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Race Pro Impressions

February 27, 2009

race-pro-banner

Two days ago, I picked up Race Pro, a game I’ve been highly anticipating since its announcement in the form of an Xbox 360 version of the PC racing sim, GTR 2. This title hails from Simbin, a developer that has been heralded as one of the best in the business of creating racing simulators. This is their very first console racing title and the racing simulation community has been abuzz, wondering if they can replicate the notoriously hardcore PC racing simulation experience on a console with little compromise. After investing a few hours in the game, I can say with ease, they’ve done a damn fine job.

As I popped the game into my Xbox 360, I decided to jump into the game by playing it for the very first time with Microsoft’s official wireless racing wheel, which I’d purchased a little over a year ago for Forza Motorsport 2. It seemed fitting to play this title with the wheel in hand. If you own Microsoft’s official Racing Wheel, you owe it to yourself to use it for this game. Racing with the wheel, coupled with the interior view, feels incredibly natural. It can be tough going from racing with the controller to the racing wheel but undoubtedly, it truly is the best and most immersive way to play.

Onto the driving physics, there’s no doubt in my mind that Simbin has created one of the most realistic racing simulators ever, thanks in large part to the physics engine. Even driving something as seemingly mundane as a Mini Cooper (a highly modified version of a Mini Cooper no less) can be very exciting and trust me when I say the Radical SR3 is not to be taken lightly. I have yet to get behind the wheel of the Dodge Viper SRT-10 and Audi R8 (two of my favorite supercars) as of yet, two of the unmodified cars included in the package, but I did get behind the wheel of the Dodge Charger Super Bee, an exclusive download included in copies of the game sold at GameStop (don’t think of that as an ad…). Race Pro does an excellent job of simulating the high weight and power this car possesses, which makes it characteristically difficult to stop at the end of a long straightaway.

Race Pro is one of the rare racers on the market today that is able to blend accessibility with, at times, crushingly realistic physics. The instant you enter the career mode, it defaults to the professional difficulty setting, in which all assists are turned off. For the sake of accessibility, it’s nice that these settings can be changed to your liking. They can all be adjusted in varying degrees, from low, medium to high.

So far, the AI drivers generally make for fairly competent opponents but, on occasion, they exhibit some…questionable behavior. For instance, as the Autodriver lead me out to the track in my Chevy Lacetti, a sequence that you can’t override as far as I can tell, it nicked a barrier while exiting the pits and compromised my aerodynamics. I was essentially forced to restart the session due to my bent front bumper. Hopefully, this isn’t a common occurrence.

I’ve played a couple of online races so far and they all have been free of any perceptible lag, even with as many as ten vehicles on the track at once (the game supports 12 online). Despite the fairly limited options compared to other racing titles on the 360 such as Forza Motorsport 2 and PGR 4, it is nice to have the ability to take to the track in a practice session to play around with vehicle setups before beginning the big race.

Perhaps the only thing I don’t like about Race Pro so far is its incredibly basic presentation. The menus aren’t presented with any sort of visual pizzazz or flair and hardly go beyond the call of duty.  This can be somewhat off-putting, even for me, a person who appreciates what lies under the hood far more than visual aesthetics (which is why the Corvette Z06 has captured my heart more so than the far more visually appealing Ferrari F430).

Overall, after investing just a few scant hours into the game so far, I’ve very much enjoyed Race Pro. It has delivered exactly what I expected to, an involving and incredibly realistic racing simulator. Race Pro may be a little rough around the edges especially concerning the interface and overall presentation but it delivers where it counts. Stay tuned for the full review, which should be posted very soon.

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Playstation Home Beta Impressions

December 2, 2008

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In the days, weeks and months since the announcement of Sony’s Xbox Live killer, Home, I’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster. I’ve gone from hotly anticipating this feature to almost completely uninterested after numerous delays. I began to think that this was one of many things that looks and sounds great on paper but ultimately fails in execution. And who could blame me for feeling this way? What was supposed to launch to all Playstation Network users as early as September 2007 is still only in the beta stages well over a year later.

Oh how quickly things change when you press the right buttons…

Yesterday afternoon, I opened my email account to see that I’d received a long awaited invitation to the pubic beta for Playstation Home. Naturally, I quickly rushed over to my Playstation 3 to turn it on, input my beta access code and start playing around with it. So, how do I feel about it? Well, in a word…conflicted.

