What's a Caterham? A quick look at the Caterham company website will enlighten you. In short, they are exactly the kind of over-muscled go-kart that get aging lawyers all excited. Let's be frank, you couldn't see someone bombing down the road in one of these without the word "wanker" floating through your mind for at least a few seconds. Still, we're not here to judge anyone who splashes out multiple thousands on one of these in real life, but to find out how much fun you can have with them in the game.
The game provides three varieties of Caterham to play with - the CSR 200, CSR 260 and the CSR 320 Concept. As it turns out, it's quite a hoot to fling yourself around a course in one of these ground-hugging deathwagons. The CSR 200 is the most easily handled, due to its relatively low horsepower. Step into a CSR 320 Concept and you can almost feel a tingling, suicidal aura surrounding it. It's a definite challenge to keep one of these beasties under control, but you'll have fun doing it.
Each car is clearly marked with the number of pedestrians they've hit.
All the options that you expect from a contemporary racing game are present and correct. Quick races, race weekends, full championships, time trials and free practice sessions let you tackle things as you see fit. Knock out a few quick laps before bed or commit to a whole season of racing - it's up to you. The WTCC employs an unusual race format - each racing session consists of two separate races, with the positions of the top eight finishers being swapped for the second race. It keeps things interesting and makes for some good, close racing. Multiplayer options are available, both LAN and internet based. Unfortunately, the internet servers we found were almost completely deserted so you'll most likely be relying on friends to provide any kind of human competition.
Caterham Expansion features an optimised version of RACE's graphical engine, and it certainly goes like the clappers. You might have to turn down a few options when running a race with a full field of 23 opponents but when running practice laps or quick races, there'll be no trouble on anything beyond the most geriatric systems. We had the oddly pleasurable experience of having the game's new performance monitor suggest we turn the graphic options up to get the most out of things. If you insist! "Clean and clear" is the best way to describe the visual presentation of the game. It's not flashy but it does exactly what it needs to. There's a good sensation of speed and it really helps to sell the feeling that you're hurtling along inches above the ground with very little standing between you and several months in hospital. The weather effects are good and the horizon is pop-up free and far enough away that you can always see what's coming. The cars are beautifully modelled and look lovely gleaming in the sun seconds before you plough into them.
There are four in-race camera angles to choose from: in-cockpit, strapped to the hood or front bumper or floating above and behind. In-cockpit gives the most realistically limited view while above and behind gives the best situational awareness. The hood/bumper angles are handy if you're having framerate trouble (elimating your car entirely from view gets rid of a few polygons) or just prefer to live life from the most Jackass-y point of view possible.
Hood-mounted machine gun optional.
The sound is suitably throaty, even if the Caterhams can sound a little like angry lawnmowers now and again. While it's possible that it's completely authentic, it's not the sort of thing you'll want cranked up to full volume while somebody tries to sleep in the room next door.
While RACE sits firmly in the simulation camp, it remains accessible to newcomers and casual racers. You can turn down the realism in many different areas while still maintaining a decent challenge and not dipping too far into arcade-style racing. The physics behind the game feel right. The weight and movement of the Caterhams seems accurate - not that we'd know - and approaching a race with a reasonably real-world attitude tends to pay off. It takes a few practice laps to get braking distances nailed down but there's a well judged learning curve at work here. It's never exactly easy to win a race, but it is possible.
If you want to get really hardcore about it, there are a bewildering number of options for tweaking and tuning your car. None of these options are explained in the game or the manual, so you'll either already know what a differential preload is, or spend a quite a while trying to work out the pros and cons of dabbling with brake ducts. The default car set-ups are quite able to win races, so there's no real need to get your fingernails dirty if you don't want to.
Scientific proof that red is the fastest colour.
You can use pretty much any control scheme you want with RACE. Mouse and keyboard options are available, though really only as a last resort. Some kind of analogue input is highly recommended, either joystick, gamepad or steering wheel. We were able to play well with a gamepad, even if the controls always felt too over-sensitive. No amount of fiddling with dead-zones and sensitivity options ever got rid of the need for the most delicate nudges on the thumbstick while driving. This will obviously vary depending on what you're using, and a steering wheel should prove to be the best option, but it's a small note of concern. It might be wise to take the demo for a spin before buying, and see how your available control options work out.
The Caterham Expansion introduces two new tracks, Estoril and Imola. Imola provides a pleasant hurtle through green and woody hills, while Estoril is a terrifyingly fast track blessed with a number of career-ending hairpin turns. They're both great additions, taking the total number of tracks on offer to twelve.
While the RACE: Caterham Expansion doesn't quite revolutionise the original game, it certainly improves it and extends the lifespan for the very reasonable sum (via Steam) of roughly AUS$5.90. If you don't own the original game, you can get it bundled with the expansion for AUS$30. It might lack the pizazz of other racing titles, but if it's good, solid racing you're after - and you're sick of Formula One cars or the outlaw stylings of Need for Speed and its ilk - the Caterham Expansion will fit the bill perfectly.
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