Race On Review (PC)

Race On is developed by SimBin Studios and published by Viva Media.

Race On is, surprisingly, a racing game where you race in races. These can be done both by yourself and online by taking place in a number of events. Single races comprise of practice, qualifying, and warm-up sessions, followed by the two-race (in WTCC, at least) main event. You can also take place in a full championship season with a points system, or create your own custom season with any of the game’s cars and tracks; you can even mix car types to create a staggered series. You can enjoy time attack mode (complete with online leaderboards) and practice for those who don’t know what they are doing. It should be noted that RACE On still lacks a tutorial system, something I have complained about since the first RACE title. Have they read none of my review?! The game does provide corner markers for novice-level driving and pretty clear braking zones (noted by darker tire build-up) on the tracks to help new players somewhat. Online racing is still solid, though most of the servers are located in Europe so some event can be a little laggy, though nothing that is unplayable. You can join any server that is running RACE 07 or STCC in addition to RACE On, which serves to prevent gaming community fragmentation (unless, of course, it’s running GTR Evolution and you do not). Race rules can be customized, like superpole (one-lap) qualifying, rolling starts, race lengths (both laps and time), and mandatory pitstops.

You race with cars, and RACE On features an impressive array of vehicles. New to the series is the 2008 WTCC season, featuring six makes of vehicles that aren’t terribly different from the 2007 or 2006 seasons that are also included. Also new is the International Formula Masters series that use the same tracks as the WTCC with the exception of two (Hungaroring and Spa) that are not included in RACE On. The primary focus of RACE On is the new U.S. muscle cars. There are four models that come in both street and racing versions: the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V, 2009 Dodge Charger, 2009 Dodge Challenger, and 2009 Chevrolet Camaro. These heavy, powerful real-wheel drive cars behave differently from the WTCC vehicles, as they are prone to oversteer (or “loose” to us Americans) when exiting a corner if you are not careful with the throttle. Additional content is gathered from RACE 07 and STCC, which are actually installed alongside RACE On as separate games, though there is no reason why you’d use them instead of RACE On that includes all of their content anyway (Steam is weird like that). Here we go with some links: the 2008 STCC season comes with nine makes, the Camaro Cup Champsionship that features (surprise!) Camaros, Caterham (3 makes), Radical (6 makes), Formula 3000 (now GP2), Formula BMW, Mini Cooper, and the 1987 WTCC season. In addition, if you have previously purchased GTR Evolution, all of that content is imported as well, making RACE On the only executable you’ll ever need. In all, that’s a lot of cars and a good variety of them.

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