Need For Speed: Shift (PS3 + 360) Review Based On PS3 Version

Upon starting Need For Speed: Shift you will find yourself behind the wheel on a track by yourself, with your trainer instructing you to take a lap and then popping the control settings up for you to fiddle about with. This isn’t so bad for experienced racers, but newcomers to the genre might find themselves a little overwhelmed, especially as the initial handling scheme is completely unsuitable for them.

A better option would probably have been for the developers to set the default controls to make for easy handling, thereby allowing less experienced players to breeze through the game’s introduction while still offering the more hardcore a chance to tune their controls. Unfortunately it went the other way and inexperienced players who stick with the default setting are likely to find themselves even more frustrated in the long-term than if they’d spent fifteen minutes experimenting with different settings on the practice track.

Still, don’t let first impressions scare you off, Shift is a solid racer and has something to offer players of all skill levels. The game’s single player career mode offers 150 different events, and doing well will unlock bigger events and better cars. It’s all building up to the World Tour, which you can unlock earlier than you might think, essentially offering you the ability to lengthen or shorten your single-player experience. You can do the bare minimum required to race in the World Tour, or you can hit every single event, it’s up to you.

The unlocks work by earning stars during races. You can earn stars by finishing in position but also for a number of other feats during each race. Run each race perfectly and you will unlock the higher level content more quickly. Race just adequately and you can still advance, it will just take you more events. The stars are a great game mechanic because they encourage you to focus on more than just driving fast and finishing first, which keeps the gameplay fresh. It’s also fun and challenging to go back and try for perfect runs in events where you missed stars, but it’s not required and you can simply move on to a new event instead. Online game modes also rewards players for precision and aggression like the single player does.

One area where the single player game can be a bit frustrating though, is the AI driving of your competitors. The Need for Speed developers tied AI performance strongly to your own. In idealistic terms, this means no matter what your skill level is, your opponents will be evenly matched. In reality it means if you lose speed by taking a corner to wide and end up on the grass, your opponents all slam on their brakes and wait for you to catch up. The same thing happens in reverse when you’re driving exceptionally well: the AI drivers will also be driving exceptionally well, not only making them very difficult to beat but also lessening your sense of accomplishment at how well you ran the course.

Need For Speed: Shift offers an enormous variety of excellent courses and cars. It’s not without flaws but overall it’s an extremely fun ride.

Review Based On PS3 Version

This arcade racer has some hardcore appeal, but casual gamers will fall in love instantly with it. While many other racing games focus on buying new cars, customizing cars and climbing event ladders, that can be a bit intimidating (not to mention frustrating) and some gamers just don’t enjoy focusing on those aspects. They want to sit down and drive, and that’s what GRID offers. You can choose to race muscle cars through city streets in the US, touring cars on racetracks in Europe, or head to Japan for some drifting action in souped-up Suburus and the like.

GRID still has a system where you earn money, buy new vehicles and move up a hierarchy of events, but it doesn’t feel like it because the moment you start to feel muscle cars or urban environments becoming tedious you can head over to Europe and it’s like a whole new game. If something is getting old or simply frustrating, there are always two completely different things you can be doing. There are also no vehicle upgrades. You just sell your old one and buy something better. For hardcore gamers that might be a check in the minus column but for casual players it’s one less level of unnecessary complication standing between them and their next race.

The control scheme is also very accessible, which won’t give racing sim aficionados anything to cheer about but again is a feature that makes the game very accessible to less experienced racers. You’ll also see some sophisticated damage modeling and cars will begin to have performance quirks and problems as they take more and more damage to specific areas of the vehicle. Minor damage won’t affect driveability at all but a heavily damaged car can be virtually impossible to get across the finish line.

There is also a flashback feature that allow you to jump back in time to replay a portion of track where things went seriously wrong for you. This is not just helpful for when you accidentally drive straight into a wall, but also for when you’re thrown into one. Yes, the game’s AI opponents are extremely aggressive. This adds another level of excitement and challenge to the game, but because of the flashback option it’s unlikely to frustrate even the greenest driver too much.

