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FINALLY A NEW EPISODE!!
New year means new games, and a new co-host!
Forza 4 continues to impress (but would like some updates!)
As many of you may or may not know, I am a huge racing game fan, and I was really looking forward to Forza 4 since I knew of the improvements over Forza 3, and the somewhat disappointing Gran Turismo 5 (how about some DLC that does NOT involve just variations of the GTR! grrrrrr…)
My biggest attraction is online racing because of the class system, and making the playing field somewhat left to driver skill – and your tuning abilities OR the tuning abilities of other users selling their tunes via the online storefront.
I have hit a few roadblocks I will outline below, let me know what you think!
First and foremost the driving mechanic is great – feels like you are driving the real thing- and I have primarily been using the controller with no assists most of the time. So it is very enjoyable if you do not have the resources to invest in an expensive wheel. For my Xbox I only have the Microsoft Brand wireless racing wheel, which is not bad by any means – but when compared to the nice bottom tier Logitech options for the PS3, it really falls short.
And for the first time since playing racing games, I have been able to experience a few of the cars first hand at high speed and I can say with confidence: they do handle like this in real life!
The car selection is massive, and from what Turn 10 has said – will continue to grow – we already saw one DLC pack which featured one of my favorite supercars to date (see below…)
The career mode does ramp up rather quickly – once you get nice and comfortable, and you begin to buy faster cars – you will be challenged. Maybe veteran Forza players find this easy, but coming from someone who has put in about 40-60 hours so far, it does get hard and I am not yet finished. A very, very important distinction of the career mode in Forza 4, it will be shaped based on which car you are currently “driving”. Maybe you want to just stay in B class, or maybe you want to try the A class races- just switch your ride and see what comes up. This is a great option for those looking for variation in their racing games as opposed to your normal laundry list of challenges. Not to mention the difficulty can be changed. Unlike the competitor’s game – your field of opponents will be closely matched. You cannot go into a B class race driving a F430 and just hit accelerate and win. This is a great touch, and really makes the career mode enjoyable. You can also choose from the event list if you’d like instead of going in order if you would like the option to see everything laid out in the traditional manner.
Now the online racing is an entirely different animal. This is my most recent challenge and I will most likely be posting a blog entry detailing how you can go about being competitive in this mode. I enjoy racing wheel to wheel, and have picked B class as my primary car selection. Forza 4 offers a variety of racing options, but to me, true circuit racing is the most fun.
All the cars can be tuned and tweaked – which is great – but also opens the possibility of some exploits. So far the community of B class racers see a few “leaderboard cars” which when modified a certain way, are definitely far superior to any B class car and should be in a higher class or rated differently. The Dodge “Super Bee” is the most notable, closely followed by a few muscle cars, DART Hemi Super Stock and the Delta Integrale EVO. We can only hope Turn 10 addresses this and can make adjustments- otherwise users will generally just kick out the user trying to race with these cars.
I am most frustrated with the balancing issues, because it does really impact the online community. Plenty of people just want to race and tune cars while other users seek the enjoyment of exploiting imbalances in the game. Overall the online community is one of the best I have experienced. I have made more new Xbox live friends in the last couple weeks than I think I had all of last year! The majority of players are not only fun to talk with during races but very competitive and fun to learn proper racing techniques etc.
The online racing does experience the occasional lag/drops – Over the past weekend, I would say at least 1 in every 20 or so races you would be dropped. I am hopeful, again, this is something Turn 10 can address and fix hopefully!
Overall this game is for the racing fan. I would say its Pokemon with cars because as much fun as I have racing – I have tuning, buying, painting and selling cars. Its the all encompassing driver experience. Minus the online occasional drops, and the slight balancing issue, this game really is in my running for the game of the year.
Forza 4 is here
I finally had some time to pour into Forza 4 this past weekend and I am now more addicted than I have been to any game in a few years. If you like cars – this game has everything. And I literally mean, EVERYTHING you could want out of a car game. (I’m talking to you Gran Turismo 5!)
