RACE: Caterham

by William Thompson
reviewed on PC
Caterham Expansion
I’ve always loved a good racing/driving game. Being able to ‘put the foot down’ in the safety of my own house is very appealing. No physical damage to my car, no washing the car after a dirty race, no annoying traffic jams and of course, no police (or nagging wife) to tell me to slow down.
The fact that there are so many variations of racing games is a bonus to any speed freak. One of the high-quality racing games going around is RACE: The WTCC Game.
RACE, developed by Simbin (best known for their GTR series of games) is a racing game based on the World Touring Car Championship. And now, an expansion pack, The Caterham Expansion, has been included.
Adding some horsepower…
There are two main additions in the Caterham Expansion. The first of course, is the addition of the Caterham models of sports cars. For those of you who don’t know about Caterham racing, the Caterham models look like a souped-up go-kart not dissimilar to the Formula One models of the 1960’s. The main reason for this is that Caterham cars were traditionally based upon the all-conquering Lotus vehicles of the era.
They have more power these days, of course, which is just the way that any lead-foot would want it. There are three versions of the Caterham range that have been included in the expansion, the CSR 200, the CSR 260 and the CSR 320 Concept complete with a huge 320hp.
The other main inclusion in the expansion pack is the addition of a couple of well known race tracks. The first, and probably my favourite, is the legendary circuit at Imola, the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, home to the San Marino Grand Prix. The long straights enable racers to get up to top speed, whilst the hairpin turns will require drivers to scroll down through the gears before turning at a low speed. The second is the former Grand Prix racetrack at Estoril in Portugal. It features a couple of hairpin turns as well as a long home straight as well as some changes in elevation throughout. The inclusion of these two tracks will help to keep the game fresh for those who already own RACE.
Championship or Single Race
There are enough racing variants to keep most gamers happy. Whether you want to attempt to win the Championship against AI competitors, or want to win a single race online against friends or strangers, it is all available. I personally like the two-race format where the finishing position is reversed for the second race. This gives racers who finished at the back of the race to start on pole. Of course, winning the first race means that you start from the rear for the second race, but this just increases the challenge of the game.
8.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time