Recent reviews by Vlad Tepes

Definitely a 10/10. Hard to explain really, because I never was very good at golf games, even though I've played them since the late 1980s. If you enjoyed the Links series, the Jack Nicholas series, or the EA PGA (Tiger Woods) series, and are really looking for a golf game that you can play in the middle of winter and enjoy the ambiance and "feel" of being at the golf course, this is it.
I really have nothing bad to say about this game.
The good is pretty much everything.
You start out with some simple tutorials, you set your level of difficulty (which you can change or modify), and you can start out at the lowest level (which I enjoy the most) or just jump right into the PGA.
The graphics are great, the sound is great, the announcers are great.
It has a great career mode, and all kinds of "bling" to purchase as you progress, for those of you that like that kind of stuff.
Seriously, if you want to play a golf simulator on your computer, there is nothing else out there that compares to this, so just buy it.
If I could find a CON about this game I would present it, but I can't.
It is golf. The same frustrations you have on the real course, you will have them here .. you can always dial down the difficulty but for me it is fun to leave everything at "normal" and just play. At this level it is very challenging, but remember you don't have to win the match to keep playing and/or proceed.
For example, in the first Q school, you just have to finish in the top 50 to advance.
I like this because I can enjoy the game and not worry about always winning the match.
The game gives you the feel of a real career, even as an "average" golfer. If you're really good, great for you.. I'm not lol..
Anyway, I recommend this game highly! I can't imagine any golf fan not enjoying this game.

This is what early access should be. If you aren't familiar with the original game, then this may not be for you.
I recommend watching the old version of Memphis Belle, and getting to know the people in that plane.. then come and play this game.
This is not, and never was a WW2 fighter simulator. This is more of a crew management system, but it works really well, because you can take over any one of the positions, including the pilot.
Flying the B17 in a formation bombing run takes a different mind set. Your job is not to get up in the air quickly and shoot down a bunch of enemy aircraft.
Your job is to taxi into position, takeoff, circle to get into formation with other B17s, and circle to get up to a reasonable altitude. This takes a LOOONG TIME (of course you can speed up time).
Then you head on over to your initial point, all the while trying to avoid enemy aircraft and flak. You may still be climbing.. higher and higher.. in real life this takes several hours...
So now you are ready for your bombing run. A lot goes on here as you approach your target, setting up the norden bombsight, adjusting for wind speed and direction, aircraft speed and altitude... then.. bombs away...
So now you have to head back home and go through the same gauntlet. You can't dodge fighters.. you take what comes your way and hope you survive.
As you get back over the English coast, you hope you are safe from enemy fighters and you begin your long slow decent.. finally circling until you can land.
This game recreates that like none other. From the mission planning and reconnaissance to the after action report.
Everything is represented here, from full realistic engine operations to dud bombs. You can change what you want.
HERE ME OUT.. as this is how I play this game. It is FUN.
So read a book about a typical B17 mission or go watch the old Memphis Belle....
Then.. set this game up for the highest difficulty so that everything is simulated (engines, dud bombs, weather, etc.)..Set the enemy to a lower level if you want.. but keep the B17 at high difficulty.
Now here is the cool part. Pick a character.. So today I'm going to be the left waste gunner. That's my job. Our mission is to bomb Brest harbor.
Great. After the mission briefing, we are sent to our plane.
Now here is the really cool part. You don't have to do ANYTHING if you don't want to. The AI pilot and copilot will automatically go through all of the startup procedures. You can go to those stations, watch, and listen, to learn how it's done..
So I let the AI drive the plane.. I start out as a waste gunner, but I can move throughout the plane and take over any position. I can even take over the pilot position and as long as I don't hit the M for manual control, the computer is still controlling the plane..
So we taxi and takeoff, then circle to get into formation.. you can speed this or anything up if you want.. as we start to gain altitude sometimes you need to "help" the navigator, especially when he is green. This is simple, you go to the map and move the plane to a position on the map that you think you are at. You just look outside and see where you are.. over London? At the coast? find that spot and manually move the marker there. this helps get the navigator "smarter" and keeps your plane on course.
If you are attacked by fighters you can take over any gun if you want, or just watch the fight. The AI gunners will all fire.
Then you get to the bomb run, and again, you can simply go to that station and watch what happens, or take over (which requires learning)..
I typically "simulate" just being in the plane as one of the gunners and NOT the pilot or bombardier because I'm not good at piloting lol..
At times your crew will become wounded if you're hit by flack or fighters.. you do need to try and manage that.. you can send different members to administer first aid, or put out fires that start..
Then you begin your journey home.. maybe more flak, maybe more fighters.. you sometimes get friendlies.. and you return to base, circle to land, and report in.
ALL of this can be done (the entire mission from start to finish) without you even being there.. you can walk way and get a coffee.. beware of the risks lol.. but I've done it..
Anyway, my point about this game is that it is a simulation of what an entire B17 crew has to endure.. and you can make it as difficult as you want, and you can take over any aspect of the flight if you want.
So.. THIS is how GOOD the game was way back when, and it is STILL that good..
Except for the elephant in the room.. graphics.. so let's talk.
Back in the day.. the graphics were ok.. for that time.. of course by today's standard.. not so much.. when it comes to the outside world (view from the sky to the ground).. It looks like it did back then..
However.. the PROs
The barracks and briefing room are really good looking now.
Reading the briefs and personnel files are very nice looking. Modern graphics.
The interface is much better now, wide screen (which we did not have back then).
The interior of the B17 looks GREAT now. Every station looks just as good as you would expect in MSFS 2020 when viewed from the inside.
The characters also all look great now.
The sound is very good, not great, but as good as I remember it being.
The crew management (moving around the plane, taking over positions, assisting with first aid and fires), is VERY GOOD, as it was back then..
The overall "feel" of the game is quite good, just as it was.. a sense of accomplishment to make it through an entire bombing run and return alive!!.. You get that same anxiety when leaving and same relief when returning..
The statistics and details are second to none. Each person in your crew has a history and you track them through injuries and death. Details about your bombing missions are all there. This was a great feature of the original game.