I have spent a considerable amount of time with racing games in the past, and most recently have been enjoying Gran Turismo 5 with some complaining. I would compare GT5 to getting pizza from a well known chain as opposed to some nice Chicago deep dish. At the end of the day, its still pizza and it tastes good, but you’re missing some extra flare. When you try the deep dish/specialty (forza 4), you’ll know what you have been missing.
Forza 4 is a completely different animal. Its built on the previous two games on the Xbox 360 – and to be fair, I was still occasionally playing Forza 3 when this game was released. Its safe to say this game will last well into the next release, and hopefully that is a long way off.
Here are some great features to note, some new, some old with improvement.
First the single player world tour is laid out perfectly. Depending on what car you have selected, you will be presented different races as you move along in your career. You can always go to a full event layout to view everything but this mode allows you to steadily progress. You will also be rewarded XP to the car manufacturer and your player level. Each player level up to 50 will reward you with your choice of a certain group of cars. And you can then continue to level past 50 up to 150. Not sure what lies ahead of this… but the whole time earning credits you can spend on new cars, upgrades, or the online marketplace (which I will touch on later). Its also important to note that once you drive enough with one manufacturer you will no longer have to pay for upgrades – which is great for anyone interested in really tuning a particular car.
You will also be unlocking titles and emblems to use on your player profile as well, which adds a nice touch if you want to show off your car allegiance.
Lets talk about the driving, and the options. As advertised the Kinect is part of the game, but more of an add on than anything else. You can play quick races, split screen, or you explore the cars of Autovista using the kinect. Within the actual game, you can use the kinect for head tracking, which can be finely adjusted. Works well, similar to the GT5 head tracking. The Kinect works great, but using your arms, gets really tiring. Just imagine holding your arms outright for 5-8 minutes at a time – not great, but a cool display of tech.
So far I am using my controller to drive. The game allows you to turn on/off various assists and ultimately if you wanted to just hit the gas and watch, you can pretty much do that. Not saying you’ll break any speed records, but it can be done. Which just shows how accessible the game can be to the non-gamer. Now for us hardcore racing game fans, you can turn all the assists off and get a rather raw experience. You’ll feel every wheel slide, every rumble strip, and every little bump. Cars all handle significantly different based on what you are driving, and if you are driving a rear wheel car, you will feel the back cut loose. I can just say, it feels like real driving. Your cars feel like they have weight and handle as you would imagine. The collisions are merely smashed windows, and lights- with paint scuffs. Its a notch up from GT5s “melted look” BUT still not full on burnout collision damage.
As in previous Forzas, you can fully paint/design your ride by custom vinyls and colors. You could literally do this for hours and hours. If you look at what people have done – its pretty amazing.
The online portion of this game is vast – you can pick from basic circuit races broken up by class, or various gametypes, like cat-n-mouse or stock non-modified races. And finally you can browse/create custom rooms and still earn XP.
Aside from just racing online – you can set up a storefront selling cars for auction, selling tunes, selling designs, or photo browsing. If you select a specific card, you can also quickly search for tunes for that car.
Overall Forza 4 is the complete car lovers package – and just next week season pass owners (or purchase separately) will get the first pack of new car DLC and I see a Volkswagen and the new Lamborghini already.
Its safe to say this game is not going anywhere, and if you like racing, look no further. Now I only want a nice wheel similar to the Logitech GT to enjoy the game – Logitech, you listening!?
RAGE!
ID Software is no stranger to the first person genre- they are credited with the creation of first person gaming as we know it. Wolfenstein started first person shooters, and some would argue Doom refined it and presented the standard up until Quake was released and we saw multiplayer take off with Quake II and the gaming world has not been the same since.
This time around, we see a large, very large first person shooter. You might see the visuals and think Fallout, or another post apocalyptic RPG-type grind. This game is pure shooter, at 60FPS you get that control reminiscent of the late TIMESPLITTERS. Its silky smooth, and looks downright gorgeous. Instead of having straight paths, and the same wall paneling – you see unique room layouts, and non-traditional layouts of various areas. Each area seems entirely organic and unique. The enemies are climbing out and over obstacles making the challenge a little more dynamic than your standard A.I. simply walking around obstacles.
