SimHQ.com - Motorsports Zone - Preview: Live for Speed S2 Alpha

Installation couldn't be simpler as all you have to do after downloading the sim is to extract the contents of the download to a suitable folder on your drive. Online registration went without any glitches, and I was quickly off to the race track.

Documentation. Well, there just isn't any, which is an oversight that will hopefully be corrected as fast as possible. Especially it would be nice to have the subtleties of the controller setup options explained somewhere. An unofficial manual for the stage 1 incarnation is available as a separate download and until a proper S2 manual appears, the older one will have to do.

There isn't any box-art either, but that is OK because really LFS is primarily meant to be downloaded from the Live for Speed web site. Here you can choose if you wish to download a demo or the full version. I'd recommend going for the full version right away, because the full version is quickly transferred into a licensed and working full version, once you have purchased the key.

You can drive front-wheel, rear-wheel and four-wheel driven cars in LFS, The choice is varied from GTI versions of front-wheel drive mini-cars to a Open wheel V8 Formula car and from the list of available cars you should easily be able to find something to your liking:

Pretty impressive lineup, huh?!

Every car and track is available to you from the first time you start Live for Speed. This is probably very much a matter of personal taste and down to how you prefer a simulation to be. I like not having to unlock anything, to be my own game-master. The challenge I seek is the one with the car, the track and my quest for the perfect lap. Simple as that!

If you expect structured tests and challenges, why just look here!:

90 ways to improve your driving

Ninety different driving tests! This staggering number I believe is probably only surpassed by GT4 (PS 2).

By providing the purest of approaches for drivers who have experience from other simulators and thus do not need to go through unlocking cars and tracks, as well as a separate driving tests module, either for new drivers, or for drivers who wish to do these tests, Live for Speed hits the Bullseye and scores 11 out of 10 for showing every developer how it should be done. By doing it this way, you, yes you decide how you wish to enjoy your purchase. No more forced paths through silly 3 lap races to place better than this or that car, or this or that position.

In the perfect world, there would have been a career option, but this would be against the main purpose of Live for Speed as an online simulator. Besides, the AI would have to be considerably retrained, before even considering career options.