Now for the CONs
Obviously the graphics.. outside view is pretty bad. sky is .. not great, looking at the earth isn't the best, but you CAN distinguish towns/rivers/roads so you can "see" where you are on the map by looking outside. That was a feature of the old game that is still there.. the problem is the graphics look the same.
The sound sometimes will cut out briefly.. not often but just for a second.. otherwise it's ok
The outside view of the B17, while not super, is actually not bad.. Seeing the other B17's in formation is just amazing.. you can see all of them each turning their turrets.. but I imagine the models could use an upgrade.

It IS the game I remember, but better. Again, if you never experienced this game, you may not like it at first glance.

So.. for me this game already does what I want. I like to simulate a B17 "career" to see if I can survive 25 missions. I may play as a pilot, a bombardier, or just a tail gunner.. you have a "life story"..

Note : Don't buy this game if you want to play fighters. YES the game allows it, but you will be disappointed. As far as I'm concerned, I wish the devs would remove the players ability to switch to a fighter. It's pointless in my view lol. but I digress.

If you want to "feel" what it was like to go on a long B17 mission, or to be placed on a B17 because you're short and they need ball turret gunners.. the anxiety, fear, it's all there.. even with the graphics.. There is not another game that does this.

So.. this game is Early Access.. but think about the potential!!!! it is already a great game.. if they can fix up some of the graphics .. just.. wow..
I realize that you never know how these things are going to turn out, I have no idea if Microprose is the same company.... I'm sure the devs from back then are all gone.. but if they keep the spirit going.. and upgrade this game, I think it will be a huge hit with World War 2 fans.

You really can't go wrong with this price. Give it a try.. be patient.. enjoy the story line.

Sorry for the long post and I hope you enjoy this game.

Most underrated racing sim on Steam! If you are just curious, download this game and try it out! You will end up like me, spending a little money on various things, but they are not required!
** I am NOT a VR player ** .. so this review will not include any VR. If this is important to you, then this review will not help you.
For a background of where I'm coming from, I have most of the other sims that everyone else has, going back to GTR2, NR2003, Live For Speed, rfactor, iRacing, F1-20XX, AC, AMS, AMS2,.. all great sims.
I was curious about this as I thought that it would be interesting to try a game that is published as mostly an online game (less expensive version of iRacing I guess) and since it says it's free I figured I would try it.
I am mostly an offline single player, and like to play my own championship seasons. I will dabble in online play occasionally but for me this is not what I'm interested in.
With that said, I wanted to give this a try.. what surprised me was how good the offline play was against AI..
So, first let me say, just get this.. it is free to start. Yes you will find eventually that you need to start spending a little money (not really too bad) you CAN play this without spending a dime and you can have some really fun races offline or online. The free cars included are enough to get you going and you could run a championship with these.
So let's start with the CONS as this way I can get that out of the way.
CONS:
No day/night transition or real weather (I'm really not sure if this is a CON for many people but I had to list it).
If you purchase a car (we're talking a few bucks lol), you "might" be required to pay a little more for a livery.. some hate this but it's literally like 0.57 dollars lol.. anyway I needed to put that in there.. I have no issue with it as I don't want to run EVERY livery.. just the ones I might like.
Online racing. Ironically, what the game sells itself as is an online experience. If you are NOT from Europe, you will find it hard to get enough players to fill a race once you've gone past the rookie or beginner ratings..
..so saying that.. lol... I have to switch to PROS...and it's related to the CONs.. (I am really weird I know)...

