It’s approaching that time of year again where one should try and be kinder to their fellow man or woman, turkeys are gazing nervously at the farmer and a new “Need for Speed” title, in this case ProStreet, is about to be unleashed upon the masses.
Ahead of its release later this month you can sample the demo which is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace at a pretty decent download size of 655MB.
The demo lets you try out two game modes, each one with a different track and preset car. “Nevada Highway” is a straightforward speed challenge whereby you, and seven other competitors, have to pass through four speed checkpoints as fast as possible with the winner being the player with the highest cumulative speed total. The other track on offer is “A-54 Interloop” which is a standard two lap race around a street circuit. When you’ve selected your race you’re taken to the race day menu, which just seems to show some of the car entrants for the race with various people wandering about fawning over the cars but with no real interaction from the player. All you can really do is start the race and I hope the final release utilises this menu screen a bit better.
To help the player you can choose from three levels of driver assists before the race starts (casual, racer or king). “Casual” helps the player by managing the braking with some adjustments to find the best racing line, whilst “King” leaves the driving to the player.
Personally I preferred setting the assistance level to “King” as I found that the other two levels, especially the first, interfered far too much with the driving experience and it just didn’t feel right.
Visually the game looks pretty good at this stage and should be able to hold its own against most of the 360 racers out there although it’s hard to tell from the demo tracks whether it will be top-of-the-class. For me the “A54 Interloop” track was the better of the two available as the Nevada Highway was mainly a series of straights, which is fine for a speed test but doesn’t really present much of a challenge.
If you’re into the “Need for Speed” franchise then it’s worth trying out the demo as a taster of things to come but with so many quality racing titles already available for the 360 we’ll have to wait and see what this offers compared to its competitors as the demo doesn’t really give much away.
The demo for Conan, a third person action hack and slash game, is now available to download from Xbox Live Marketplace. The game lets you try out a single level and provides some mild entertainment.
Initial impressions of the game were not that great. It certainly isn’t the best showcase for the graphical capabilities of the Xbox 360 with OK character models and an uninspiring environment on show. In all departments a game such as God of War 2 on the PS2 is superior. The games strongest element is the combat. Conan has at his disposal a huge variety of attacks based upon combinations of light, heavy or grappling moves using the “X”, “Y” and “B” buttons. You can also block an attack using the left trigger and if this is timed correctly Conan can perform a deadly counter-attack. The right analog joystick is used to evade attacks but unfortunately because it is reserved for this purpose you have no direct camera control leaving its placement in the lap of the gods.
Conan is a blood thirsty game and doesn’t hold back with the severed arms, decapitations and general blood spilling and soon the level is awash with the spilt blood of your enemies. Hopefully the final release of the game is given a bit of a polish as lurking beneath the negatives and rough exterior is a game that is both playable and quite good fun.
For me, Conan is a game that I may pick up if I had no other games to play and it was found lurking in the bargain basement bin at the local gaming emporium.
I tried out the Sega Rally demo last night that’s now available on Xbox Live. The demo lets you try out two courses and choose between two staple rally cars, either the Subaru Impreza WRX or the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. After you’ve selected the course and car you have to decide on one of two setups to determine if your car is either better on tarmac or off-road segments.
As this game is more an arcade racer, compared to say something like DiRT, you will soon find yourself performing stupendous powerslides as you career sideways around corners without any concern for car damage. The handling feels more akin to something like Ridge Racer with a “hovercraft floaty” feel, although not as extreme, and is perfectly acceptable for an arcade racer which allows players of all skill levels to instantly jump into the action and have a blast. Graphically it looks excellent. The car models all look very sharp and the courses themselves looked great. One of the first things that caught my attention were the “tracks” left in the mud by the cars themselves. Rather than just looking flat, like most other racing games, they had depth and there was a distinct rumble from the controller when driven over.
As usual there’s an array of camera views to select from with the “bonnet” camera being my personal preference as I felt I had more control and could judge cornering better than if I were to use an external chase camera.
Overall this is looking like another fine addition to the Xbox 360’s repertoire of top class racing games and if you prefer the more “pick up and play” approach to racing games rather than the depth of something like Forza Motorsport then this is definitely something to watch out for.
I tried out the demo of Blazing Angels 2 on Wednesday. My impressions of the first game were that it was an average arcade flight-sim. It had some flaws but was something I may consider playing if I was at a very loose end. And I’m inclined to think the same about this game as-well.
The demo lets you play the single player mission “Rain of Death” which sees you flying over Germany on the Zingst Peninsula as part of the Operation Overlord offensive taking out V2 rockets as they launch. Once you’ve taken down enough of the rockets you’re joined by your wingmen and proceed to destroy as many ground targets as possible. Finally you have to protect the incoming naval strike force as they approach the coast. Before the mission starts you can select your aircraft from either the German “GO 229″, “DO 335″ or the Russian “Yak 15″ and as the name suggests this game is about the more advanced fighter technology of WWII. You also have the option of upgrading your aircraft from a number of categories such as “aiming assistance” when spending Prestige points. These points are accumulated from flying missions and can be spent how you see fit.
