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.
Released a few weeks ago Colin McRae: DiRT is another great addition to the xbox 360’s fine repertoire of top class racing games. Whereas the majority of racing games released are predominantly circuit or road based, DiRT as you may gather from the title is more concerned with the grittier and dirtier side of off-road racing.
Colin McRae titles of yesteryear were purely associated with Rally driving, but just like the namesake has digressed in the latter stages of his career, the developers, Codemasters, have also branched out and the game now features a whole host of off-road styles with a plethora of vehicles to make the game more appealing to the mass market. It certainly contains lots of variety and one minute you could be tearing down a narrow track competing in a traditional rally stage and the next you could be driving in a CORR (Championship Off-Road Racing) event, wheel to wheel with other competitors as you bounce around a muddy circuit. There are plenty of modes available in DiRT. The main mode, Career, features a pyramid of eleven tiers with the bottom tier consisting of eleven stages, the next tier 10 stages and so on until you reach the final stage on the last tier. When selecting a stage you can choose from one of five difficulties starting from the easiest “Rookie” and moving up to “Pro” class. The level of difficulty you choose directly effects not only the AI opposition skill but also the level of mechanical damage you can sustain, whether terminal damage is switched on or off and importantly the amount of money you can win from placing 1st to 3rd. In a nice change to the financial rewards once you score a podium position the money that will be offered for repeating the race at the same difficulty significantly decreases, thus encouraging you to step up to the next difficulty level.
Money gained through the career mode can be used to purchase new vehicles and liveries. With 46 vehicles and 182 liveries in total there’s something to please everyone from rally cars like the “Suzuki Swift 1600″ and “Subaru Impreza 06 WRX”, to buggies like the “Ickler Jimco” and big rigs such as the “Freightliner Century Class S/T”. All the vehicles handle very differently to one another and the player has to adjust to not only the vehicle but to the track surface, whether it is tarmac, mud, or gravel the differences are very noticeable and the physics engine does a fine job in this department.
Career race events are nicely varied and as-well as covering traditional rally stages and crossover events also feature CORR circuit racing, hill climbs and rally raid events. Once an event has been selected there are a number of additional options available and although you can jump straight into the race you could also practice an event, change your vehicles set-up, repair damage or get verbal feedback on the stage from your co-drivers recce.
As with Forza this game features a good balance between realism and accessibility. For those that want to glean every bit of performance from a vehicle then there are plenty of tuning settings that can be changed for a vehicle such as the suspension, brakes, differential or the downforce. Similarly tuning is not a necessity and a player can quite happily stick to playing the game without ever feeling the need to mess around with the setup.
As well as Career mode there are a couple of additional single player modes available. Championship is the more traditional rally game setup, and the “National” event within this allows you to compete in a single rally event consisting of up to seven individual stages. The “European”, “International” and “Global” championship events bulk up the championship mode by combining a number of single rally events into individual tournaments. Rally World finishes off the single player modes and allows you to choose a single race, event or time trial for any of the career events you’ve unlocked thus far.
The environmental graphics for this game are truly excellent, very realistic with plenty of variety and locations such as the green hills and windy roads of the UK to dusty outback trails across Australia. You get a real thrill as you hurtle down dirt tracks narrowly missing rocks and trees as you slide around tight hairpin bends. The vehicles themselves are all beautifully modelled featuring a good damage system that becomes more realistic on the harder difficulties.
Whereas I was a bit disappointed with the camera views on offer with Forza I cannot fault the number available in DiRT. There are six in total and apart from the usual bumper, bonnet and external chase views there are a couple of cockpit views that really immerse you in the action. The replay camera also deserves a mention with great slow-mo, rewind, and fast-forward actions and I’ve found myself using it on many occasions to watch the action once a race has ended.
So what are the negatives? Well, there are some minor points. The game features fairly long loading times and although an attempt has been made to disguise this fact with some snazzy statistics you do eventually get bored of knowing how many times you’ve failed to finish or the amount of time you’ve spent on two wheels. And although on the whole the cockpit views are excellent, I did find that I had to switch to a chase view when using the “Chevrolet Siverado” as one of the front reinforcement bars badly obscures the view. It may be accurate, but in terms of playability it just gets in the way.
To summarise this is another fantastic racing game, beautifully modelled with a lot of variety and if you’re looking for an alternative to Forza then I would highly recommend it.
I’ve been playing Forza 2 Motorsport for the Xbox 360 for over a week now and thought the time right to post a review of the game thus far. It’s probably an understatement when I say that Forza 2 is a vast game and will keep you occupied for a number of weeks if not months at least. There are so many races available in the different modes that there’s something to suit everyone.
