Woah.
You'd hope somewhere between the first and second demo, the developers may have strayed onto a few forums, and actually read the opinions of their customers.
Apparently not.
This game has an awesome premise, that's just about enough to make any car enthusiast moist. However, if the demo is any indication, the game is just broken.
Where to begin? Handling. Arcadey? Nope. Simulation? Nope. Sega Genesis? Nope. Shopping trolley with peanut butter wheels? Yes! It's hard to describe the handling of a car game, so thats what the demo is for. Try it. Cars are broken, bikes are broken... its all just broken. Even with all driving aids set to "off" you cant even drift without the computer trying to [badly] counter-steer for you.
What else. Oh yes, this game must have been made by the environmental party, because whoever made this game has no love for cars. The [lack of] attention to detail is shocking. A fine example as pointed out on the GS forums is that the Nissan Skyline is magically left hand drive! Mmm... Purist.
Sound. Yup... they even managed to mess that up. Engines sound dull and boring, even on the most glorious of speaker setups. Nothing else to say about the sound...although I finally understand why my TV has a "Mute" feature.
Graphics. Bhahahahhahahaha. Okay, I get it; it's a huuuuge map, so it's pretty CPU / GPU intensive, so it can't look as nice as PGR. But again, its just bad modelling / texturing. Everything is so bland and utilitarian. Gran Turismo 4 is easily a better looking game. So much for next gen.
Game Balance. This one has me cheesed of the most. As with every game...all sins can be forgiven as long as the end result is fun. This game is far from fun.
So, I booted up the demo, jumped in a Ferrari F430, and thought I'd challenge another player who was on a bike. I knew he'd have me in a straight line, but the twisties should be my territory. So, the first race is pretty much a straight line, and he wins hands down. The second race I get to choose a corse! So I pick a miandering, twisty canyon/tougue route, followed by a long straight, to even things up a bit. I start off down the road, ready to attack the corners....the bike simply dives off the road, drives down the side of the hill, easily dodging the occassional tree and onto the long straight.
What the hell.
Yeah. Broken.