GT Legends: What is it like

Stuart Pocock · Mar 4, 2012

Hi everyone,
Due to the lack of quality console racing these days I have been looking at PC sims. I bought race 07 and to be fair i wasn't overlay impressed. I've been doing a bit research on PC sims and GT legends kept popping up, I am seriously considering buying it but before I do I would be grateful for your opinions on GT Legends. Many thanks in advance

Senad Subasic · Mar 4, 2012

Stuart Pocock said:
Hi everyone,
Due to the lack of quality console racing these days I have been looking at PC sims. I bought race 07 and to be fair i wasn't overlay impressed. I've been doing a bit research on PC sims and GT legends kept popping up, I am seriously considering buying it but before I do I would be grateful for your opinions on GT Legends. Many thanks in advance

Get it. Cheap, good fun, great racing club and league here. My favourite racing game. Or, my favourite game to race here.

Stuart Pocock · Mar 4, 2012

What the graphics like?

Senad Subasic · Mar 4, 2012

Stuart Pocock said:
What the graphics like?

It's a fairly old game now, but it looks pretty good to me. Much better than Race 07 for example.

I have a couple of unedited videos:

Stuart Pocock · Mar 4, 2012

Wow, graphics definitely look better.

Warren Dawes · Mar 4, 2012

GTL may be getting a little long on the tooth now, but it is still a classic, and compares very favourably to the newer Sims.
It depends a bit on what type of racing you prefer. These are the older cars, but that is what makes the Sim so great. These cars need some skill and patience to drive well, they represent the days when the cars had some character and weren't glued to the road. Best of all, the variety of cars in GTL is huge, every car handles distinctly, not a tiny variation from the bunch (like Race 07). You get nimble Mini's, Fiat's, Cortina's, through to overpowered Corvettes, GT40's, Capri's. Not to mention the massive range of addon cars now available for download.
Sounds are brilliant too.
If you enjoy clean, fun, on-line racing, the RD GTL Club is one of the best around. Very helpful, clean drivers, with a true sense of friendly spirit.
I'd highly recommend GTL to anyone who appreciates quality driving over fancy graphics. (The graphics are fine anyway).

Stuart Pocock · Mar 5, 2012

Thanks for your comments, I'll be ordering some time today.

UMC 22 · Mar 5, 2012

I can't really add anything to what Warren has already said. GTL is a brilliant sim which kicks seven shades of excrement out of the console sim you have been playing.

(But then, so does Race 07 in my opinion.)

No, the graphics are not as good because it's an old game and the emphasis was on racing rather than a 'photomode'. If you were not impressed by Race 07's graphics then you won't be impressed with GTL's either because they're pretty much the same... same developer, same game engine, and GTL is actually older.

But the point is that GTL has it where it counts. Good physics, great cars, and an excellent Club here on RD. For the small cost of buying the game from RaceRoom you can't go wrong.

Warren Dawes · Mar 5, 2012

Ross Garland said:
For the small cost of buying the game from RaceRoom you can't go wrong.

Oh, that reminds me. Buy the download version, especially if you have Windows 7.
If you buy the original DVD version, it has Starforce Copy Protection which is no longer supported by Windows 7.
That was the one weakness with GTL.
If you have the DVD version, you can claim a free Download version, but I'd strongly recommend buying on-line via the new Download version. It's probably cheaper anyway.

Stuart Pocock · Mar 5, 2012

Thanks for that Warren.

Stuart Thomson · Mar 5, 2012

The only problem with GTL here at RD is that the Staff is an idiot.

Hang on...

Ivo Simons · Mar 5, 2012

True that.

Tim Ling · Mar 5, 2012

Stuart Thomson said:
The only problem with GTL here at RD is that the Staff is an idiot.

Hang on...

What a lie, the GTL staff is the best in the whole of RD!

(That's gotta be worth a pole position)

Seriously, GTL feels more "real" than the Race series, and GT5, and the people who race in the club are a great bunch, who will stop if they knock you off track. Come join us Stuart, and make sure you join the Boss series, such an awesome car

Warren Dawes · Mar 5, 2012

Can we handle two Stuart's in the GTL Club.

Stuart Thomson · Mar 5, 2012

one's a struggle at the best of times

Stuart Thomson · Mar 5, 2012

All joking aside, GTL graphics are entirely acceptable even by the latest standards, they do exactly what they need to - allow you to gauge speeds, positions etc. while being immersive enough for you to concentrate on racing other drivers. And the twilight lighting as the sun goes down is still the best I've ever seen to date.

Warren has covered the cars, but he is absolutely right and it bears repeating. There aren't cars where you can go with the default and just tweak a bit of aero at one end to get it handling how you want. My biggest complaint against Race is that the cars feel a little "homogenous" - a claim that cannot be levelled at GTL vehicles. Even cars that are ostensibly similar, and prove to be well matched in timings (as an example, the Lotus Cortina & the Alfa GTA) deliver their performance in such diverse ways that you do not feel that it's the same car with a couple of weight/power tweaks, which is how Race often feels to me.

Stuart Pocock · Mar 5, 2012

Stuart Thomson said:
There aren't cars where you can go with the default and just tweak a bit of aero at one end to get it handling how you want.

Could be fun as I can't tune anything

Tim Ling · Mar 5, 2012

Stuart Pocock said:
Could be fun as I can't tune anything

No problem Stuart-2, setups are shared well in GTL, even in the leagues

UMC 22 · Mar 5, 2012

Warren Dawes said:
Can we handle two Stuart's in the GTL Club.

There are two Rosss. I feel flattered by all the positive comments I hear until I realise people are talking about the McGregor variety, not the Garland.