In the single player game you can either play the “Arcade” or “Career” modes. The career mode is the meat and potatoes of the game and to start with you need to choose your home region from either Europe, America or Asia. Your chosen region initially has an impact on the car models available and eventually other cars from your home region will be heavily discounted as your career progresses. After your region has been selected your given 20,000 credits to purchase your first ride and once you’ve selected your starting car it’s off to the races where a number of event meetings all consisting of a number of races need to be completed to earn yourself some more credits. Initially only the “Proving Grounds” race category is available but as you win races and your driver level improves additional categories and event meetings will open up. The driver level advancement is nicely paced and it ensures that you don’t try to “walk before you can run” and the game gradually eases you into harder races and stiffer competition. All in all there are nine categories culminating in a series “Endurance Races” where only those with stamina really need to apply. The events are nicely varied and generally each one will have certain restrictions, for example “cars with less than 150 horsepower”. Thus you cannot stick with one car throughout the game and you will need to either purchase, or win an appropriate car when you fancy entering another event when you haven’t got any other suitable cars.
Every time you achieve a new driver level, or your car gains a new reputation level you will be rewarded. These can range from discounts on upgrades or cars, to opening up new relationships with manufacturers which unlock car models that were previously unavailable for purchase.
As you accumulate winnings you’ll eventually start to think about upgrading your car and you won’t be disappointed with the options on offer. You can buy upgrades, in varying levels, for nearly everything. The upgrades are nicely categorised, and a handy bar chart is available to show you the positive (or negative) effects it will have should you choose to purchase and fit the new part. Upgrading is not the only option available and you can further tweak the car by “tuning” it as-well. Again a number of choices are available from changing the tyre pressure and wheel alignment to altering the brake force, aerodynamics and the differential.
Not only can you upgrade and tune a car but you can also take it to the paint shop to re-spray it, apply manufacturer vinyls or if you’re feeling creative you can apply vinyls in layers using preset or primitive decals to fully customise the look of your ride. Each car model allows you to add up to 1000 layers to the hood and each side and 500 layers to the front and rear bumpers. The sheer number of layers really allows you the freedom to make any design you could think of. I’m no artist and my talent (and patience) is strictly limited but I have seen some truly amazing custom paint jobs that have been created.
The difficulty level of Forza 2 is very customisable. Although under the hood this is definitely not an arcade racer Turn 10 have made a number of “assists” and variables available so you can have fun playing the game whatever skill level of racer you are. If you prefer to have a “suggested racing line”, “traction control” and “anti-lock brakes” with “easy” AI opponents then that’s entirely up to you. However, each variable has an effect on your overall winnings in a race and if, for example, you had all the assists and options set at the entry level then you’d have a -25% deduction applied to your winnings.
If you fancy a break from the career mode you can jump into the arcade mode which offers either “Exhibition”, “Time-Trial” or “Free Run” events. Exhibition consists of 15 races whereby you can choose you car class or select a car from your career garage with the aim of getting a gold, silver or bronze medal in each race. Time-trials features 25 circuits where the sole aim is to beat the target time using a specific vehicle, and finally free-run is what you’d expect it to be and allows you to try out any circuit.
If all this isn’t enough for you then you can try out the multi-player aspect and this offers the usual mixture of player and ranked matches, but there’s also a number of ongoing tournaments which are continually being held for you to enter upon successful qualification. The multi-player mode also plays host to an “Auction House” where you can sell unwanted cars or buy that oh-so-sweet car with the custom paint job you’ve seen if you’re willing to part with the credits.
Forza 2 is a beautiful game to look at, granted some of the courses may not be as complex as say something out of “Project Gotham Racing 3″ but this sacrifice has ensured that the game runs at a smooth 60 frames per second with a complex physics engine. If you’re ever in doubt as to how much is actually going on underneath that glossy hood you just need to turn on the telemetry display (either during a race or replay) to get feedback on a number of physical attributes effecting the car such as the G-forces or the tyre wear as you take a corner.
Although there’s not a vast number of actual racing locations available, each one has a number of different circuit alternatives. These all add to overall total number so that it becomes a respectable figure. Each circuit is nicely detailed and varied enough from one another to provide a challenge.
The cars are a big part of this game and there are a staggeringly high number (over 200) available from all sorts of global manufacturers. Although I’ve not tried out every car I have driven a fair few and each one has handling that is noticeably different to one another. Unfortunately there’s still no inside camera view and I guess it’s a casualty to ensure a smooth frame rate, but I’ve found the “bumper cam” to be perfectly adequate. If you don’t fancy the bumper view there’s also the bonnet camera and a couple of chase camera views.
The beauty about this game is that you don’t have to be a gear head to have fun playing it. The options are there so you can customise and tune to your hearts content but it’s not a requirement. Turn 10 have successfully developed a game that is accessible to all but have still maintained a hardcore racing game at its heart and for this they have to be commended. Without a doubt Forza 2 is a fantastic game and instantly takes its place on the podium along with other great racers.
This weeks Xbox Live Arcade offering is “Mad Tracks” for 800 Microsoft points. It’s a racing game in the “Micro Machines” mold, i.e. small toy cars racing around various environments. I’ve only tried the trial game but I thought I’d give my brief impressions so far.