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Far Cry 2 Impressions

November 14, 2008

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If any of you have been on Xbox Live recently and seen me online, you’ve probably been seeing me play Far Cry 2 almost non stop for the past week or so. Well, as I noted in my last blog post, this is the next title on my to-review list. I just finished spending some last minute reviewing time with it a few minutes ago and I think I’m finally ready to finish the review.

But first, some impressions…

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Metal Gear Solid 4 Impressions

June 24, 2008

Yes, I’ve finally seen the proverbial light I mentioned in my recent MGS 4 related blog post. I’ve finally played Metal Gear Solid 4 and…let’s just say I am very, very pleased.

It all began last Sunday when I was at work and a customer walked to my register with a copy of the game in question in his hand to trade in. Once I completed his transaction, I promptly informed my co-workers that I’d be checking the game out when my shift ended and set the game aside. That night I took it home and…didn’t play it. That day at work had worn me down so I was in no mood to play any games. Of course, the very next day, I finally popped the game into my Playstation 3 and started to play.

Let’s get the wild praise out of the way first before getting into the meat of these impressions. The game is freaking great. It reached out and grabbed me from the first minute like no other Metal Gear Solid game has. The story is keeping me compelled to see it through to the end to the point where I had to force myself to stop playing the other day after having played for nearly 4 hours.

Now that the unmitigated praise is out of the way, I can start being a critic. Now, one of the reasons why the Metal Gear Solid series has never reached out and grabbed me before now is in part due to the clunky shooting and combat controls. I’ve never gotten the hang of the whole, press lightly on the button to raise the gun and hard to shoot thing that has been utilized in previous entries. While I realize that this is a stealth game and thus, shooting and hand to hand combat shouldn’t be your main priority but almost inevitably, the game would find a way to make you do so, which puts a bit of a damper on the experience if you’re a stealth purist.

In MGS 4, this isn’t a problem. The shooting controls have been completely revamped and vastly improved. The camera instantly jumps into an over-the-shoulder view, similar to Resident Evil 4 or Gears of War, once your weapon is drawn. From there, it plays sort of like a third person shooter, a very good third person shooter at that. It’s because of this new perspective on combat that it becomes significantly easier. The emphasis on stealth is unfortunately diminished and the consequences for alerts take a nosedive early on. It’s far too easy to take out the squad of soldiers closest to you and then duck into an out of the way corner for a little while until things calm down.

But despite the ease of combat, stealth is a very viable option, especially with Snake’s new Octocamo. This invaluable addition to Solid Snake’s equipment is one of your greatest allies in the field and perhaps the greatest sneaking tool ever utilized in any stealth game. What it does is automatically change its texture and appearance to blend in with whatever surface you’re pressed up against, be it a brick wall or grass covered dirt. Oftentimes, AI soldiers and NPC’s will walk right past you without noticing, should you p

Everything isn’t all rosy and wonderful though. One of Metal Gear Solid 4’s biggest strengths is also its biggest flaws. I’m referring to this series’ particular brand of storytelling in which impossibly long cutscenes tell its far-reaching, rich and sometimes utterly convoluted story. It doesn’t help that the ratio of cutscenes to actual playing time is damn near 1:1.These cutscenes are entertaining to sit through sure enough, but occasionally, I can’t help but wish the game would shut up and let me play.

In the end, the game is everything I expected it to be and more. I expected it to be great but the sheer magnitude of its quality and ability to make me hopelessly addicted (I’ve actually taken time off from playing it because I didn’t want to finish it too quickly). This truly is the best Metal Gear Solid game and one of the best reasons to own a Playstation 3. Looking back on my previous blog post once again, I see that my lack of excitement was unfounded and that playing truly is believing.

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Thoughts on Gran Turismo 5: Prologue

April 24, 2008

Against my better judgment, yesterday, I purchased a copy of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. Ever since I saw the limited amount of content to be included in this “game” for such a steep price ($40 USD), I couldn’t shake the feeling that Polyphony Digital was merely delivering a glorified demo to milk hardcore Gran Turismo fans out of a quick buck before the real thing comes out, which some speculate won’t be until some time after 2009. Well, having played it for a few days prior, I’ve changed my tune…for the most part.