PROS:
IF, however, you are willing to adjust your schedule to a more European time (for example, wake up early on a Saturday morning if you're in the US like me) you will find plenty of opponents and races. Also, there are events happening all the time. You can run time trials to get "accepted", or just join races.
Online rankings are pretty cool. You have a TON of statistics about you, similar to iRacing.. but so far it's FREEEEEEE...until you start buying cars and tracks.

PRICE: Compared to something like iRacing, the cost to add cars/tracks is TINY!!! There are packages available with huge discounts, but, for example, I did not want everything, so I paid for the few cars and tracks that I wanted.. some are a few US dollars, some are less than one US dollar.. it depends.. but it's not that bad.

SOUNDS: .. just... wow!!.. The sounds of the engines, ambient car, brakes, tires, transmission, .. all of it.. will pull you in to this game.. they are amazing and better than ANY of the games above.. try it and prove me wrong.

CAR FEEL or physics: I really feel like the "feel" of the car is better than any of the sims above.. how do I explain this.. it is not the force feedback.. it's the sounds it makes and the way it rolls when you are cornering, for example.. you can sense when the car is going to let go.. or not.. you "feel" it roll into/out of a corner.. unlike any of the other games. I don't know HOW they do this.. but you somehow, through visual and/or sound.. can "feel" this in RaceRoom better than any other game. Take a small car out.. front wheel drive, rear wheel drive..the handling is very realistic.. take a large car out, more power... WAY more difficult to handle... but you just have that sense..like when you've pushed it just to the edge.. again I'm not sure how to explain this.. just try it out and you'll see. In other sims you sort of learn when you've pushed too far and you keep yourself within the speed limits.. here you "feel" it..

OFFLINE RACING.. Here is where this game surprised the HECK out of me and really shines. I don't know why this isn't touted more but offline racing against AI, and the custom championship mode.. these are just as good if not better than ANY OTHER SIM OUT THERE.

The AI: (to me) is quite amazing actually. This is where the game shines!! Please read through this part!
In other sims (AMS2 for example) the AI is VERY GOOD.. indeed.. they will race you.. and if you get them set up correctly, they are fun!..
In RaceRoom.. the AI really, I mean REALLY race you.. example... you know how in most games.. as you're approaching a corner, you can sort of dive bomb the AI.. you learn what they'll do.. so you head for the corner apex with a late brake as you KNOW you'll reach it before the AI.. in older crappy AI games (LFS, GTR2) the AI will just keep their line and smash you.. so you hope you get through first because they are continuing on their line.. In "good" AI games (AMS2, AC) the AI will back off a bit and let you through.. but they will hold their line and end up behind you. You sort of learn how to pass AI by doing this..
Now, in RaceRoom (I've never used adaptive AI and I set them around 95-100)... if you dive bomb the corner, the AI is smart enough to let you have it.. briefly lol... because if you dive bomb you KNOW you will be taking a wider apex... so the AI ADJUSTS!!... and it will modify its line (it had to slow down because of you, remember?)... to a tighter line.. and you will find yourself (after passing the AI) with the AI taking the INSIDE of the corner.. and there they are right next to you... sometimes passing you right back as they exit the corner and you feel stupid lol...
The AI will also not just give up.. Once you have a strength set for a particular track/car, if you are in the middle of race and pass a few.. they don't just sit back, they WILL come back and try to get their positions back.
I can't say enough about the AI here. very underrated compared to all of the other sims.
TIRE WEAR AND EQUIPMENT WEAR: Another hidden gem here! If you only race short races (30 min or less) you will not see this effect, but if you race endurance races (anything greater than 30 minutes) you WILL see the effects of tire wear.. you can't just hot lap around.. I've done this.. gotten WAY out ahead thinking I'm going to crush the AI when I start to feel my tires go away... and I have to back off each turn more and more.. then here they come.. they haven't forgotten... now you're struggling to keep from dropping to the back as the AI slowly passes you.. you hope for the next pit stop to get new tires.. it is really well done.
ENGINE/ SUSPENSION WEAR AND TEAR. Again, not really modeled that great in other sims unless you hit the wall.. here you can't just keep hopping the same curb over and over.. it WILL wear out your suspension eventually.. pieces of the car wear out.. you really have to pay attention to how you drive!! You only see things things happening in longer races but it really makes you have to plan ahead..
WARNINGS.... I like the fact that you get warnings if you cut a track, but there is some tolerance built in (not a set number that if you exceed it, you are black flagged). I don't know how they do it, but there seems to be some allowance for making a few mistakes, then if you do it again.. warning.. perhaps they are looking at how many consecutive times you do it.. I'm not sure..to me this is better than simply a counter of how many times you cut the track.
CHAMPIONSHIP MODE. Again, HUGELY hidden and underrated in this game. On par with AMS2
I'm out of allowed words so I will just say GIVE THIS A TRY! You will NOT be disappointed!
9.5 out of 10 for me.

