For my fellow GAFfers who are big racing game fans, does the lack of customization in #Driveclub hurt its appeal? I ask this as somebody who isn't into racing games but is curious.
There is no doubt this is a beautiful looking racing game. I only hope the gameplay is good enough for racing fans to really enjoy it.
Depends on what customisations you speak of. It has some in the way of custom liveries etc, which unfortunately I'm not really interested in. In my arcade racers I don't really care for performance tweaks in the sense of changing downforce, dampers, suspension etc either. What I will definitely miss is performance upgrades, especially those pertaining to the exterior of the car. I think being able to buy things like spoilers, side skirts, front and rear bumpers, new alloys etc etc, definitely allows a sense of added personality and reward factor with vehicles.
Whilst I'm slightly disappointed such upgrades don't exist in DC, I'm not overly bothered as it is the first game in the franchise, and it does still have lots of other things to offer. Like the immensely atmospheric and dynamic racing. The stunning tracks, the gorgeous lighting and weather effects that truly add a sense of realism and diversity to each and every track, the beautiful vistas, overall feel and response of the vehicles, the different effects, the sense of speed and feedback, the challenging component AI, the immense vehicle audio and delivery of surrounding vehicle or ambient sounds, from wind, weather, gravel etc, the challenges, the immense graphics and car modelling/materials, the social and club aspects, the new dash cam view, the globe trotting tracks etc etc.
Everything about it is very exotic, thrilling and imo looks like it captures the essence of driving an aggressive sports or super car through these amazing locales, against other similarly outrageous and highly competitive vehicles, better than most if not all other racers I've seen. Even the way the car's bump around, the way they react to elevation changes and dips in the road, the use of motion blur, the way the camera cleverly chooses when to move, zoom in or out, vertically shift etc etc. All things that just give the racing in this game a great added sense of weight and power.