I found the controls easy enough to handle and you have the option of using either “Arcade” or “Simulation” flight controls. Like the previous game you can order your wingmen to attack targets, defend or perform an ability which are all easily accessed via the D-pad.
From the demo I can’t see that the look of the game has improved much over its predecessor, and I would say it was “functional”. However, with just the one single player mission to try, which was at night and in rain, it probably wasn’t the best envoy to use as a showcase.
This second installment of Blazing Angels appears to offer more of the same but with some improvements, such as the aircraft selection, upgrades and prestige points. If you liked the first game then I’m sure this will be right up your street.
The demo for one of this years most anticipated games, Bioshock, has been recently released on Xbox Live Marketplace. The download isn’t small at 1.35GB so expect a wait if the servers are busy. The demo lets you play a small part of the beginning of the game and reveals some of the story behind the game.
It’s 1960 and you find yourself in a plane crash whilst on a night flight over the mid-Atlantic. As you struggle to the ocean surface you’re surrounded by a ring of fire created by the crash and see what’s left of the plane slowly sinking into the murky waters below. In the distance what looks like a small island with a tall building lights up the night and is the obvious destination to swim towards. As you climb the steps on the island you find that the door to the the building has been left ajar and with nowhere else to go you head into the dark. When you step through the door it closes behind you, light slowly illuminates the area and in the distance you hear some 50’s instrumental music. The only way to go is down and as you descend a few flights of stairs you discover the source of the music comes from a bathysphere.
This is your gateway to “Rapture”, a sprawling city built beneath the sea by its visionary “Andrew Ryan”. Your guide to Rapture, at least for the demo, is via radio contact with a man calling himself Atlas. He introduces you to “Plasmids”, which are genetic enhancements that rewrite your DNA giving you abilities. “Electrobolt” and “Incinerate” are just such plasmids and enable you to send out a bolt of 1000 volts or set a target alight. Atlas also gives you some background information about the warped citizens that now lurk around the corridors of the city.
The graphics of this game are very impressive. From the first scene where you break the surface of the ocean to the excellent object modeling and art deco styling everything is outstanding. I sometimes found that I spent time looking at the scenery rather than getting on with the task in hand. The game is also very atmospheric with some great use of music and sound effects to enhance the tension.
The controls were straight-forward enough and will be familiar enough for anyone that’s played a FPS game with the left joystick used for movement and the right for looking and aiming. Triggers are used for plasmids (left) or weapons (right) whilst the bumper buttons are used for plasmid and weapon selection. This leaves other actions like reloading, jumping, interacting and healing assigned to the main buttons (X,Y,A,B).
Although this is a FPS at heart it seems to encourage you to use your environment as you see fit. For example you could hack a sentry gun or sentry bot to use as an ally rather than destroying it. Or if you spot enemies standing in water you could opt to Electrobolt the water rather than just the individual.
The demo gives you a taste of what’s to come and definitely leaves you wanting more. I would highly recommend that you download and try out this game if you’re a fan of FPS games, and even if you’re not a fan try it anyway!
Stranglehold popped onto Xbox Live yesterday. It’s a meaty download at 1.3GB so be prepared for a bit of wait before you can take Inspector Tequila for a stroll.
The game is a third person shooter and has been developed in collaboration with the film director John Woo of Hong Kong action movie fame. It features Chow Yun Fat whom is reprising his role as Inspector “Tequila” Yeun from the movie Hard Boiled. Those that have seen a John Woo film should know what to expect as the game brings on non-stop action with a cinematic flare.
The demo is based in Hong Kong and the story commences via a cut scene showing the abduction of a police officer. After the police department receive a ransom call demanding that they send in a lone policeman to Kowloon Market Inspector Tequila steps forward and volunteers for the mission. The game makes use of most controls on the Xbox 360 controller with the left joystick used for movement and crouching (when clicked) and the right joystick used for aiming. The right trigger is used to shoot whatever weapon you have while the left is used to interact with objects or to perform dives when used in combination with movement. The left bumper button is used to take cover, for example against walls or columns while the right bumper is used to activate “Tequila Time” which is a slow mo mode that lasts for a limited duration. Special moves entitled “Tequila Bombs” are activated via the d-pad and finally “X” is used to pickup weapons, “A” switch weapons and “B” is used for grenades. Although there are quite a few controls to remember the game does a good job of introducing them to you as you play through the level.
As soon as the demo begins you’re thrust into the action and one of the most impressive things that you immediately notice is the amount of destruction in the game. Most of the objects in the game can be damaged in some form or other and as you take on an ever increasing number of enemies you start looking at the environment for assistance in dispatching your enemies. Any environmental objects that “Tequila” can directly interact with flash as you approach them and objects that can be shot to cause damage noticeably “glint” to draw your attention. The game rewards you for style and the more stylish a kill the more your “Tequila Bomb” gauge is filled. Thus instead of running at opponents head-on you soon find yourself diving over barriers, sliding down banisters and trying to interact with the environment.