Dec 2021 Review Edit.
-
They have now added 1990's era Indycars and several new USA tracks!!
If you buy this game now, you will end up removing all of your other racing sims..
It's THAT GOOD!
-_ I just wanted to add that lol.

Following is my original review from Summer of 2021

You MUST try this game. I cannot overstate this.. I'm starting with that, because I really think (if you came here to check it out), you won't be disappointed. You have nothing to lose. Give it a 2 hour try. You won't return it.
I know that there are many opinions about this game. I've heard about low numbers in multiplayer, the game is still in development, etc.. Sure, Reiza is still updating and improving this game. Bugs still exist.. fine..
But.. if you enjoy racing simulators, are tired of having to mod the heck out of AC just to get it to look like there is weather, if you want more than the same F1 20xx year after year, if you want a racing simulator that has just about every type of vehicle, from all different racing era's (1960s to modern), you owe it to yourself to give this a try.
The variety of race vehicles is mind boggling. And every vehicle has its own sound, its own feel. Try a kart similar to what you will find at your local kart racing track.. the sound of the 2 cycle engine, the incredibly frustrating time delay to get it up to speed, it is all very realistic..
Cars:
The Formula 1 cars, from the 1960s era, into the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and modern ... it is crazy.. These are NOT just vehicles painted to look like they belong in a particular era. They sound and feel like you are in a real Formula 1 car from that era. Each one is unique, from the impossible to control 60s lightweight cars, to the whining engines of the 70s, to the turbos of the 80s, and into the modern cars.. each era, and each car, has its own feel and sound. They did not copy / paste these.
The GT series cars.. I can't even begin to describe how good these are.. if you're into modern GT racing, you have everything, GT3, GT4, GTE, ... take the Corvette out for a spin.. you will not believe the sound...
I have never driven a real race car, only sims.. but the feeling of one of these when turning a corner, pushing the limit of slip... it just feels right,
The "alternative" cars... there is so much here.. just so much.. from the 1970s era stock cars such as Opala, Chevette, .. just really cool cars that were raced in real life on local tracks in Brazil and South America. This is a world those of us in North America and the rest of the world seem to have missed.. it is a very dedicated racing community down there.. and AMS2 represents it well.
The tracks.. every track is .. simply better than what you will see in any other sim.. there are many historical tracks, which (based on the scenery) really make you FEEL like you are back in time.. no safer barriers, sometimes no walls lol.. everything along the track looks like the era you are in...
The weather... you MUST try this game if not only for the weather. Real weather updates, or make your own. The way the weather progresses, the way the water on the track affects your car, how this all looks... no way to describe it.. try it...
There is no way to describe, the sun setting in the west, when the rain stops, and the track is still partially wet, but the glimmer and reflection on the small patches of water on the tracks.. and as day turns from day to late afternoon... the shadows... darker in some spots... sun on the horizon.. simply beautiful.
The AI..
In my opinion, the AI is some of the best out there. They will fight you for position, not just go to sleep, but will race you fair. If you have a position going into a turn, they will typically back off.. but they will continue to push you.. again.. again.. they don't just give up.. so you will have your hands full for an entire race.
You can pit and let your teammate take over.. he/she will drive until you want them to come back in.
So.. I saved the bad parts for the end, but these should not prevent you from trying this game!
Multiplayer: Still a lower player count. You can find, at any time, about 25 to 50 players online.. perhaps 1 or 2 races which have 10 players.. these numbers are increasing weekly. (I am an offline player so I don't care about these things).
Championship bugs. They offer a custom championship mode for offline players like me. It still has bugs (refueling not allowed, points not assigned correctly), but Reiza has been phenomenal in there diligence to fix issues, so there is no doubt in my mind that these will be fixed.
If you want a game that you don't have to do ANY mods to make it work, give this a try.

