Welcome to our CHEATfactor Game Review of Project Cars. We review the game and then factor in how the available cheats affect the overall game experience. For better or worse, our reviews will help you decide whether or not to use cheats when playing the game.

If a game like Forza Horizon 2 is all about the love the open road, then Project Cars is simply about the love of cars themselves. It's about an unrequited love of pistons, tires, exhaust and horsepower. Car lovers looking for a deep and rewarding experience will find tons of options here to satisfy their cravings for exotic cars and top speeds but it all comes at a price. Project Cars often feels like it's lacking in actual things to do as seen in other modern racing games though my guess is that the core audience won't mind one bit. Project Cars is all about you, the car and the road and it's one of the deepest racing games I've ever played.

You'd be forgiven if you weren't that familiar with Slightly Mad Studios, the developers of Project Cars. They cut their racing teeth mostly on EA's Need for Speed series and have dabbled in other franchises in between but make no mistake about it - Project Cars is a statement game. It's a reintroduction of sorts.  It may have been a risk but it's one that pays off (mostly anyway) wildly. Project Cars is a great mix of depth, choice and surprisingly enough accessibility. The game has a ton of content and isn't afraid to let you experience most of it right off the bat, a gutsy move in the crowded racing sim genre for sure.

Take the game's career mode for example. You're free to start your career in any of the sixteen disciplines (everything from karts to drag racing and Formula One Vehicles), which was refreshing to not be held down by what I could afford to keep in my garage like other games. Though you'll be sticking with whatever you pick throughout at least your first year in the game mode, Project Cars gives you the freedom to try out each to make sure you not only experience it, but get the game you're looking to play. At the end of the first year of your career you can choose to either stay in the same discipline you've been in or accept a contract to race in another, given that you've proven yourself. For what it was worth though, I couldn't figure out just what was causing me to have success or not in my chosen field. I mean, sure there's winning races and all that but it's clearly not tied to monetary prizes or sponsorships, so I often felt like the game was pushing me in the direction of trying as many of the game's modes and cars as possible rather than building up my legacy and profile, which in truth isn't even really a bad thing.

Choice is big in Project Cars, and that's evident throughout the game. You'll have access to more than sixty cars, most of them licensed, a number of tracks and more options than I even care to count. Above all else, this a car lover's game and it's meant for those who love to tinker with options and see how certain features and cars perform in different situations. It's to that effect though that I was a bit disappointed in the lack of customization features in Project Cars. There's stuff to tinker with sure, but compared to games like Forza, DriveClub and Gran Turismo, working in your garage in severely underplayed here and the experience suffers as a result. I loved finding a car that I really worked well with and making it my own, especially when I would take those cars online. It added a level of personalization and personality to the games that Project Cars often feels like it's missing.

That's not to say that Slightly Mad Studios doesn't care about the cars in it's latest game, in fact far from it as this is one of the most in-depth love letters to cars that you'll ever play. Project Cars was built by a dedicated community of racing game fans who worked directly with the game's developers to ensure this was the racing game they've always wanted and the result is something special to be sure. Nearly every part of every car matters here and there are so many options to customize here that racing game fans are sure to fins something new almost each time they play the game. I was also remarkably impressed with just how accessible the game can become with these options. These realistic racing sims have a reputation of just being for the "hardcore players" but the developers have done a great job appealing to both audiences with Project Cars.

Of course, one look at Project Cars and you'll notice that it looks absolutely stunning. Featuring dynamic weather  and time effects, Project Cars looks great on all platforms but obviously stunning when played on a higher end PC. I was most impressed with how rain effects weren't just visual and had a real effect on the game and the outcomes of the race. Similar to Forza Horizon 2, rain and storms cloud your vision on the track and will make it challenging for your tires to grip the track. It's just another example of how much depth is truly on display with Project Cars.

It can be hard for a game to stand out in the crowded racing sim field but Slightly Mad Studio's Project Cars does so with it's impressive attention to detail and mix of depth and accessibility. Those looking for more than just a racing game are still encouraged to check out Forza Horizon 2, but Project Cars is simply one of the best racing games I've ever played.