I am really enjoying playing this game. The Cockpit view is absolutely fantastic. I also like the career mode, there is rarely a time when you do not have the right car to compete in an event, and there are a lot of different types of races. I also like the Invitational concept and car battle where you get to compete in a car beyond your current level. This really mixes things up, rather than forcing the player to put in hour after hour after hour before they can get to the fast uber cars.
There may not be as many cars in this game as Forza or GT, but heck, if I want to drive a Toyota Solara, I will go out to my driveway. I am currently in Tier 2 on the verge of going to Tier 3 and, in my view, the cars are awesome, cannot wait to see the cars that lie ahead.
As to the online mode, the game just came out and I had a hard time tonight finding a match with more than 4 players, and when I did, it was absolute slop mode. The netcode seemed to be great though. I am on a good cable modem connection and had no lag issues at all. Again, I have not spent a great deal of time online yet , so do not take what I say as definitive here. However, I will say that the online mode is pretty bare bones, I wish it had more options in terms of searching for games and what not, there is also no racing TV or anything like in Forza. I think this title would have benefitted a great deal from a more robust online mode.
The real winner in this game though is the cockpit view, it is amazing-the camera angles are done so well that its incredibly exciting to play this game. I have been playing all day and can't put the thing down.
In summary, if simulation racing is the primary genre of game you like to play, then you might want to to wait until Forza or GT. On the other hand, if you are like me, and enjoy a good racing game, but want decent simulation but a little more in the way of thrills and accessibility, then you can't go wrong with this game. I would be very surprised if Forza has either generally better graphics or a better cockpit mode.