I guess before I truly begin to discuss my impressions of the game, I should explain how I define a “lack of content”. First off, Gran Turismo 5: Prologue features around 70 cars, from over a dozen manufacturers, including series newcomer, Ferrari. What’s surprising about this is the fact that GT5: Prologue includes more cars out of the box than many full games, including the likes of the recently released Need for Speed: Pro Street. Clearly, the number of cars couldn’t be the issue, could it? No. While 70 cars is only one tenth of the 700 featured in Gran Turismo 4 and an even smaller fraction of the rumored 900 cars set to be included in the full release of Gran Turismo 5, there’s still a nice variety of cars to choose from.

So, what could be the thing that troubles me most? Well that’s simple. While there is an abundance of cars available to the player, the track selection is meager at best, limited to six tracks and twelve layouts. No, not twelve layouts per track, just twelve layouts in total. This is where GT5: Prologue stumbles and falls to the ground. Before long, the track selection can grow stale and repetitive, seeing the same environments over and over again as you race around the same track for the umpteenth time during the career mode. This is where the sting comes in and your wallet begins to curse you for making this purchase.

But…(There’s always a “but”)

For the most part, what GT5: Prologue lacks in content, it makes up for in presentation and gameplay. Polyphony Digital knows how to draw the player in with an attractive set of front end menus and, most importantly, how to make cars look sexy. As you navigate the elegantly presented menu screen, the car you’re currently “in” sits behind it, amidst one of several eye-catching and gorgeous backdrops relevant to the location you most recently drove in. The camera slowly pans around the car, allowing you to see the entirety of is svelte figure and wonderfully proportioned lines.

To merely say this game looks good would be the understatement of the year. Gran Turismo 5 truly puts other racers to shame with its incredibly detailed and well lit car models (it’s amazing what good lighting can do to make a car look stunning), and detailed environments. While I’ve been a staunch supporter of the impressive graphics delivered in Project Gotham Racing 4, I can’t say it looks better than GT5: Prologue in any way other than the convincing weather effects. The in car view is also mighty impressive and my current favorite way to view the race, despite the loss of visual real estate.

All the great looking cars and environments wouldn’t save the game if the gameplay was lacking and I can happily say GT5: Prologue isn’t lacking in that respect. The numerous cars in the game have their own sort of “feel” to them in their handling and overall performance and all drive with an impressive realism about them, which feels great. A new feature, borrowed from the Forza series is the dynamic racing line, which changes color from blue to red to indicate you’re going too fast. Of course, for a most realistic and suitably challenging experience, this, as well as the other driving aids (variable traction/stability control) can be turned off prior to a race.

Overall, GT5: Prologue isn’t a bad game. I’m almost willing to say I overreacted a tiny bit. Almost. Once I came to grips with the fact that my only real issue was with what I perceived to be a high price tag (if the game was $20, I’d have no problem at all buying it), I was mostly fine with the lack of content because the gameplay made up for it. For me, a new fan of Gran Turismo 4 as of late, this is a pretty fun stopgap between the two full games that should, alongside its PS2 brother and my reigning favorite racing game, Forza 2, keep my simulation racing needs satisfied until Gran Turismo 5 finally decides to come out.

That or Forza 3, of course.

It goes without saying that diehard fans of the Gran Turismo series are going to add this to their ever growing collection regardless of what I say about it. For the rest of you who happen to be on the fence, take these words with a grain of salt. If you can, like I have, get over the initial shock over the lack of content, there’s a good game to be had here.

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DualShock 3 Impressions

April 10, 2008

For a long while, many North American Playstation 3 owners have gone without a simple novelty that some gamers take for granted or rarely seem to notice. This feature, introduced to the console gaming world by way of an external peripheral for the Nintendo 64 is vibration. Having lost a lawsuit with Immersion, the patent owners on the rumble technology used in past editions of DualShock controllers, Sony was forced to package the Sixaxis controller, sans rumble, with the Playstation 3.

Well, Sony has since kissed and made up with Immersion and has since released the DualShock 3 with both rumble functionality and motion sensors intact (contrary to earlier claims) to North American audiences. Fairly recently, I picked up my DualShock 3 from my local game retailer and gave it a whirl.

