At face value 2 very similar laps in the M6 GT3 at the Nordschleife in AMS2 and GT7, yet the difference is in everything you can't see - the feel and handling of the cars. Both AMS2 and GT7 are great fun to play but the wheel, pedals and track feedback really is the difference between a serious fun simulator and a superb accessible racing game. As far as possible the track and weather conditions are the same, the cars are slightly different. The AMS2 M6 GT3 has less BHP but is running on soft slicks. The GT7 M6 Gr.3 has more power but is running Racing Hard tyres. In my hands (I won't be challenging the WR and that's ok with me) this means the AMS2 car is slightly quicker in the corners but the GT7 car makes up the difference on the straights with slightly faster acceleration, interestingly top speeds are the same. It is surprisingly easy to switch between the games and deliver consistent fast laps, which I find is not usually the case between sims. Both versions of the Nordschleife are superb and allow laps with good rhythm and flow. AMS2 has the edge on sound for me being far more like the real race car. The AMS M6 GT3 feels like a stiff and highly strung race car, the feedback through the wheel is incredible and braking far more like a real car with vibrations in the wheel and pedals letting me know what is happening (Fanatec DD2/V3 LC pedals). By contrast the GT7 car has enough weight and feedback in the wheel but no real track feel at all (DD Pro/V3 LC pedals), I can see and hear the GT7 car reacting to bumps on the track and trying to find traction but none of that is transmitted to the wheel, tyre squeal is used to indicate the edge of grip as you'll hear when the GT7 audio is on. In AMS2 I can feel the bumps on the track and rear tyres hunting for grip, it's truly something special in terms of wheel feedback, having been away from sim racing for a while I was surprised just how much this has improved. Both games are enjoyable but playing them back to back really does underline the fact that GT7 is a superb and enjoyable racing game and AMS2 is a far more realistic simulator with incredible wheel feedback and a tyre model I can actually sense working while I drive. GT7 remains a brilliant racing game, it's truly accessible, the learning aid circuit experience licence challenges are still some of the best in racing, with satisfying if slightly flat car handling and wheel feedback (the kerbs rattle the wheel but not much else). In my view GT7 is probably the perfect gateway to more serious sims, the kids here love it and that's good with me. With AMS2 it's as if the car comes to life, the feeling of the track surface through the wheel, the pedals and wheel rim vibrating in the big braking zones, the physicality and effort required to turn the car in and occasionally wrestle across the bigger kerbs are all far more real. Real track time remains best of all of course, but I have a limited amount of that, AMS2 is getting better and better and so close to that same feeling.
