Here you start off  racing a 1950 356…yes, the 44hp one, and as you win races, it becomes possible to tweak your car with hot parts, or buy other cars to compete in new tournaments, and you are rewarded for your success.

More tracks and more cars become available as your career progresses, and you can even buy used cars on the “open market” then fix them up and race them, or sell them for a profit!  Each car type has distinctive handling and engine sound...recorded from real Porsches! There’s even a history lesson in here too.  Porsche Chronicle documents the development of the company’s great cars using movies, a timeline, and still photos.   Oh, the opening movie is worth mentioning as well...it’s very entertaining!

The game’s 3-D graphics are quite impressive.  Some scenes are almost postcard quality.  Monte Carlo at night can be especially dramatic.  However, before you buy, make sure your PC is up to the task.  I have (gulp!) an old AMD 350Mhz CPU, and a 32MB InVidia graphics card, and I would say that this is barely adequate to run the game properly. I still get some jerkiness at the high speeds the faster cars are capable of.  Also, I would recommend adding a steering wheel and pedals ($35).  Driving the cars with a joystick or worse...the keyboard, just doesn’t cut it.

Naturally, it’s possible to customize the game to a high degree.  You can even insert your own photo for your screen “character”, replacing the social misfits they offer you.  Music, graphics, car instrumentation, control devices, and more can all be set the way you want them.  It would be a good idea to start out with an automatic transmission for at least a race or two, or until you have a proper steering wheel with shift levers.  But you can tweak more than just the controls.  That P-car needs to look sharp!  Paint your car whatever you want, add trim or your favorite race number, and even choose hot rims to put your racing slicks on.  So now go ahead and recreate your REAL Porsche on the PC, and then drive it the way you  would NEVER think of driving in real life!  Yee-ha!

Need for Speed, Porsche Unleashed is not only entertaining, but is in fact a true Porsche simulator.  The physics of driving are well modeled, and this makes the game a good training aid for developing strong high-performance driving skills...even during the winter months!  Common mistakes are brought vividly to life.  For example, abruptly lift off the throttle while cornering hard  in the early 911 and see what happens! Also, through this game, it’s now possible to get a feel for Porsche models you’ve never driven!

This software has been out for awhile, so expect to find it for about $25 or less.  As a bargain training aid or heck, just a fun game, NFS-Porsche Unleashed is a must-have for any Porsche enthusiast.

Glenn

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