This, however, wasn’t my first encounter with the DualShock 3. Having used my friend’s controller, which was imported from Japan around the time the DualShock 3 was released there, I had a general idea of what to expect. Upon taking the controller out of the box and holding it for the first time, I recalled my initial joy in feeling the added weight, undoubtedly because of the new rumble motors prior to even using it. By comparison, the Sixaxis feels rather cheap due to its incredibly light frame. Aesthetically, it feels better clenched in my hands, which makes for a more comfortable gaming experience.

The main reason I purchased the new controller, like many others, was because of the newfound vibration functions and the DualShock 3 delivers in that respect. It sort of feels like the plastic surrounding the controller’s innards is a bit thinner than that of the DualShock 2 (without sacrificing quality), which actually makes for a better, more vibrant feeling rumble. The rumble feature feels great in the many Playstation 3 titles I’ve tested. So far, I’ve taken Resistance: Fall of Man, the Devil May Cry 4 Demo and the Japanese Gran Turismo 5: Prologue demo through the paces and so far, each of these titles uses the rumble functions to great effect. Of the aforementioned titles, the Gran Turismo 5: Prologue demo was the most impressive.

Overall, the DualShock 3 was impressive. There isn’t much to say about it aside from the new vibration functionality because, in terms of design, it’s practically identical to the Sixaxis. Is it worth the five dollar premium over the cost over the price of the Sixaxis? Yes. I must say I’m disappointed Sony couldn’t work out their differences with Immersion sooner and package this controller with the Playstation 3 in the first place and being was forced to pay extra for a feature I’ve already had with both the Xbox 360 and Wii does sting a bit. Despite that, I feel the DualShock 3 is a worthwhile investment for upcoming titles such as Metal Gear Solid 4, which should make great use of the controller’s functions, considering the franchise’s history.

If you’re in the market for a new controller or just can’t do without a little rumble in your games, the DualShock 3 ultimately makes for a worthy buy.

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GTA IV Final Trailer Reactions

April 2, 2008
GTA IV Logo Banner

Mere days ago, Rockstar released the final Grand Theft Auto IV Teaser trailer entitled “Good Lord, What Are You Doing?” (a.k.a. Everyone’s a Rat) for fans to chew on, a mere appetizer for the potentially delicious main course that is GTA IV. Being one of those fans, steadily marking off days on my calendar as GTA IV’s release approaches, I tend to devour any scraps of information about the game that are thrown to me. Needless to say, when I got home from work to find a new trailer awaiting me, I didn’t hesitate to watch it.

GTA IV Trailer Image 1

This trailer shows more of what you’ve likely come to expect, meaning very little actual gameplay footage and short snippets of GTA IV’s storyline, which if Rockstar’s tradition holds, should be excellent. Niko Belic and the few characters we’ve seen so far seem rather compelling. It’s worth noting that the voice acting is pretty good as well as I’ve come to appreciate about the GTA series as of late, especially considering the excellent performances delivered in GTA: Vice City and San Andreas.

GTA IV Trailer Image 4

The game’s many vehicles appear to be the star of this show, much more so than in the previous trailers. Aside from the helicopter seen flying over Liberty City at the very beginning, a number of interesting cars made their appearance, as always, looking very much like their real life counterparts. In this short trailer, there appeared to be a few Dodge Charger clones, a Chrysler 300 clone and, most intriguing of all, a car that looked very much like a Lamborghini Murcielago, which Niko performed a stylish reverse 180 and sped away from the pursuing police.

GTA IV Trailer Image 3

Many of the game’s sure to be extensive selection of firearms made an appearance here, as you should expect. Numerous shotguns, handguns and assault rifles were brandished by both sides of the law. Yes, even the police were seen taking a few shots. One particularly interesting moment occurred when Niko blew some poor sap away with a pump-action shotgun, sending him tumbling down a series of steps. The animation for this was quite fluid and impressive, and something I hope to see during gameplay as well.

GTA IV Trailer Image 2

To be frank, I’m a bit underwhelmed. This isn’t because the trailer wasn’t good, because it was, I just feel as though the third trailer, “Move up Ladies” was better. It’s sort of like eating Filet Mignon from an upscale establishment and then eating a cheeseburger from a less upscale place a few seconds later. Sure, the cheeseburger is still good, but your palette has evolved since then and naturally, you expect more. Despite these minor complaints, this trailer did much to whet my appetite for GTA IV and leave me salivating for more. Well, the full game will be here in less than a month. it’s all a matter of enduring the wait.

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