There are four “Tequila Bombs” (special moves) accessed via the D-Pad which include a health boost, a precision aim which zooms in on the target and follows the bullet to the point of impact, a barrage attack where you unleash a massive number of bullets, and finally the spin attack which kills every enemy in the vicinity. The game also includes “stand off sequences” at set points. In these slow-mo events the camera changes to an over the shoulder view as “Tequila” is surrounded by a number of enemies and one by one you have to take them out as you dodge left or right to avoid incoming bullets. The last three “Tequila Bombs” and the “Stand-Offs” are very cinematic and enhance the overall “movie like” feel of the game.
No shooter would be complete without a selection of weapons and you start with a pair of pistols but eventually you will come across shotguns and a few hidden weapons like the golden pistols or Uzis.
The demo offers a good amount of gameplay and to start with only two difficulty levels, “Casual” and “Normal” are available. Repeated plays unlock “Hard” and “Hard Boiled” and also the last two “Tequila Bomb” moves (Barrage and Spin Attack). If you want to experience all the demo has to offer then you will most likely play through the level at least three times.
Overall I thought the graphics were great and Chow Yun Fat was easily recognisable as Inspector Tequila. Although the controls are pretty good I did find that “Tequila” has a tendency to slide over objects (which is automatic) far too easily which did annoy me on a number of occasions and an option to have this tied to a button combination may have been preferable.
If you’re a fan of action games and third person shooters, and especially if you like Hong Kong action movies, then I’d recommend you check out this demo. The game is shaping up very nicely and I’m looking forward to it’s release later in the year.
The Ace Combat 6 - Fires of Liberation demo has been around for a few weeks now and I thought I’d give it a go. It’s a fairly small download at 309 MB but the demo still gives you a good dose of gameplay.
The game is a flight sim, but it is only semi-realistic and although the countries and places are fictional the aircraft in the game are based on realistic designs. The demo allows you to sample the first mission from the campaign mode entitled “Invasion of Gracemaria” and as you’re scrambled from your airbase it sees you defending the skies from a hostile invasion. The controls are fairly complex to start with and make use of most buttons on the Xbox 360 controller, but they are not too overbearing and once you’ve had some time with the game you will soon get the hang of it. Additionally the demo provides either “Normal” or “Novice” difficulty levels with novice providing slightly easier flight controls so you don’t have to worry about yaw control.
I found while playing the demo I relied heavily on missiles rather than the aircraft cannon and luckily, as it’s only semi-realistic, you get a healthy supply of ammunition which didn’t come close to running out.
The game runs very smoothly with great graphics overall, and it’s only when you get really low do you find that some of the ground scenery for the city (not objects such as buildings) are just textures. I thought the backing track and sound FX all suited the game and there’s quite a lot of background chatter going on between pilots to add to the atmosphere. However I found I didn’t really hear what was said most of the time as I was concentrating on taking out the next target.
Initially I was disappointed with the camera views on offer as I thought the default chase view was the only one available but after a some experimentation I found that you could change the views between “chase”, “cockpit” or “HUD” via pressing the right joystick control.
Overall I enjoyed this taster of the game and I’ll be keeping an eye on it as the release date approaches later this year.
After my Xbox 360’s absence quite a few demo’s have built up and I’ve been busy downloading and testing a few of them out. First up was NASCAR 08.
Firstly I’ll have to admit that I don’t know a great deal about NASCAR as it’s not that popular over here in the UK. The demo provides you with one track to race on, which is the “Daytona International Speedway” and allows you to select from one of three available driving personalities (presumably real life drivers in NASCAR).
Before a race you can choose to qualify for track position and you’re given two laps to post your best time. Once you’ve qualified (or skipped) you can enter the race and this commences with a rolling start and lasts for a eight laps with eleven competing drivers. The graphics are OK but didn’t overly impress me and although the sound FX were fine in general when changing camera views there seems to be a transitional sound effect as the engine noise is silenced for a split second until the new view takes over. I’m not sure why the developers thought this necessary, but I found it irritating as I do tend to switch views every now and again during a race. On a positive note there’s a good selection of camera views including a cockpit view which serves its purpose well.
I found that driving at speed on an oval does take skill and finesse even though in principal it sounds fairly easy, and if you’re not careful you will clip the barriers or spin out on numerous occasions. Although the speedometer reported that I was travelling at high speed (over 170 mph) I never really felt a great sensation of speed. This may be due to the nature of an oval track as there aren’t many objects that whizz past or corners you have to brake hard for to enhance that impression.
The demo doesn’t really give you a lot of options to play with but gives a flavour of the game none the less and there are various options that are greyed out that indicate there’s more to the game than the demo suggests.
Although the racing genre is among one of my favourites I’m sorry to say that NASCAR isn’t really my scene and the demo didn’t impress me enough to tempt me into trying out the full retail version.