Hidden Gem. Everything I wanted TSW2 to be.. You really have to give this game a try. Trust me you will be sold before your 2 hour trial is up. The developers are amazing and answer questions freely on the forums. No secrets, and they are up front about their logic and reasoning of what they are trying to produce.

Just as a comparison, what you get for a ONE TIME cost, is probably worth tens of DLC's in other sims.

I am not a VR user, and the scenery is spectacular. My understanding is that it looks gorgeous with VR because it was designed from the ground up with VR in mind (not added later).

Economics:
You basically start out with a license to operate a small engine, capable of about 400T. The introduction and tutorial is perfect, and you will find yourself up and running in no time.
In a nutshell, you take a job, grab any engine that you are licensed for, and figure out how to deliver it to its destination. You then get paid for this, and you also need to subtract any wear and tear / fuel used..
The documents that are provided are actual manuals that you can page through and read. You will have a schematic of the stations and need to figure out how to get your engine hooked up properly in what direction to move things. As you progress, you can purchase licenses for larger engines, more important jobs, etc.. but then your operating costs go up as well.
You MUST pay attention to speed limits and intersections, or you will find yourself going the wrong way or possibly de-railing (bad lol). If you are a serious train simmer, this won't be a problem.
They thought of every detail. You have a little radio that can be used to simulate calling in to have the train track switched up ahead... so you must pay attention to the track signs they ALL mean something (speed limits, upcoming speed limit changes, upcoming intersections, etc.)
You pay for the sand you use, the fuel you use.. so.. use it wisely.
One really great thing is that you will get paid for a job even if you are late, you get a bonus for being early. This way, if something goes wrong, there is no need to rage quit lol.. just finish the job any way you can.
Stuck on a hill with a small engine? How about disconnecting some of the cars, delivering them, and coming back for the rest? You can do this.

Eventually, you can make your own repairs to save money, move up to larger engines (even a steam engine!), and pulling larger and more complicated loads.

Visuals:
This game combines a massive world map (would have to spend a lot of DLCs in other sims) of mountains, rivers, valleys, tracks going through tunnels, over bridges, crossing over each other. The train engines and cars look great.
Not only is the map large, each city and/or station is detailed and has a complex arrangement of tracks, going into/out of turntables, service bays, etc..

There are no magic icons floating around showing you where to go. You have to read the map (and then the individual station schematics) then figure it out! You will read your job instructions. This manual is "printed" out for you at the beginning of your job. It will tell you exactly which set of cars needs to be moved to which location, city and actual rail section! There is no blue bouncy indicator saying "Here I am".. and there is nothing that tells you that you have connected to the correct set, or even that you've gone to the correct town AND correct section of track at the destination! You are FREE to do whatever you want!! If your engine is too small, take some now and come back for more.. lol... crazy but it's doable. As long as the job gets completed, you will get paid. Of course you must pay attention to expenses.

This is unlike all of the other sims, as you must pay attention to these details. I have found myself on more than one occasion going the wrong way.. so I had to find out how to make a run around and get back onto the correct route.

The only CONS:
The engines are generic (probably licensing) so you will be driving, for example an "SE2" small diesel to start with. But they look fabulous.
At this time there is no AI, but this young small team of developers is very energetic and it is planned for the future.
The list of planned items is amazing
http://www.derailvalley.com/unlocks/

Here is a link to a much better written review. I agree with everything this person writes, and I'm lazy so I figured I would just point you there :)
https://gtm.you1.cn/profiles/76561199044644235/recommended/588030/

I highly recommend that you try this. What do you have to lose?

(EDIT) - I DO NOT USE VR!

