Recent reviews by TT

Since the days of early access, ACC has always focused on the intricacies of modern GT racing. The game is a licensed product of the Blancpain GT racing series, so all the official cars and tracks are ready to race.

ACC has many game modes including a customisable single player championship, career and multiplayer. It manages to cater for causal racers with a controller to those with full racing setups, so everyone can enjoy close competitive racing.

A dynamic weather and lighting system adds to the feeling of endurance racing, with pit stops adding a tactical element to a race. Tyre and fuel use are critical to being competitive and both have been accurately modelled to add another layer of realism.

Kunos are continuing to support the game with updates that improve performance, stability and handling. The developers will also include the 2019 championship as a free update, and have hinted at further content to come.

Assetto Corsa attempts to strike a balance between simulation and casual racer. The team at Kunos Simulazioni have a passion for all things automotive, and it shows with AC's eclectic mix of road vehicles, lightweight sports cars, open wheelers and full on track machines.

This is a beta release, so much of the content and features are still to come. But the cars, tracks and challenges available at this point in the development of Assetto Corsa should keep armchair racers happy for a while. The game feels like a gentleman's racer, a laid back title with a subtlety not usually associated with a racing sim. Think Chris Harris rather than Clarkson.

When you start the game, no one is shouting at you to drive this and race that with a soundtrack pounding you steadily into submission. You choose what you want to drive, where to race and whom to race against. Menu design is intuitive and is easily navigable. It's a welcome return to when interfaces had function to them with icons and text used to great effect.

Pick your car. Choose your track. Go Race. The fun is learning the nuances of each vehicle and trying to exploit them trackside. The Ferrari 599XX EVO is a vastly different beast from the Abarth 500 EsseEsse for example, but each offer their own challenges and provide their own rewards. Take your time to appreciate each car in its own right and you'll begin to enjoy racing for fun again. Driving a lightweight Lotus around a tight, twisting track is as much fun as fun as piloting a GT3 racer around Monza, possibly more so.

To get the most out of this title, you will need a wheel but the game supports other inputs and is easily playable using a 360 controller. I use a battle worn and rather creaky logitech G25 and the default force feedback settings work really well, with only some minor adjustment made to the gain. You can of course make many adjustments to your chosen method of control, but I was happy with the out of the box settings.

Cars are a joy to drive. I always feel in control and that I can correct any minor mistakes without the rear swapping ends, but I know if I push too hard I'll be barrier bound. AC never let's you feel complacent, it just challenges you to drive as fast as you think you can and lets you feel fantastic when you hook up that record lap.

The recently introduced AI is decent but not perfect, especially in large fields. Every update brings improvements and thankfully the days of backflipping BMWs and pirouetting Paganis are thankfully now gone. Small fields of cars with similar performance on appropriate tracks will bring the greatest challenge, with more believable behaviour from your computer opponents. Those wanting multiplayer will have to wait a bit longer for that update though.

If you wish for a grown up racer then Assetto Corsa may just be for you, but remember that it's effectively a work in progress and many features are not available at this point. But what there is is at the time of this review is a great indication of what is to come when Assetto Corsa goes final.