PC Powerplay #236 February 2015

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, I’m Flight Lieutenant Bennett Ring, and I’ll be your captain for this issue. We’re expecting a smooth flight through some of the biggest simulation releases due in the near future, while also taking a scenic jaunt to appreciate the incredible work of a team of devoted IL2 lovers. Training for today’s issue took place at RAAF base Richmond, where I spent some quality time getting up close and personal with the $25 million C-130J simulator, with further assistance provided by Nick Percat, V8 Supercar driver and avid iRacer. Rounding out the issue are reviews of 2014’s biggest sims – and it’s been a bumper year – and you might like to do a spot of inflight shopping once you see our coverage of the latest…

Most truly great simulators focus on a single thing, obsessing over detail for maximum realism. There are many simulators that cover multiple ideas or gameplay styles, but many of these feel watered down, as that obsessive eye can’t practically be focussed on everything at once. These so called “survey sims”, a term loaded with derogatory meaning are often viewed as the arcade games of the hardcore simulator world, but sometimes there comes a game of massive scope and equally massive amounts of detail. Dangerous Waters is one such game. Something of a sequel (at least in spirit) to the insanely detailed and deep Sub Command, Dangerous Waters expands the scope of naval combat by not only including the submarines from Sub Command but also gave players the option to play…

DEVELOPER KUNOS SIMULAZIONI PUBLISHER KUNOS SIMULAZIONI PRICE US$39.99 AVAILABLE AT STEAM www.assettocorsa.net Whether it’s their love of good food, fine wine or close family, Italian culture is renowned for being passionate. Developed by a tiny Italian studio named Kunos Simulazioni, Assetto Corsa is a love letter from Italians to the art of motorsport, alight with the fierce obsession many Italians feel for high-speed vehicles. There’s a reason that the world’s most recognised supercar manufacturer, Ferrari, calls Italy home, and that desire is celebrated in this wonderful simulator. At the heart of any good driving sim is an accomplished physics model, the complex mixture of mathematics, science and art that attempts to replicate the way each car interacts with the road. It’s here that Assetto Corsa absolutely shines, with every cars’…

Combine Assetto Corsa with the Oculus Rift Developer Kit 2 and the result is one of the best VR demos available. Each car’s intricate cockpit encloses the player perfectly, and the ability to scan for nearby cars makes overtaking and blocking easier than ever. Unfortunately the menu system is horrible, a common complaint with Rift games. There’s also the issue of resolution, with distant brake-markers difficult to see until they approach medium range. Regardless of these issues, playing Assetto Corsa in VR mode is one of the most immersive driving experiences available.…

DEVELOPER 1C GAME STUDIOS PUBLISHER 1C GAME STUDIOS PRICE US$49.99 Standard Edition; US$99.99 Premium Edition AVAILABLE AT STEAM http://il2sturmovik.com If you purchased the last game in the IL2 series, Cliffs of Dover, and would rather go down in a burning BF-109 than ever support such a buggy franchise again, I’m here to relieve your woes. The latest game in the biggest combat flight sim franchise of all time is an entirely different critter, scaling back the insane ambitions of CoD to deliver a much more focused, tailored experience. Key to this is the involvement of 777 studios, makers of the brilliant Rise of Flight, who merged with key members of the original IL2 team to form 1C Game Studios. Like the original IL2, Battle of Stalingrad foregoes the famous Battle…

DEVELOPER CODEMASTERS BIRMINGHAM PUBLISHER CODEMASTERS PRICE $49.99 AVAILABLE AT STEAM, RETAIL www.formula1-game.com When Codemasters released the first reboot of the F1 series back in 2010, simmers felt blessed to finally have an F1 game built on current technology. It somehow managed to straddle the razor thin line between accessible and hardcore, and debuted as one of the most beautiful representations of the world’s premiere motorsport. We’ve had three more games since then, and each has been less ambitious than its predecessor. To put it bluntly, Codies has milked the franchise dry, and this year’s entry is sadly the worst of the lot. It’s not just because the game engine appears to be identical to last year, as are the majority of the tracks. If it wasn’t for the change in…