Hi all,

So I saw a lot of heat been given on Hotukdeals for Drive Club on the European PSN store Black Friday deals. It got me curious, has this game had the issues surrounding its launch (content, online not working properly, handling issues) resolved? Is this game something that can be recommended to people who enjoy Forza Motorsport (i.e. people like myself)?

I think the offer was game plus season pass for £10 (so say, $15-20 US) but I do not know if this is still on or not as I do not have access to a PS4 or Ps Plus which was required to buy the deal.

Thank you.

The game functions now. It's just not, well, good. I got it because I was desperate for a racing game of any kind other than what Need for Speed Rivals was offering (and, at that time, Rivals was the only other title in the genre on the platform).

I think I completed three events and uninstalled it. Really great use of my money.

The driving in the game is kind of weird. It's not really simulation and not really arcadey. It gives a pretty bad first impression but once I figured out how you're supposed to drive, I had a lot of fun with it. It also looks really really good. I think when I bought it, it was around $20 for everything and I'm definitely happy with what I got for that.

I think that would be problematic for me. I like a defined handling model when it comes to racing games. I think the only games I can think of that managed to go between both and feel natural was the Project Gotham series and Blur (which happened to be by the same developer).

This is disappointing to read that the game is not great, but I guess for the cheaper price point, if that comes about again in a sale if/when I get a PlayStation 4 I may give it a look then. Roll on Gran Turismo Sport I guess :P

Hunkulese, what sort of tracks are included with the game? Is this a Forza Motorsport like experience (i.e. real life tracks) or is this more Horizon in style (i.e. open roads/tracks made out of street roads)?

I lost interest in it. It works but, looks aside, its fairly average.

There aren't any traditional tracks like Nurbergring. They based the tracks on real roads but not actual circuits which seems like a strange design choice.

People like to shit all over this game because it had a crappy start, which did suck. But since then, it has redeemed itself and then some. I think the racing is great, the sense of speed is probably the best ive seen, the graphics are top tier and performance is spot on. Lots of free content updates, and meaningful paid DLC has added a lot to it as well. Its no GT, But I enjoyed it more than I have the Forza annual retreads.

It seemed to be going for something like Grid - a semi realistic racing model with a bit of arcade mixed in. Somehow Grid got it right and Driveclub sort of didn't. Some people swear by it, but to me it was a game devoid of any life or character. If you want racing and just racing, but not necessarily sim racing or arcade racing either.. then I guess it's there.

I keep coming back to it every few months to try it again and I just can't make it stick.

The last time was a few days ago. I took part in an 8 lap race which took about 12 minutes. I was coming in first and ended up clipping the invisible collision at the edge of the final corner as I took it slightly too tight and span out. Ended up finishing 7th. I know this has been said a lot, and I know people get really anal about it but, that game needs a rewind feature like Forza. I get it, it's not 'pure' racing that way, but in single player I don't care. I felt overly punished for one tiny mistake at the end and now I'm not going to touch it for months again.

To me DC feels like a pretty decent spiritual successor to PGR, so if you liked that one, you may like DC, too. Sure, it had lots of issues at launch, but I'd argue that they've not only fixed those, but have gone beyond that in making up for the initial mess.

What it lacks compared to Grid or other arcadey racing games is all the flashy menus and transitions and dumb career modes with "coaches" telling you how awesome you are, which really got on my nerves in Grid and Dirt. I just wanna race, and this game gives me just that, so I like it. If you have friends playing or having played it, all the better, because you'll have their times to compete with or send challenges to each other.

What I'm saying, basically, is that whether you'll like it or not depends a lot on what you want or expect from it. DC is pretty good for what it is, some people just don't want what it offers, and that's fine, there are other games out there which do. A handful of people seem to keep shitting on it, which, I think, at this point is undeserved.

Also, it's bloody gorgeous looking and sounding! (Which wouldn't mean much if it played like shit, but it doesn't, so looking that good is a plus.)

I had the same impression as well.

I rented it a few months ago and enjoyed my time, for what it's worth. I think it was strictly European cars, though, which was kind of a bummer, but it was still a solid game once they figured out all the bs.

Don't go into DriveClub wanting something like Forza, DC is a weird blend of sim and arcade. I ended up really liking the blend of sim aesthetic and semi-arcade feel. It is nothing like a NFS when it comes to handling but also isn't as technical as a true sim like Forza or Project Cars. I think the talk of the handling being bad is just people not willing to give it a chance, most people go into it expecting it to feel like a sim and when it doesn't feel like a sim racer or an arcade racer they just call it bad. Once you get a feel for the handling it is incredibly fun to play. It gives a feel of realism but just stretched to the point where you feel like you are a god behind the wheel.

The drifting in DC is pretty unique, compared to other racing games I have played. It isn't the crazy NFS style drifts where you just tap the brake and immediately start drifting as 120 MPH, instead you have to take your speed and approach angle into account. The drift events are set up so that you gain points for high speed during the straight/slightly curved sections, so to get a high score you shouldn't just be busting out these massive drifts where you spin out at the end, but rather controlled drifts where you are able to maintain maximum speed throughout the course.

Pretty much I think calling DriveClub a bad game is totally wrong, it does what it aims to do pretty darn well. Just that isn't what many people want or are willing to adjust to.

I will say I wish the car selection was a bit more interesting, I love European super cars as much as the next guy but having to wait like 6 months for any Japanese car was kind of crazy. Also the game is really lacking in terms of Hot Hatches.

To be fair, I got the game somewhere around March or April, so I think by then they'd added more cars. Or I didn't notice initially, because I like Italian cars, so I was pretty much covered. It does have a more varied selection now, although some classes are worse than others (Hot Hatches, as Zella says, especially).

Handling also differs quite a lot between classes and cars, and, if I recall correctly, the first couple of cars you get access to in the Tours are, well, not the best ones in the game. So, between that and its whole driving model requiring some getting used to, I can see how it might have turned some people off, if they weren't willing to give it some time or a fair chance.

Also, dat rain on the windshield! Definitely one of the strongest "next-gen" moments for me.