Purists are still rewarded though, your prize money at the end of each race is determined in part by what difficulty level you raced at (which in turn controls how many flashbacks you can use) and is reduced somewhat every time you use the flashback feature. In this way the game remains accessible but the hardcore faithful will get better pay, and therefore better cars earlier in the game.

GRID’s graphics are smart and really add to the feel of the game. The AI opponents drive in a challenging, but realistic manner. You can also play online with up to 11 other players, and you can use any of the tracks or vehicles from the single player game during multiplayer as well. This game isn’t all things to all players but it doesn’t try to be. What it is, is just plain fun.

Split second is an intense action racing game set within the world of hyper-competitive reality TV show. Competitors race against one another to be first over the finishing line in a made for television city built specifically for destruction with the ultimate goal being the one who can be crowned the season champion. Split Second is a blend of street racing skills, mixed with a sprinkle of tactics and an awful amount of sheer carnage.

Just as in any car racing game the ultimate object is to be first over the finishing line. Your dash for that line is however hampered by other competitors who will happily trigger destruction on the track to take out their opponents. Sure, your car may look fantastic and handle well, but can it outrun a falling building or crashing plane.

 

To set these disasters into motion you have to remain just a little patient. A power play gauge continues to grow the longer you leave it. Boost the gauage upwards by demonstrating your driving skills in avoiding near misses and entering fast slipstreams. Resist the temptation to use this gauage until it turns red and watch the awesome destruction power unleash as you hit that button.

Due for release by Disney in May it is set to go head to head with Blur for the top driving video game. It will be available on both the PS3 and Xbox 360 and no doubt it will have it’s devotee’s rushing home to play it online or in 8 player mode.

Burnout Paradise Playstation 3 plus Xbox 360
The latest Burnout will take you down to Paradise City where the grass may not be green but the cars sure are pretty. Of course, they won’t look pretty for long because Burnout is all about smashing & crashing, and Paradise is no different. What IS different is the way the gameplay has been organized, or in this case hasn’t been. This open world street racer gives you a freedom not often seen in racing games, but will be familiar to players of games like Grand Theft Auto. There are no real questionable moral decisions in Burnout Paradise though, just adrenalin pumping action behind the wheel of some of the sweetest rides you’ve ever pimped.

A large part of the game is just exploring. You’ll find fences you can drive through, billboards you can knock over, and and many other aspects to the interactive environment. You will also find events. When you first start out you’re not really given any direction or instruction, there are no events marked on your map. It’s up to you to discover them and make your own path to greatness. As you explore and discover more events and more of the city the gameplay just keeps getting better because there is simply an enormous amount of content. While you start with nothing specific to do except drive around, it won’t take long before you know the city like your own backyard.

 

It can be a little intimidating the first few times you race because you don’t really know the area and rather than finish a given race you might actually make a wrong turn and get lost. The beauty of it is, unlike other racing games where you need to score well in a race to get to the next race, in Paradise City you can just drive a few blocks over from wherever you happen to find yourself and there’s a different race you can join in. Once you’ve been around the block a few times you’ll find yourself back at events you’d previously flubbed, but now better equipped to meet the challenge.

One of the more interesting things you can do in Burnout Paradise is send your car into a controlled death spiral and just topple end-over-end while smashing everyone and everything in sight as your car flies violently through the air. The more stuff you smash, the more points you get, the further your car goes. It is completely unrealistic and somewhat disturbing to watch. In other words, Awesome!

Burnout Paradise also offers an online mode that can be accessed from anywhere in the city with a flick of your thumb and allows up to 8 players to drive around the city simultaneously. You can take part in any number of organized challenges (there are a ton of them), or just drive around and smash into stuff/each other.

Fans of previous Burnout titles may initially get the wrong idea, but make no mistake: Paradise is Burnout through-and-through. The unconventional format may not be familiar but it genuinely works to the game’s advantage and takes the title in a new direction for the genre as well. The open format and laid-back progression means you can play for as long or short as you like and both hardcore and casual gamers will find themselves really loving this game.

