Be Excellent To Each Other

Has anyone else tried this? It's a new game from legendary (Screamer, SBK, Apex, and the new WRC licenced title) racing devs Milestone.

It's based around the Italian Superstars Championship, and lets you drive V8 touring cars around a number of familiar (and some unfamiliar tracks). The demo is on XBL, and I do wonder if it's finally a successor to the great TOCA games on the PSX. It seems to share an engine with their forthcoming SBK X game, given the features like changeable weather.

The Good:
-nice selection of tracks, including Monza, Mugello, Valencia, Kyalami, Portimao (the ones I know)
-16 cars on the track at once!
-weather effects, including changing conditions midrace (track drying out or becoming increasingly waterlogged)
-more than one in-car view, so you can adjust how much cockpit you see (normal chase and hood cam are there too)
-fun physics, haven't had much practice but devastating powerslides are possible
-Quattroporte vs 300C!

The Bad:
-physics slightly suspect, brakes for example seem a bit weedy
-AI pack can bunch up a bit leaving you with no way past
-cars seem a bit 'big'... which is to say, slightly out of scale with the tracks
-of slightly limited appeal: in a world with Forza's hundreds of cars and dozens of tracks, this might feel claustrophobic in comparison
-not much tuning or upgrading of your car

The Ugly:
-looking around controls very poor - only work in car (other views rear view only)
-limited tracks and cars, unlike TOCAs of old which packed in all the extra things for fun like the Loch circuit or the exotic cars.
-graphics not to Forza standards

I really like the idea behind it - it reminds me of the old days where you could have an entire game based solely around a more obscure championship like the Swedish Touring Cars, the Paris-Dakar, the RAC Rally, or Super Trucks racing. I loved the old Codebastards TOCA games (before those were diluted with shit) and this feels so much like it: a big pack of overpowered touring cars fighting their way around circuits, lots of contact, lots of insane overtaking on the inside and outside of bends.

I realize Forza offers proper race-class events but something about them doesn't always feel 'right'...

Played the first Superstars V8 demo and it was awful. Haven't tried this one yet.

Was aware of the first one but never tried it. This is fun, having a large number of cars on the track is great!

I'm not sure why you didn't pick up Race Pro if you wanted more cars on the track and proper race series.

The circuit choice is appealing, as is (presumably) proper qualifying.

Interested after the general letdown of forza 3.

Yah first one was utter shit.

Not sure about qualifying, the demo only has the single race and you can choose your start position.

HOWEVER, it is based on SBK X and SBK09 has proper qualifying sessions.

Thinking I might preorder from Amazon... something about Forza 3 is not right but I just can't be bothered with any of the R2 championship races the season mode is forcing me to do.

Race Pro.

What about it?

Get it.

I think I'm going to need to build an extension to house the famous "Games myp said we'd play" collection.

Go on, give me the list then.

Sorry, my team of specialized stocktakers are still compiling the list.