What happened to the screenshots at the start of this thread? Would be interesting to add F1:CE to the mix.
Talking about "extreme" lighting: F1:CE Time Trials have the most extreme lighting effects of any game I've yet seen. It creates a very attractive, atmospheric & "real" seeming environment (but it does make the driving very hard). The in-race lighting effects are much more bland & result in a much less impressive sense of realism IMO.
It leads me to think that "extreme" lighting effects can be a "cheap" way to create a convincing evironment in a racing game. Other games that use extreme lighting that I have come across, are Rallisport Challenge 2 for the X-box, that had some beautifully lit environments & our own favourite EPR, notably in the Dragon Range night touge course, & Wintertraum. The lighting in GT4, in contrast, is fairly "ordinary" IMO, although very well done.
Personally, I think the graphics in Forza I & II are very attractive, they are just not very "realistic" compared to GT4, GTHD & GT5
demo. You are always aware that the graphics are "in a game" as opposed to "IRL".
Quiet Storm: my 2 cents - EPR has inferior graphics to Forza & GT4, inferior sound, inferior car & track content, inferior AI to Forza, no damage, no on-line, no multiplayer, a convoluted & ultimately flawed game-play structure & an annoying & unrace-friendly "penalty" system. On the other hand, it offers a much more detailed & "realistic" weight-transfer & tire physics model that makes the driving very challenging & fun & makes both Forza & GT seem rather bland in comparison. IMO, at its best (ie. Dragon Range), EPR is as good as any console driving experience out there, so far. At $10 I would definitely pick it up & give it a try.