This is, without a doubt, the best world war 2 flight simulator if you want to play a campaign with historical accuracy.
It is on sale now, you will NOT regret this purchase if you like WW2 sims. I came from the 1990s era Air Warrior and Aces High series, all online but also Janes WW2 fighters (offline). This game blows them away.
If you are interested in WW2, and not shooting unrealistic weapons and gaining bonuses for flying through mushrooms.
It is NOT a "world of something" where you just jump in and fire with endless bullets in an arena full of mixed era planes.
The game does offer that as an option, but I had no interest in online play. I only wish to play a serious campaign, with realistic, historically accurate planes, and as well as accurate weapons.

I do not, for the life of me, understand some of the bad ratings. The campaign, in my opinion is excellent. You really feel like you are back in time, the setting, the news clips, the map of Russia!... all cities, roads, rivers, are there..
Day by day you are sent out on a variety of missions. You get to know your squad mates, as time passes, you are awarded medals for achievements. It is thoroughly rewarding, and you always feel like you've accomplished something if you start out on the ground, complete your mission, and make it back to base, and land safely. These are not trivial things to do! Occasionally, you may not actually spot an enemy the entire mission. Some have complained about this. I think this is realistic. Use this time to familiarize yourself with YOUR plane! Don't switch careers and change planes because there are so many to choose from. Build a career with ONE plane, or at least one family of planes. Stick with fighters for an entire campaign. There was even one mission where all we did was transfer from one airfield to another. No fighting. Some think this is silly, why not just move us automatically? I like it because you still have to get your plane to the new airfield, meaning, you can't abuse it, you have to land it.. no free pass!

By the way, you CAN set so many variables to make it perfect for you. For example, being a little older, I'm not very good. I do want the challenge of takeoffs/landings so I do that, but I put the opponents on easy (and for me even this is challenging!), I leave the map radar on (shows enemy plane locations), and I leave tags on. I also like the option to get throttle assistance. This is important on the 109 as you can easily overheat it. This option basically pulls back on the throttle when it senses the engine getting hot. You CANNOT just fly on full throttle!!! Doing this hasn't really affected my flying skills, and it has taught me that the throttle is great for takeoffs and landings, but it's more important to manage your energy.. another subject.. so many things .. expert players usually have these assists all turned off..
Eventually maybe I will turn those off, but I'm just not there yet. I have only flown the 109, started a career, and died in 4 careers, started each one over again.. still learning that one plane. You will begin to KNOW the difference between a 109-E and a 109-F, I mean you will FEEL how it flies!

The level of detail is incredible. I spent much of my time just reading all of the data on each plane. Pay attention to things like how much extra weight those 20mm cannon gondolas add! Removing the rear metal head protecting shield puts you at risk but gives you just a bit more vision to the rear, and we all know that the 109 is horrendous for visibility!! You have to deal with the same issues.

I really like how the career feels. It's hard to explain but I found myself coming home from work anticipating my next mission. I do not look at the career as an opportunity to quickly go up the ladder to flying jets. I look at the career as a realistic simulation of the war during the months of the campaign that you choose, and with the aircraft available at that time.

What this game is:
A historical re-enactment of the air war on the eastern front. Yes it is a grind, day to day. The planes are historically accurate. The squads are historically accurate. You really need to practice, and get to know your plane's strength's and weaknesses. What's cool is there are a variety of missions, and locations, you are near the front lines, so you can see what's going on down below as well, if you want to. I use autopilot to stay in formation until I feel like I'm close enough where there will be enemies showing up soon. If you think you are going to just jump in the "best" plane and go shoot stuff down, you will be frustrated. Don't get me wrong, the game does offer this option. A quick version where you can set everything on unlimited ammo, and you never die. You can do that if you want.. but ..
This is NOT the way you want to play this game.

