Posted in: Games | Tagged: Andy Tudor, Bandai Namco, Ben Collins, Ian Bell, Nicolas Hamilton, Slightly Mad Studios, Stephen Viljoen

Project CARS 2 Plans To Take Out Forza And GranTurismo

Ben Collins, Forumal 1 racer and one of the many drivers who has worn the mantle of Top Gear's The Stig, has been working with Slightly Mad Studios on Project CARS 2 in order to make it a racing game that actually feels like racing. Collins, game director Stephen Viljoen, and creative director Andy Tudor spoke with IGN about their work on the first game and now on the sequel.

Collins famously spoke out against racing games like Forza and GranTurismo for "feeling too gamey." Ian Bell, CEO of Slightly Mad Studios, went to Collins with the original Project Cars, hoping it would be a racing game that "felt like it should feel, rather than be obscenely tricky just for the sake of it." Collins worked with Slightly Mad Studios on the handling for the original Project CARS along with another UK racing driver, Nicolas Hamilton.

About the original Project CARS, Collins said "This process took some getting used to but after two or three years that polished version of Project CARS 1 was really fantastic." Which is glowing praise from a noted cynic.

Collins went on to speak about the work the Project CARS 2 has been doing saying, "They absolutely cracked it," he says. "Whatever it was, they identified the secret ingredient that really makes the cars come to life… You can push them to the limit, and you can go over the limit. You won't set the fastest time but you won't spin off, and it's intuitive to drive, it's totally immersive…"

The team has managed to get licenses to a decent number of cars as shown off by their latest updates. And they're looking forward to expanding their esports competitions.

Tudor summed up their experience, saying: "Just to rewind back in time, the reason we started crowdfunding Project CARS 1 is because we went to big massive publishers and said, 'We've got an idea for a racing game; it's gonna take on Forza and Gran Turismo'… So we made it on our own, and we did a good job, and now look what's happened… We're here to win on this."

Read the full interview on IGN or check out some of our other coverage of Project CARS 2 here and here.

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