Truck Racing Championship

I love that FIA European Truck Racing Championship exists and really I hope such a niche audience titles finds the right audience. Developer N-RACING has been faithful to the essence of truck racing, but it hasn’t been able to create the structure, close fighting, nor personality the series has to offer. Variety is good, and I really hope they can work on an improved sequel. For now, once the novelty has worn off, you are left with a pretty lifeless game.

The main issue with ETRC is that whilst the racing is accurately realised, the rest of the game feels shallow. The announcer who talks to you over the radio repeats the same phrases again and again, with the only option to turn off all the announcers completely or put up with it. The events will undoubtedly put people off because of their length, and the fact that you can’t go into the game and immediately customise your own truck is a little odd.

Despite N-1 Racing’s obvious enthusiasm for the sport, ETRC is stymied by the tedious structure of the Career modes and subsequently highlights the rather shallow nature of the racing itself. With some expansive damage modelling, ‘drafting’ or a kudos system added during the races and a simple choice of how long the race weekends are, things could have been so much better.