I called GT Legends a 'museum for the forgotten', a game of old circuits and older cars, simulated to degrees far above what I was expecting. I like GT Legends, novice driver that I am.
A year later, the simulator picks up the pace considerably in the form of GTR 2 - FIA GT Racing Game, allowing players to get behind the wheels of cars from the 2003 and 2004 FIA GT Championships, complete with a dizzying array of realism settings and sliders to give you the closest taste of racing you can get without wearing flame retardant overalls.
I get the distinct impression I won't be winning many races in this one, but we'll see how we fare nonetheless.
Fun Times
After manually patching the game to stick the all the Ferrari's and Porsches back in (and I don't even like Porsches), we're greeted with a wall of options for controls and difficulty and whatnot. As a controller peasant who likes things to be kept simple, I remap my accelerator and brakes to the triggers, stick all the assists on and get ready to see what GTR 2 is all about.
The main menu serves up your expected modes. Some quick races, some long championships, and everything in between. Opting for a quick(er) race weekend, we can choose what kind of event we take part in, which cars are eligible and the like, and take our pick from the GT class of the early 2000s.
As I say, some cars have to be patched back in having been removed from the Steam version of GTR 2 for licensing reasons, but given the majority of the FIA GT Championship field seems to have been made up of Ferrari's and Porsche's, it makes sense to do so, even if I don't favour them.
In fact, all I really seem attracted to is a BMW, which isn't even in the top class. Hopefully, it'll serve as something more comfortable to drive - something I'm more capable of actually pointing in the right direction.
Like GT Legends, GTR 2 is all about realism. This is an entire race weekend, with a practice session, qualifying, and the race itself. There's Johnny Herbert of Formula 1, and, presumably, of the FIA GT Championship. It's the only name I recognise.
A simulated race weekend comes with simulated pit exit rules. No leaving until the lights go green. No point doing our best on the out lap, either, but it is the only opportunity I've given myself to learn the Imola circuit, having skipped the practice session - ironic, I know.
I prefer the cockpit view where possible, partly as an excuse for poor driving, but partly to immerse myself that much more behind the wheel of the car. Pop up warnings tell me what gear I should be in for the upcoming corner, and automatic braking assists start to slow my car down when I ignore them. These can be turned off, and I probably will be doing so later on.
After two flying laps, I was sitting in 14th position - about right, I felt. Waaay off the pace of the front runners, but only a few seconds behind the only other GT2 car on the grid. Not bad for three laps of a new game, right? Right?
There was plenty more time left in the qualifying session, but there comes a point where you just want to race. Real drivers can't skip time. I can.
I've got the option to skip the formation lap, too, but I don't really know what a formation lap is, besides parading around the track for a lap, so I don't skip it and diligently follow the cars in front. It's the first time I make the first corner without hitting the gravel trap beyond it.
I should probably talk about the driving at some point. In terms of feel, to me, it makes Gran Turismo feel a little arcadey. The PlayStation series was all about realism, and as the series went on it'd feel more and more like the physics engine was actually doing something, along with all the bits and bobs you stuck on your car and the settings you tweaked in the hopes of getting another couple of horses out of your car.
GTR 2 feels like a simulator, more than a racer. I like racing games, but I can't drive, so driving simulators that are actually simulators can be tricky. GT Legends, once I got the settings how I liked, could be driven like a racing game. The cars were slow enough for me to handle. The feel, while still very different to Gran Turismo, was manageable.
Here, with faster cars and more to think about - supposedly including the sloshing of fuel in the tank - it might take a while longer for me to feel comfortable with what I'm doing.
Expecting that the formation lap would lead to a grid start, I slowed down to make sure I hit my mark, as every else sped up to cross the line to start the race. I've a lot to learn about GT racing...
As I battled through the pack, the inevitable happened and I binned it, ending up the wrong way around as the last-placed car idly drove by. I was at the back of the pack, with all the work to do. I'm not going to reach the front, I know that much, but I don't want to be at the back.
I got 15th place back in short order, but getting 14th was a battle. I overtook and was overtaken, overtook again and thought that this was probably my limit. We were going to be trading paint and places for the rest of the race unless I was able to pull out a commanding lead.
To do so would require clean driving, which I could do with practice, but had none. Or it'd mean seeing how far I can push the track limits. Are there any penalties for ignoring chicanes?
Apparently not, save for the self-imposed penalty of having the auto-braking assist turned on, which desperately tried to slow me down so that I could take the corner I was skipping. I'll definitely have to turn that off for the next race.
Cheating a viable tactic, I started to hunt down the next car ahead.
P10 was about all I could do, with P9 being twenty seconds ahead of me. Though this race had gone on and on and on. How many laps is it? Have I accidentally signed up to a really realistic monster of an event? With no obvious HUD prompts, I hadn't got a clue, until, out of nowhere, a checkered flag graphic appeared.
The simulation isn't complete without an in lap to the pits after the race finishes, though you can skip that too if you want. Given the fact that I'd completely ignored the rules of racing to get my 10th place finish, it was a little weird that I bothered to not skip this formality, but there we go. I am a complicated man.
And here are the results of my first race in GTR 2. Second in class. Not bad. Quite far behind 1st in class, even after cheating, but that just means I've plenty of room for improvement.
Final Word
And improve I should do, as I intend to bomb around GTR 2 some more. From what I read, the simulation aspect of the game is so detailed that it extends to track conditions too, with wet races developing a drier racing line as more and more cars clear the surface water away. That sounds cool. There's a headlight button as well, so I guess nighttime events are also present somewhere. I know long endurance events are, though I might shy away from those for the time being.
Outside of the game itself is a mod community putting in cars and tracks of their own. I don't know how necessary they all are, the base game seems to have a healthy selection of the two, but at least there are people still having a good time with GTR 2.
The 1001 entry points out that this game should be in everyone's collection alongside Gran Turismo and Forza, and while, yes, GTR 2 is a great game, I'm not sure it's for everyone. This is heavy on the simulation. If YouTube and 2020 have taught me anything, it's that there is a market for simulation racing beyond Gran Turismo, to the point where Gran Turismo may be considered baby steps on the road to other games. Is GTR 2 considered the front runner for sim racing on the PC?
I'm sure it is, but it's not talked about much these days. Its time may have come and gone, what it offered now to be found elsewhere. No shame in that. GTR 2 is definitely worth a race or two if only to see how the big boys raced back in the day.
Fun Facts
When the best driving game of the year is also the best game nobody played, where can you go? What can you do? After 14 years, GTR3 may be making an appearance to a platform near you.
GTR 2 - FIA GT Racing Game, developed by Blimey! Games, SimBin, first released in 2006.
Version played: PC, 2006.