Nascar 09 PS3 and Xbox 360

With Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards added to the roster, Nascar 09 is the latest and greatest release for fans the sport. Gordon graces the box cover because he actually is your crew chief in the game and helps you through every step on your way to the checkered flag. Improved graphics and and some serious customization options also make this game worth checking out for both veteran and casual racers.

The centerpiece of the single player game is a new career mode that lets you start off by creating your driver and a totally custom look for your car. One of the customization options is sponsor decals, but only a few sponsors initially want anything to do with a newcomer like you. Get to the podium a few times though, and you’ll find new sponsors lining up for you to put their logo on your ride. There is also the small matter of being able to import graphics from the internet. Yes, you read that correctly: you can make your own designs on your computer, upload them to a server and then import them to customize your car.

 

In Nascar 09 you advance the single player game by gaining new sponsors and by completing over 70 different challenges, which can range from standard fare (complete a lap without going slower than 150mph) to some more creative tasks. You can also custom-tune your car before every race. The tuning mode has an easily modified difficulty setting, essentially allowing more experienced drivers to fine tune anything they can imagine but offering less hardcore players some preset tuning options that won’t leave them scratching their heads.

Difficulty tweaking isn’t just limited to tune ups though, it’s an area this game excels in overall. There are three difficulty levels that will change how tough your competitors (AI drivers) are and two driving schemes: one that offers accessible vehicle handling casual gamers will enjoy, and one that’s trickier but will offer hardcore veterans more control. There are also a couple of in-game settings which indirectly can affect difficulty, it’s all very straightforward and no matter what your skill level or preferences it won’t take you long to set this game up exactly to your liking.

The game also sounds great. From the roar of the crowd to the rock tunes playing on the track, you’ll get the feeling you’re really behind that wheel. Visually, Nascar 09 is pretty good too, especially the first-person camera mode that puts you in the driver’s seat. Where the look of the game falls short is crashes — not because of the graphics themselves but you just don’t see spectacular crashes in this game. It’s just one of those little things that would have been nice for the programmers to think of, a detail that doesn’t really affect gameplay too much but would have added to the immersion and ambiance a great deal.

Online play is available for up to 14 players simultaneously but is still subject to a race being yellow-flagged if any of those drivers decides to go off the reservation. The nice thing is you can turn yellow flags off, and even turn off collisions in online or single-player game modes. Overall Nascar 09 is a fun racer anyone can get into and Nascar fans in particular will enjoy.

Looking for some thrilling dirt-track action? MX vs. ATV Reflex is the latest and greatest. In an attempt to combine elements from both arcade racing and the more realistic racing sims the developers have met with mixed success in a game that can sometimes be both frustrating and fantastic.

First, the good: This game has a ton of content. The title is misleading because you’re not limited to motorcross bikes and all terrain vehicles. There are also buggies, UTV’s and even offroading trucks to try your hand racing with. Each type of vehicle drives very differently, as you might expect, making each track feel different even if you’ve raced it many times in other vehicles. That’s not to say you have to replay the same tracks over and over, MX vs. ATV Reflex has a ton of courses and most of them hit all the marks when it comes to both visuals and how the tracks handle.

 

You’ll also notice new environmental challenges. Vehicles now leave ruts in the mud and while these aren’t too worrisome while driving a truck, smaller vehicles and especially motorcross bikes can get jarred around by them and occasionally lose control. Speaking of control, there is now a dual-stick control scheme that ties your left control stick to the vehicle and your right control stick to the driver. The purpose of controlling the driver is primarily for balance. You can lean into turns, lean forward to keep balance while climbing a hill, lean back just before a jump, etc. You can even lean in mid-air to adjust your vehicle’s orientation, and on landing to prevent wiping out.

It’s not all mud and rainbows though. The controls can sometimes be finicky and the physics of the game can occasionally just seem to go haywire. These things happen more often than they probably should and can cause some real frustration. Also, some of the tracks can be overly challenging in and of themselves. More experienced players will no doubt be used to racing a track multiple times trying for a perfect run but there are no real options to make things easier for less hardcore players who just want to finish one race and advance to the next level.

