It's been a while since I last came on to Runestorm, since my comp is hopelessly updated and will remain with UT2004.
Well being the cheap miser I am, I was nosing around for free games, and this one sort of surprised me. I didn't think I could actually find a fairly good online driving game. At all.
The graphics are unusually good, and the gameplay is pretty addicting. The challenges from some tracks are pretty good as well.
In Project Torque, you can buy upgrades and visual additions for your car with the currency earned in-game. However, since they have licenses to allow for actual cars to be included in the game, most of the cars can only be purchased with points from game cards, and other stuff of that type (even though there's three or four cars that are purchasable through the currency earned in game). The good thing is, license tests reward players with new cars, and events are hosted so that players can win some of the cars.
You earn in-game currency by driving more miles, ranking better in a race, and driving cleanly. All players start by playing Arcade mode.
Arcade Mode is a very straightforward, easy experience for new players. You can drive through opponent cars, and I think traction is fixed, so you can't really slip. However, you gain slightly less points for racing in Arcade mode. Once you reach level 6, you take a license test, and the first performance upgrades will become available to you, including a prize SUV for off-road races, and a prize "Thunder Alley" car for that specific game mode.
Once you reach level 6, usually it's wise to play more Arcade until level 8 or 10. Then the Simulation servers won't be as overwhelming.
Simulation is basically self-explanatory. You get penalties in terms of player respect AND driver rating (which is used to determine if you can enter certain races or not) if you crash into opponent cars. The simple tracks of Arcade are rarely played by Simulation players. Long, winding tracks are the norm in Simulation mode, and players with a large level gap in between can possibly have a close race. Traction control is off, so drifting is much easier, but keeping a grip on the road is pretty tough. You generally get more points due to longer tracks, and you also earn a bonus boost to your points earned per game, because you are playing in Simulation mode.
Of course there are other modes: Thunder Alley (like NASCAR), Explorer (Treasure hunt!), CTF, Drift, Drag, and Challenge. The most played, however, are Simulation and Arcade mode.
If you want to check it out, you can download the game and learn more about it here:
http://project-torque.aeriagames.com/
And for those who want to see some screenshots, I took a few. Note that since I want better framerate, I toned down some graphical settings. And I'm only level 8, so I don't win too often of Simulation.
By the way, on the last screen, just to let you know, some players stop before finishing the race so that people can catch up and be able to earn more points. It's a sign of courtesy, but most people are too tense to notice it. Good thing that guy waited up though
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