Because the review page is filled with Ubisoft's game ownership controversy (which I agree is bad), I'll be leaving an actual review of the game for people who are looking for it.

I had 330+ hrs on TC2, thousands of hours on FH1-5, played countless racing games on all major consoles that existed: NFS, TDU, Midnight Club, Gran Turismo, Assetto Corsa, Burnout, Dirt, Grid, you name it.

This game is not perfect but I definitely found it captivating. I was reluctant to get this game at first due to the similarities with the beloved TC2 and the audacity for them to shrink the map size of one of the most iconic open world racing game map of all time. I decided to give the 5 hrs demo a try. And then I fell in love with it.

While the map size is not as groundbreaking as TC1 & 2, it surely does feel alive with landscapes that draws your attention. In TC2, I can't help but feel like the windy roads in between states aren't distinguishable enough, and, of course, the map on TCM does not look like a flat grass that FH5 has become.

The driving physics is not its strong point, I can admit that easily. In fact, the weird driving physics is one of my very first impression when playing the demo. I struggled to control the car the first time trying it, but with only few races, I can get the grip of it and earn that 100k+ pts on summit events again. FH5 still reigns superior for their open-world-arcade driving physics. But in my opinion TCM has improved significantly from TC2. Not a sublte change, you can definitely feel the handling difference between TCM and TC2.

Another thing that I really like about this game is it's visual elements. The car sounds so much better than TC2 even if they're not on Gran Turismo level. The exhaust popping after using nitros sounds so satisfying. The UI visual and elements looks awesome, though the UI navigation on TC2 is more intuitive. And my favorite thing: the first person driving animations. I truly love how fluid the hand animations are when you're driving in first person/interior view and I'll never stop talking about it. Dare I say it: the first person view animation is the best among all racing games for now. It's a shame that they don't have close up gauge view. It's the little things that's really pleasant to see and adds to the fun; the player hands leaning over the windshield when the car's idle, smooth and realistic wiper visual in first person, and the high beam turning on when you honk your car. At this point we're just missing blinkers functionality.

It's definitely not a boring game. If you say that this is their attempt on copying Forza Horizon, I wouldn't disagree but I had fun on all five Horizon games so that's not something awful to do. Besides, the Horizon franchise is long due for another competitor anyways. If I had 300+ hours on TC2, FH5, and NFS and still find this game interesting enough to buy after trying the demo, I think you would too. The themed playlist system is actually fun and dove deep into the car culture and adds to the game's progression, unlike the FH playlists who are losing its identity with each passing months.

Because the review page is filled with Ubisoft's game ownership controversy (which I agree is bad), I'll be leaving an actual review of the game for people who are looking for it. I had 330+ hrs on TC2, thousands of hours on FH1-5, played countless racing games on all major consoles that existed: NFS, TDU, Midnight Club, Gran Turismo, Assetto Corsa, Burnout, Dirt, Grid, you name it. This game is not perfect but I definitely found it captivating. I was reluctant to get this game at first due to the similarities with the beloved TC2 and the audacity for them to shrink the map size of one of the most iconic open world racing game map of all time. I decided to give the 5 hrs demo a try. And then I fell in love with it. While the map size is not as groundbreaking as TC1 & 2, it surely does feel alive with landscapes that draws your attention. In TC2, I can't help but feel like the windy roads in between states aren't distinguishable enough, and, of course, the map on TCM does not look like a flat grass that FH5 has become. The driving physics is not its strong point, I can admit that easily. In fact, the weird driving physics is one of my very first impression when playing the demo. I struggled to control the car the first time trying it, but with only few races, I can get the grip of it and earn that 100k+ pts on summit events again. FH5 still reigns superior for their open-world-arcade driving physics. But in my opinion TCM has improved significantly from TC2. Not a sublte change, you can definitely feel the handling difference between TCM and TC2. Another thing that I really like about this game is it's visual elements. The car sounds so much better than TC2 even if they're not on Gran Turismo level. The exhaust popping after using nitros sounds so satisfying. The UI visual and elements looks awesome, though the UI navigation on TC2 is more intuitive. And my favorite thing: the first person driving animations. I truly love how fluid the hand animations are when you're driving in first person/interior view and I'll never stop talking about it. Dare I say it: the first person view animation is the best among all racing games for now. It's a shame that they don't have close up gauge view. It's the little things that's really pleasant to see and adds to the fun; the player hands leaning over the windshield when the car's idle, smooth and realistic wiper visual in first person, and the high beam turning on when you honk your car. At this point we're just missing blinkers functionality. It's definitely not a boring game. If you say that this is their attempt on copying Forza Horizon, I wouldn't disagree but I had fun on all five Horizon games so that's not something awful to do. Besides, the Horizon franchise is long due for another competitor anyways. If I had 300+ hours on TC2, FH5, and NFS and still find this game interesting enough to buy after trying the demo, I think you would too. The themed playlist system is actually fun and dove deep into the car culture and adds to the game's progression, unlike the FH playlists who are losing its identity with each passing months.