I am only about 4-5 hours into the game and so far I enjoy everything I have come across. The buggy racing is fantastic and feels like a variation of Twisted Metal, plenty of shooting with a nice tight control.
The ONLY gripe I have is the load times, and the save methods. You have checkpoints BUT you will go crazy if you don’t manually save after each big portion. Which you have to pause, go to the save, pick a slot, then it takes about 10 seconds to save. If a quick save was possible, I think this would help.
There is so much to talk about in this game, I think I will save a full proper review until after I have completed the game. You can tell attention was given to the smallest details, and to the pure shooter fans, it will be appreciated.
If it looks this good on the console, I can only imagine how it looks on a nice gaming rig.
If you like shooters, want something different but also with a longer than 5 hour play time – get Rage. Now!
Gears of War 3: Definitive Game of this Generation?
After playing a lot of Gears of War 3 over the past week, I thought about how right now, I would argue Gears of War 3 is the definitive console title of this generation, if you are now shaking your head, just let me highlight a few things this game has refined this generation.
First, we can’t deny the dual analog setup had a lot of PC gamers claiming blasphemy from their office chairs. A third person perspective really lends itself to a controller. When we first moved to the third dimension in gaming, the console games played easiest were the third person viewpoint – and I would say Gears introduced the “sticking cover” mechanic in such a manner, it was best played with a controller.
Another big aspect – Gears made your newly purchased HD TV really pop – and again, the PC gamers took a look. Up until the release of Gears of War 1, “HD gaming” was reserved for PC gamers mostly. (A few titles on the PS2, like Tourist Trophy had HD settings) But I think we can all agree Gears of War was the best looking game around – and this third installment improves on these visuals. The shadows alone are a great improvement.
The campaign, although fairly basic and nothing too innovative, does create a sense of “journey” for the player. You are moving from various settings and the game does connect these settings – whether by air balloon, boat, or truck – you have a sense of space and an actual world. Its not just a load screen and into some foreign land. Allowing couch co-op is also a big plus. We have seen couch co-op since the first home console was released; gears does this well, very well. Console games have a long history of action games. Gears allows you to play in small chunks or just one long haul. With multiple difficulty levels, achievements, and the game’s very own unlocking system, you have the complete package.
Online functionality is my biggest reason for this game (and series for that matter) being my pick for the definitive game of this generation. All of the great online options are available in this game. You can play co-op online with your friends. This generation was really the first to see an organized online community. The original Xbox introduced this with Halo 2, but the Xbox 360 refined this concept. Gears of War 3 builds upon all of the great multiplayer aspects of 1, and 2 – you can play against waves of A.I. in Horde or Beast Mode, you can play standard Team Deathmatch, you can play King of the Hill – or you can play a variation of capture the flag. Your stats are tracked, you can party up before the game, and it will automatically place you in party chat. This game features everything they claimed Xbox Live would offer. Within the game interface you can view your friends online, no need to hit the Xbox guide button. And lets not forget the achievements- no matter what side of the fence you fall on , everyone can agree achievements were a big deal when they were introduced, and the community has now come to expect this from every title.
Overall if someone wanted to see a fully fledged game from this generation, I would put Gears of War 3 on the top of the heap. Its easy to pick up, understand, and enjoy.
Thanks for reading and be sure to comment if you have something to say!
Gears of War 3 is here!
Gears of War 3 is here!
FINALLY, its here and I was lucky enough to hit up the midnight release party in Chicago. First impressions – the multiplayer feels GREAT, if you played the beta, you know what this means; nice tight controls, with increased movement speed. Really just feels like a good competitive multiplayer.
I played the first part of the singleplayer, co op with up to four people – looks great, runs great – nice big level, huge creatures, big environment that sucks you in. So far so good. I will keep posting updates as I play more but so far the verdict is good!
Got a neat bag with the game!
