Game consoles like the Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4 may be the most popular way to play your favorite titles, but traditionally, hardcore gamers have always relied on burly PC gaming rigs to experience the cutting edge of what’s available, not only for their more capable hardware but also because of the availability of more precise methods of controlling the action.
That dynamic continues to hold true today, as evidenced by this footage from Assetto Corsa of a Nissan Nismo GT-R GT3 tackling the Nürburgring in 24-hour endurance race configuration.
Released in late 2014, Assetto Corsa is touted as “a new standard for racing simulators” by gaming site IGN. The game focuses on realism with extensive customization options and game modification support to go along with the developer’s meticulous attention to detail in terms of rendering both the tracks and vehicles. Last month, the “Dream Pack 1” downloadable content was released, offering new vehicles and tracks, including both the GT-R depicted here as well as three different configurations of the Nürburgring course.
We still not sure if we’d consider 60 frame-per-second motion more or less immersive – at times the fluidity seems thrilling, and others, unrealistic. Either way there’s no denying that this game looks impressive, even if our driver’s feet appear to remain motionless. But is it enough to fed off the upcoming Project CARS, which is set to release on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 next month, from stealing the title of the top dog of the racing sims? Guess we’ll just have to find out.