FWIW. Some thoughts based on having played the game for about 8 or 9 hours so far using a G25 wheel.
Is the game worth it?
My break even point is when a game can provide entertainment for $1 hr or less. For this game I would need to play it for around 55 hours to get to that point. So far I think that I will get that much game time out of this and probably more.
How is gameplay?
So far so good. I have read a number of complaints about bugs and other issues which almost deterred me from purchasing the game but so far I have not encountered any (granted in only 8 hours of gameplay). I have raced all the tracks in Grand Prix mode (3 laps usually) and have started career mode and I am now up to the third race. I have turned off most of the assists with the exception of keeping traction control at medium. My one major complaint so far is not having enough (or correct) force feedback when losing traction and as such I left on some traction control until I better learn the handling and physics particular to this game. At my current level of assist settings and difficulty level (easy) I think the game will start to get too easy soon but I am hoping the other difficulty levels will provide a greater challenge when that time comes. The one thing for sure is that the game is accessible for those that are more casual and less sim.
How about the graphics?
For someone looking at another person race or viewing replays the graphics are clearly not as good as GT5P but they are a little better than Ferrari Challenge or Supercar Challenge. For me though racing behind the wheel focusing on the race the graphics were certainly good enough.
Will this pass the time before GT5?
For me I think so. It will probably take me another week or so to work though the 1st season in career mode alone and I haven't tried on-line yet. I can't say how much I will play this game after November 2 though.
Is the game worth it?
My break even point is when a game can provide entertainment for $1 hr or less. For this game I would need to play it for around 55 hours to get to that point. So far I think that I will get that much game time out of this and probably more.
How is gameplay?
So far so good. I have read a number of complaints about bugs and other issues which almost deterred me from purchasing the game but so far I have not encountered any (granted in only 8 hours of gameplay). I have raced all the tracks in Grand Prix mode (3 laps usually) and have started career mode and I am now up to the third race. I have turned off most of the assists with the exception of keeping traction control at medium. My one major complaint so far is not having enough (or correct) force feedback when losing traction and as such I left on some traction control until I better learn the handling and physics particular to this game. At my current level of assist settings and difficulty level (easy) I think the game will start to get too easy soon but I am hoping the other difficulty levels will provide a greater challenge when that time comes. The one thing for sure is that the game is accessible for those that are more casual and less sim.
How about the graphics?
For someone looking at another person race or viewing replays the graphics are clearly not as good as GT5P but they are a little better than Ferrari Challenge or Supercar Challenge. For me though racing behind the wheel focusing on the race the graphics were certainly good enough.
Will this pass the time before GT5?
For me I think so. It will probably take me another week or so to work though the 1st season in career mode alone and I haven't tried on-line yet. I can't say how much I will play this game after November 2 though.