The game offers up a couple of modes, both “arcade” and “adventure” with a number of different styles of racing within them. The trial only offers a couple of styles so it’s quite hard to decide how much fun all of them will be. The two on offer include “Blackout”, a straight 3 lap race around a circuit in what looks to be a bar. And “Beastie Balls”, a bowl arena format where you have to avoid been tagged by spawning rubber balls (last car standing wins). Of the two I preferred the straight racing and I didn’t find the arena that enjoyable. As you’re powering around the track you’ll be able to collect upgrades ranging from homing missiles to oil slicks to help you get the better of your opponents. The power ups are stackable so you can add to your stash of rockets if you so desire and you can also switch between power-ups.
Unfortunately your little car runs on a spring, and as your driving around this slowly unwinds and you have to remember to take your finger off the accelerator to allow the spring to wind-up before it’s too late and you come to a grinding stop. This can be a bit frustrating at first until you become accustomed to managing the spring and releasing the accelerator during tight turns or on jumps.
The graphics on the racing circuit “Blackout” were pretty good, but for me the arena was just a bit too dull.
The full game is playable over Xbox Live, and with some friends this may be quite an enjoyable little game. However, I wasn’t too enamoured with the single player trail version and I doubt I’ll be getting my racing fix here.
The 769MB DiRT demo was made available on the 24th May on Xbox Live Marketplace. Thanks to the new low power download settings of the dashboard I was able to download this overnight as it was going at a snails pace yesterday.
I wasn’t really aware of this game before the demo, and I was pleasantly surprised with how the games shaping up. Colin Mcrae DiRT (to use its full name) is all about off-road racing, as you’d expect if you’ve heard the name “Colin Mcrae” before as it’s synonymous with a number of rally games over the years.
The demo offers you three different cars (Subaru Impreza, Misubishi Evo IX and Ickler Jimco Buggy) but each one is linked directly to a track, so unfortunately you can’t try out each car on each track. The tracks on offer vary quite a bit from a tarmac based rally special stage using the Subaru, a long hill climb on gravel using the Mitsubishi and finally a mud based circuit using the Ickler buggy.
Two difficulty levels are available: “Rookie” and “Amateur”, with the damage and the opposition skill increasing for the latter of the two. For each race you can also get additional track information including a verbal rundown from your co-driver if desired.
Overall I was impressed with this demo, the graphics are excellent and you’re offered a good variety of camera angles including two in-car views. Both the Subaru and Impreza handled pretty well, but it took some time to get used to the Ickler on the mud track. Damage looks like it will have an impact in the game. The cars get nicely deformed from each knock, and handling does deteriorate. However with the difficulty levels available in the demo your car can take a significant amount of damage and you can still make the finish line.
I’m pleased I played the demo as it has now brought the game to my attention. I’m not sure of the exact release date, but hopefully it won’t clash too much with the Forza: Motorsport release date on 8th June.
The Forza 2: Motorsport demo is now available as a sizable 691MB download from XBox Live Marketplace.
The games starts off very smoothly with a camera panning enticingly over some detailed car models to the sound of a high beat music track. It all looks very nice at this point, but it’s how the game plays that matters. Once into the meat and potato of the demo you’re presented with three car classes to choose from: “C Class” containing production sports cars with makes from Ford, Mazda, and the like, “A Class” with high performance sports cars such as “Ferrari” and “Porsche” and the final class “R2″, which has purpose built race cars.
After you’ve chosen your class its next onto the car selection. There’s a multitude of cars to choose from (8 for each class) and you can rotate, pan and zoom the camera to get a better look at a vehicle. There’s also a variety of colours for each car you can choose from. In the upper right area of the selection screen you’re shown a diagram indicating the drive type (e.g. 4 wheel) and the the engine position. Common stats such as speed, acceleration, and handling are also displayed to help you choose the perfect ride.
Once you’ve decided upon your vehicle there’s a number of various “assists” which you can be tweaked such as “suggested line” and “traction”. I especially like the “suggested line” assist which when set to full shows the best racing and braking zones, which is perfect for novices learning the game.
Unfortunately there’s only track available in the demo, but with numerous cars to choose from it gives a bit of variety. I tried a couple of cars from each class and I was happy to find that they all handled differently. I was fairly underwhelmed with the one track that’s available, although the graphics and detailing are nice there was nothing that jumped out at me as PGR3 did all those months back. There are a number of camera views available to choose from; the obligatory bumper and rear to a nice bonnet view. However, I was disappointed to find that there was no in-car view and the rear view mirror is only available when using the bumper cam.
The handling of the cars felt good and far more realistic than say something like Ridge Racer or Test Drive. Although I doubt its a full simulation it feels like a happy medium has been reached.
One plus I liked was the car damage. When viewing the replay it was great to see my car taking a few knocks and this kind of detail increases the level of immersion for a game. I’m not sure how much this effects the car physics directly, but it’s nice to see developers going to the trouble and car manufacturers actually allowing damage to their precious car licenses.
I’m fairly happy with the demo, in the end it has to be remembered that this is just a taster of what the finished game promises to offer. I’m still optimistically looking forward to the game and getting a better impression when it is released on June 8th.