You need to pick a side, a scenario, and a group or squad. STAY with that squad, and learn that plane. If it's a 109 F-2 then you will need to fly practice missions to understand the true beauty of this plane. Watch Youtube videos, run practice missions, BEFORE you set out on your first mission. You will soon learn how to fly that baby on the edge, and when you have flown mission after mission, that first time where you are in an energy fight with a Mig, and he tries to turn it into a turning fight, and you don't let him.. over and over.. finally, you get that one chance.. on his rear, and fire a burst... you score hits, pieces come off of his plane, he dives down, but you DO NOT FOLLOW... you peel off and up.. away.. trying to watch him.....follow the smoke trail... you are low on fuel... and ammo.. so you decide to start heading home. Your squad mates are nearby but can't help this time... so then you see a small explosion on the ground.. you have your first kill... great.. but no you have to land this thing.. the 109 has landing gear close together, and it is a tail dragger, so landing is tough.. you come in... slow to 200 km/hr lower the flaps.. lower.. lower (hand cranking takes forever!!!!")... approaching at 200m above ground.. drop the landing gear.. now is the tough part.. hold it steady.. full flaps, gear down.. you have to reduce speed to just above stall...you hear and feel the plane buffeting, now you are holding it in a nose up position so that you land softly, but you can't see the ground!!!! you try to position your head left/right... just about to touch down.. reduce throttle.. you bounce a little.. not too bad.. carefully apply the brakes.. in small doses... not too hard or you'll flip.... let the plane slow down and help with the brake.. slower and slower.. you come to a stop... heart is still beating.. open the canopy... pull off and park, shut down the engines.. this good old 109 got you through another mission.. go have a beer.

Again, if you're looking for a quick shoot em up game, you can do that with this if you want, go online or offline.. but you are missing a thoroughly rewarding history movie that you can be an actor in if you don't give the campaign a shot with somewhat realistic settings on..

CONS: (only one)
The only thing I don't like is that there isn't really any radio communication for you or your teammates (offline only).. don't get me wrong, there is lots of radio chatter, your buddies are talking about what's going on, who they are going to attack, etc.. it's just that YOU as the player can't send a message such as "FIGHTER AT 10 o-clock!" The game actually does that for you lol.. when you are coming in for a landing, in the chat is YOUR player talking to the ground but it's doing it automatically, not when YOU want it to.. there is not command to do that (The old IL-1946 had this).. I hope they add this eventually..
This is such a small negative balanced against all of the positives..
Rating
Graphics 9/10 - I have an old system and the game looks great!
Sounds 9/10
Offline/campaign 9/10
Options 9/10
Fun factor 10/10

As others have, I came from NR2003, GTR2, GSC2012, F1 11/13, F1 99-02, Nascar Heat 4, and iRacing.
The AI in this game is not very good, but I have figured out a way to make them competitive. I only play offline career mode, and I don't use VR. I can only comment on the little bit of multiplayer I have tried, and it was actually good, no problems finding a race, getting it started, and running without any issues. It's just not my cup of tea.
I have a medium to lower PC (i5, 16G ram, GTX with 3G mem) and this game looks beautiful with maximum graphics settings. I tried to run ACC and on my older computer I had to turn down all of the graphics in order to get it to run, barely.. so another reason for me to stay with this game for now.

The AI seems to be too fast during qualifying, and too slow during races, and they all line up and run the same speed. If you set the aggression to maximum, they actually are fun to race against. The problem is finding the right ability to set them at. If you go too low, EVERY car runs too slow. If you set them too high, EVERY car runs out in front.. Now.. to get closer to that "sweet spot" I have decided to run practice and qualifying at xx ability then add 10 points for the race. This seems to put them in a good competitive range. I would say they can be very fun or very boring. It's a guess at each track and car combination. With that said, it still keeps me coming back.
The career mode keeps you interested. They start you out with some lower level cars, but you can skip that if you choose to.. At full length, the seasons start out short and the races are only 15 or 20 minutes long, so you won't get bored. There are plenty of other driver challenges that show up during a career. You have to finish in the top 3 in order to advance to the next higher levels.

I think the physics are very good, compared to all of the other sims. The weather, and views are just gorgeous.
The variety of cars and tracks is just insane. It is just a great sim to come home to and take 20 or 30 minutes, and drive around any track, enjoying the scenery and weather. Maybe at some point I'll get bored, but I haven't yet.


Pros:
Beautiful graphics
Great physics and "feel" of the cars
Great sound
Great variety of cars
Great variety of tracks
Great variety of options, race configurations.
Very fun career mode although not based on any historical season.

Cons
Still haven't quite figured out the AI but.. this should not stop you from buying this game. I'm hoping they continue to work on that. This is really the only negative thing I can say about this game.

Overall, you won't regret purchasing this, especially if you get it on sale.

I gotta say, coming from NR2003, and iRacing, GTR2, F12013, (all PC) I had been looking for a NASCAR game for well over 10 years. I've updated NR2003 as far as I can. Don''t get me wrong, that is still a great game and the best sim, but I was ready to see some new drivers and a new season, as well as something unique that I never had before, the career mode.

