Kono kanji…

I have been playing some PC racing games lately (mostly various Need For Speed titles) and discovered a fun (and free) online racing game called Project Torque. It’s only for North America (due to an imposed IP ban) but there are regional versions for much of the world (although I think they are named Level R).

Project Torque is closed track (and closed street) online racing, has lots of cars and several modes of play including: fast oval track draft racing (Thunder Alley), simulation race mode, arcade race mode,  capture the flag, explorer mode, drift, and drag racing. One of the things I really enjoy is that there are a ton of different levels and variants of levels and many different types of road conditions including dirt/mud tracks for the 4 wheel drive fans out there (yes, the game has 4WD racing too). There is an update for the game coming soon that may add/remove some modes of play, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…

As I mentioned, it’s free to play, but you can buy things in-game with real money if you choose to (micro-transactions). However, you can still play the full game and be competitive without spending any real money (I admit I bought a Corolla in the game for a few bucks using PayPal, but it was worth it, lol).

I’ve enjoyed racing games so much lately I went and bought a Thrustmaster Ferrari F430 Force Feedback Wheel, and I really like it. I was using my old X-Box MC2 steering wheel (via USB adapter) and it was OK, but I already broke one (I have 2) playing Project Torque and the steering response wasn’t great (and it had a little dead-zone problem). My new wheel is great, the force feedback is really nice (I can feel the road now), the buttons are placed well on the wheel (all easy to get to) and there is no dead-zone problem anymore!!!

You can find more information out at the Project Torque site and forums, you can download Project Torque here.

Project Torque is published by Invictus Gaming and run by Aeria Games in North America and Gamigo in much of the world.

EDIT: I have added a gallery of Project Torque screenshots and the official Project Torque trailer (2010-June-15).