Race Pro review

Send in the professionals

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    No-frills approach

  • +

    Finally a hardcore racing sim on Live

  • +

    Online championships will last years

Cons

  • -

    Lacks expected presentation

  • -

    Graphics could look a little slicker

  • -

    Career mode isn't massive

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Without doubt, Race Pro is going to test even the most enthusiastic of console racers and for a number of reasons. We’ve been raised and spoilt with high production, big budget, bells-and-whistles racing games for years. Need For Speeds, Forzas, Gothams, Gran Turismos and GRID have accustomed us to extremely high standards. And here rocks up Race Pro, looking a bit rough around the edges, with five-year-old-PC-game presentation, and it expects us to sit up and pay attention. And you know what? You should…

If you don’t know already, developers SimBin are not only run by a talented chap who happens to also be two-time Swedish GT Racing Champion, they also have an extensive gaming past with PC Touring Car and GT simulators like Race 07 and GTR.

Predictably, like their previous titles, Race Pro is an equally no-nonsense simulator that combines a similar range of vehicles like you’d find in GRiD (such as the Mini Cooper, Radical, Caterham, Formula BMW, Aston Martin DB9 and Koenigsegg) with simulation racing of a similar depth to Forza. To be brutally honest, Race Pro doesn’t look as pretty as either of these, but then, you don’t have to be a good looker to be a good racing game. You’ll have to play it ‘properly’ to find out, though. While driver assistance and a forgiving AI learning curve have been added to make the game more accessible to the console audience, all they managed to achieve it to desensitize you from what the game can actually do.

Only when you turn off as many aids as you can handle and truly immerse yourself in the experience will you appreciate what Race Pro is capable of. It’s not a tyre smoke fuelled crash-fest (in fact, the damage system feels fairly rudimentary), but it’s a rare opportunity to play accurate, FIA-approved seasons and championships.

Unfortunately for those without Xbox Live (or a system link cable), you’ll soon find the limitations of the single-player mode. Okay, so there’s a career mode and a full-on championship mode (if you wish to create your own Touring Car or single-make season) but they won’t last long. In truth, they’re little more than training for what the game will be bought for – extremely hard-fought online racing. This is where Race Pro will find its niche – with the Andy Priaulx baseball cap-wearing enthusiasts with the permanent race seat rigging in their bedrooms.

Look past the presentation shortcomings and you’ll find that Race Pro is an exercise of function over form. So functional that it will scare off many gamers. Yes, the graphics look grainy and unpolished. Yes, crash into another car and it sounds like the crumpling of a crisp packet rather than several tonnes of metal colliding. And yes, the career mode is hardly imaginative. But if you’re a true racing fan, Race Pro is the no-frills motorsport simulator you’ve been waiting for. See you online...

Feb 17, 2009

More info

GenreRacing
DescriptionOne of the few and the best hardcore racing sims for the 360, it gives what its niche audience wants, but doesn't offer much for the outsider.
Platform"Xbox 360"
US censor rating"Everyone"
UK censor rating"3+"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
More
CATEGORIES
Latest in Racing
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Nintendo knows you're waiting for Mario Kart 9, but it still wants you to run a million laps in Mario Kart 8 first
Wheel World
The spirit of Burnout Paradise lives on in this fabulous bicycle racing game from the makers of my favorite indie fighting game – a true Steam Next Fest gem
Sonic Racing CrossWorlds
Sonic Racing CrossWorlds announcement trailer proves Sega is coming for Mario Kart 9's throne with transforming cars and a closed beta this month
Need For Speed Unbound
The Need For Speed series is pumping the brakes as "Criterion are joining their colleagues working on Battlefield" instead of tuning more cars
Forza Horizon 5 the real deal reasonably priced car seasonal championship volvo 850 R racing
Forza Horizon 5 is the latest Xbox game to make the leap to PS5, and it's launching this spring with all of the same content and DLC
Tokyo Xtreme Racer
Cult classic racing series returns 18 years after its once-final entry on Xbox 360 to 95% overwhelmingly positive Steam reviews
Latest in Reviews
Lenovo Legion Go S with FlyKnight gameplay on screen featuring player character holding bow and arrow with enemy ant in backdrop.
Lenovo Legion Go S Windows 11 review: “my heart aches for this mixed up handheld”
Talisman 5th Edition game components
Talisman 5th Edition review: "The characterful imperfections of the original game remain clear to see "
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 review: "A colossal package even if you never go anywhere near Virtual Currency"
Altered: Trial by Frost booster box and packs on a playmat
Altered: Trial by Frost review - "Satisfying enough to offer highly varied gameplay"
Three SteelSeries QcK Performance mouse pads on a wooden desk
I didn't expect to prefer a coarser mouse pad, but SteelSeries' new QcK Performance range has changed my mind
Boro and Alta sit on a bench together in Wanderstop
Wanderstop review: "Exalting the transformative power of tea"