula 3000 and Formula BMW. GT cars from manufacturers including Aston Martin and Saleen take their place on the grid as well as production cars such as the Audi R8 and Dodge Viper SRT10. In addition, RACE Pro is exclusively bringing all the WTCC cars from manufacturers Alfa Romeo, BMW, Chevrolet and Seat to Xbox 360 for the very first time. For a blast of accessible fun, the Mini Cooper Challenge invites players of all abilities to take the wheel.

Gamers and racing fans alike will experience the thrill of racing these powerful cars on 13 real life tracks covering all continents, of which Macau, Porto and Pau are exclusive to RACE Pro, and US tracks Laguna Seca and Road America are brand new to SimBin fans.

Genre: Racing

Publisher: Atari

Developer: SimBin Development Team

Online Play:

Local Play:

February 23, 2009 –
Strict simulation videogames are usually something of a tough sell on consoles, which is why we don’t see many of them on current-generation systems like the Xbox 360 these days. Racing games such as Forza Motorsport 2, however, have come incredibly close to the total-sim ideal while still maintaining a fun air that invites non-fanatics to slide behind the wheel for a few laps.

But Sweden-based veteran PC racing simulation developer SimBin has taken that idea one step further by bringing its unflinching brand of hardcore driving to the Xbox 360. Race Pro is a no-holds-barred racing sim that succeeds in providing some of the most realistic racing ever seen on a console. And whether or not that sounds like a smashing good time to you or not depends on just how excited you get about car physics.

SimBin is legendary for its attention to detail when it comes to the math behind racing. The developer’s GTR series is well-known in PC gaming circles for its authenticity, and SimBin has brought that pedigree with it to the console world. The 48 cars in Race Pro are painstakingly modeled after the real-life versions, and the 13 race tracks are accurate down to the degree of each turn. If you’re driving a Gillet Vertigo Streiff through the Triple at Oschersleben, expect it to feel just like it looks on television (assuming you have some kick-ass satellite TV).

Click the image to see videos of Race Pro in action (HD available).

I’m neither a physicist nor a professional race car driver, but the cars in Race Pro just feel right, which doesn’t always help my standings. There are three difficulty settings in the game: Novice, Semi-Pro and Professional. Racing on the Professional setting is a brutal lesson in momentum, force, torque, friction and just about every other chapter in your high school physics textbook. Take a corner a bit too quickly in your Formula 3000, and you’ll slide off the road. Correct your steering too much in an attempt to get back on said road, and you’ll spin that fat back end right around. It’s maddening, bewildering and completely awesome when you get it right.

Race Pro was built with the Professional mode in mind, and it’s the default when you fire up the game. But if you’re not ready for that level of intensity just yet, head for Semi-Pro, which flips on braking and handling assists to make taking corners easier. Semi-Pro also overlays a colored racing line on the track (you can turn it off if you like) that acts as a handy guide to let you know when to brake and when to accelerate out of a turn. It’s a workable system, but I would have preferred a robust tutorial that walks novices through the ins and out of controlling these hair-trigger machines. Grizzled old sim fans will have no trouble, but the vast majority of players will get frustrated and give up.

And why shouldn’t they? Race Pro is just as cold and hard as the machines it features. The menu system, career mode, championship series, multiplayer environment and even the manual are stale, drab and uninviting. There’s no fanfare when you win a race, you’re not given an identity as a driver and the whole experience is just flat. You’re not encouraged to try a different tack when you flub a race, and there’s no real learning curve to speak of. Again, that’s not going to be a problem for many sim fans who just want to get into their favorite race car and drive, but many console gamers who are used to more flair and excitement will be disappointed.

Attack or bide your time? Better know your car and your track.

The main draw in Race Pro is the Career Mode, an eight-tier racing season with several multi-race events within each. Racing at the D tier, for example, gives you six events to choose from, each featuring a different car class. So if you were to come in first place in all three races at the Trident series of races featuring the Viper Competition Coupe, you’d earn a gold trophy and 1,600 credits. Those credits can then be used to buy your way into another race, with the coal of completing all eight racing tiers.

In addition to the Career mode, there’s a Single Race mode where you can drive any car you’ve unlocked in a one-off competition; a Championship that simulates a full season; Time Attack, which lets you chase your lap times and upload your best to the Xbox Live leaderboards; a Hot Seat mode, which allows you to race with a friend by passing the controller back-and-forth in place of split-screen; and a Multiplayer mode, which can be played via System Link or over Xbox Live.

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