To make a long story short, if you are looking for a fun game that is not quite a full sim but not just a kids game, and you want to run stock cars, this game is for you.

I jumped in to a quick race and set the AI to 100 because I wasn't sure where I would be. I will say, at that level, with a default setup, I did not have difficulty starting from the back and getting to the front at Atlanta within about 30 laps. I am a little concerned about that. But I figured, I'm still not at the highest level, and maybe there will be other things I can do to make it more difficult.



Pros:
The sound and the feel inside the cockpit is really great.
If you want to see the latest drivers and cars, as well as run with the latest rules, this is your only option. NR2003 just doesn't cut it anymore.
The "FUN" factor. I just really enjoy the feel of the game. I can't explain it. Maybe because I'm not expecting a full blown sim.
I started a career in the dirt series and it is challenging. Maybe I will change my mind later, but for now it is really fun.

Cons:
Still not sure if the AI will be "easy" once I progress up the ranks into the higher level series.
The spotter is not very reliable. He gets some of the calls right, but many times he is late lol.. calling a car inside after I watch the car go past.
Steering - not bad, but I'm not sure if I have my wheel correct. I use a G27, set it to 900 in the Logitech profiler, tell the game that I use 900 deg.. but it seems like I only turn about 270. For an oval this is no big deal, but I'm not sure about when I get to a road coarse..


Overall I give this an 8.5 out of 10. It is FUN. If you prefer the old NASCAR points system, and the old cars, stick with NR2003.

Outstanding! I am not an experienced player of this type of game and I only have 10+ hours in, but this is one of the most addicting and enjoyable games I have played in a long long time. You can tell that every detail was well thought out. Everything you do affects all of the other aspects of the game. Starting out on easy to medium level allows you to mess around with various things, just to see how they affect everything else. There isn't a manual, but a very clever set of hints, that really forces you to think before you jump in and try to start creating things. The game is forgiving enough that if you make mistakes, you have time to correct them. In fact, I would argue that this is a realistic view on life and how a government can try various policies, some could fail, some work great, but it doesn't mean the economy comes crashing down.
Statistics are kept for just about everything. If you monitor the population, for example, you might learn that many parents are staying home because they can't get their small children to a kindergarten. It doesn't necessarily mean you'll have some revolt on your hands, only that you may want to find out why. Is there a school close by? within walking distance? If not, is there a bus route that allows the kids to get on it? Is the bus waiting for the kids or also picking up adults to take to work? Maybe you need to schedule a separate bus for the kids? Is the school there but full? Does the school have enough teachers? Maybe you forgot that you need educated educators lol..go look at the school, did you provide electricity? ..or maybe the bus is finding out that it doesn't have enough full to get to the station, so it's not going there.. so many possibilities...
You can follow any one vehicle, set it's destinations and purpose, and tweak everything. For example, purchase a truck to go pick up crops from the farm, and take them to the export market. Make sure you get a covered truck capable of carrying produce. If the truck arrives, do you want it to take whatever is there or wait until it is full? or maybe 50% full?
Every person in the game can be followed. You can find out why someone isn't getting to work. Are they too far away from the closest bus station? Are they getting on a bus and going on a route that goes where it is expected?

One of the funnest parts of the game is learning what you can do and how it affects everything else. Building house, roads, sidewalks, and seeing how the people interact, building roads up a mountain..

I've really only just started a small town with some shops, a small industry of stone/gravel, schools, hospital, a few small farms.. just watching everything work together, figuring out how to connect power.. is very gratifying. You really feel that you've accomplished something when you finally see the lights go on at night :)...

I've spent a lot of time picking any one person or vehicle out and following it throughout a day, it helps to understand how things are flowing.

The setting of the game, 1960s era soviet block, and the background music.. I must say this is pure genius. It really pulls you in.. it's hard to explain, I find myself humming these glorious tunes .. wondering what it would have been like had I been born in a soviet block country, ... the massive programs to build up industry .. I think they have something special here..

All this and I haven't even built my first railroad track.. or power plant, or any other factory... I'm simply learning the game by importing just about everything. I only started to build a few farms, get some crops, get some stone out of the mountains.... I'm really just beginning... but I'm really loving it.

I just don't see how you can not love this game. Maybe it's because it is a new genre for me.. I don't know..

I haven't interacted with the developers, but they do appear to be very active.. just today another update... so that's a good thing.

In summary, this is definitely worth the price. You won't regret purchasing this game.