I often have console envy. Ever since the Gran Turismo series debuted on the PlayStation, I've wanted a similar (if not better) game on my beloved PC. Over the years, we've seen a handful of racing games, such as the TOCA series and the first GTR, which provided a solid racing experience, but were just a bit too unforgiving in my eyes. Developer SimBin is back in action again with GTR 2, a sequel with more cars, more features, and still more cars.

The most noteworthy addition in this sequel is the new Driving School mode. It's here that newbie racers will be introduced to the realistic racing of GTR 2. Your first few lessons are literally just driving in a straight line. From there you'll go on to learn the basics of braking, corners, passing, and eventually you'll drive full laps around real-world tracks. Lessons are broken up into multiple parts. Your first lesson in how to handle multiple curves will give you plenty of time to master the technique, the second lesson will require you to finish the task three seconds behind your instructor, then one second, then for the final task you'll have to actually beat your instructor.


There are over 100 different tutorials, so expect a hefty time investment if you plan to go through all of them. The good news is that these tutorials are so exhaustive that once you finish them all you're almost guaranteed to be a better driver. This mode will remind Gran Turismo players of the license tests from that franchise, but the key difference here is that playing through these is completely optional. If you want to just jump into GTR 2 without learning about the finer points of racecar driving, you can make the game more newbie-friendly through the use of multiple driving assists. Steering assists, braking assists, traction control, anti-lock brakes, and even spin recovery are all available for those who just want to get on the track and burn some rubber.

Using assists helps a great deal when it comes to keeping your car under control, but you'll still have to respect the basic laws of driving and physics if you hope to win anything. Even on the easiest setting with maximum assists you can often find yourself plowing into a wall if you approach GTR 2 the same way you would a Need for Speed title. It's a racing simulator through and through: tires wear down, you have to watch your fuel gauge during long races, you'll have to make pit stops, and you can tweak nearly every aspect of your car, from the camber of your wheels to the position of your seat. This level of realism extends to the crashes as well. Bullying your way through a group of cars will most certainly damage your car and result in decreased performance, while smashing into a wall at over 100 mph will bring a race to a very quick end.