The single player career mode is excellent. Not only is there variety in tracks and locations but also different types of events to compete in. One of the more interesting, although occasionally frustrating, are the freestyle events. In these events you are judged basically for doing jumps and tricks, but it’s not clear exactly what the judges want to see and therefore difficult to plan a run you know will score big if done flawlessly. Overall though, the single player game will keep you occupied for a while and is a boatload of fun.

Multiplayer was not forgotten either, and the game allows online play for up to 12 players, or a 4 player split-screen mode. There are also a couple of game modes which are only available in the multiplayer game. MX vs. ATV Reflex is a good looking game, but lacks the high-end graphics and sound some other recent titles sport. Don’t let that stop you from checking it out though. This title may appeal to hardcore racers more than casual gamers but it’s really a game anyone can enjoy playing.

On the surface this racer might not seem like much, but play it for a while and you’ll find it has some strong appeal. Many games these days focus on the immersion experience through technology: hyper-realistic graphics and sound effects, primarily. Some games do this to the exclusion of other, more important gameplay elements and though their outer shell might impress and delight, players eventually discover the interior of such games ring hollow. World of Outlaws: Spring Cars is basically the polar opposite of that.

First impressions will leave you thinking this game must have been released for the original Xbox and can’t possibly be any newer than five-years-old. Oddly enough, no. This game is new for 2010 on the Xbox 360. Or is it?  In actuality, similar games were released for the Playstation 2 in 2002 and for PC gamers in 2003.  While this isn’t a direct port, I am highly suspicious the history of the title goes a long way towards explaining the aliased sprint car models and lackluster audio. Still, it doesn’t look or sound terrible — it’s just not up the impressive standards other racers have led us to expect. There is far more to a game than the graphics and sound though, and that’s where World of Outlaws begins to shine.

The available tracks are definitely a spot where the game is deceivingly diverse. There are only twelve tracks, all oval race courses and all in the United States, but although that sounds incredibly boring I assure you it is not. The courses have enormous variety, in the pitch of the track on turns, how many lanes of cars can fit abreast, as well as varied external elements specific to the locale. The single player career mode is extremely deep and rewarding, with challenging-yet-fun gameplay that will outlast the career modes of many more popular racing titles. There are achievements too, although you might want to turn notifications off because unlocking one can cause the game to freeze up for a few seconds.

Even some long-time racing gamers might find themselves on unfamiliar ground with some of Sprint Car racing’s specific quirks. Each race begins, not with all the drivers holding their breaths waiting to slam their foot down on the accelerator but with rolling starts that have you and the other drivers moving around the track prior to (and waiting for) the green light that announces the official beginning of the race. Controls might be a little unfamiliar-feeling as well, as is the view of your car because Sprint Cars are specifically designed for just this single purpose: going left around an oval track. They have larger wheels on the right side for this reason (to maintain both speed and control during left turns) and the look and feel can take a bit of getting used to. That’s not a bad thing though, it’s just a new experience.

The AI drivers you’ll face in career mode are one of the things that really puts this game in play and makes it worth checking out. Some games have AI drivers that are simply terrible to the point where you’re consciously aware the computer is piloting them (and that the computer is dumb). Other racing games constantly remind you their drivers are computer-controlled because they never make any mistakes and are almost unfairly difficult to beat. World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars hits the Goldilocks zone with drivers that aren’t too great, aren’t too bad, and always just seem like… well, other drivers. Because of this, the in-game immersion benefits enormously because you can believe there is a person behind the wheel of those other cars, and that makes you feel like you’re really behind the wheel too.

Multiplayer is not fantastic, but you can race online with up to 8 players. Games can suffer from lag occasionally but are mostly all-right. This title’s strong point is definitely its single-player career mode though, especially as you cannot fill out any empty slots with AI drivers in multiplayer mode. The career mode is really strong though and the Sprint Car aspect to the game brings something new to the table for the genre. World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars is definitely worth checking out for hardcore racing gamers.

Xbox 360 and Playstation 3

Due for release on or around May 25th depending on what part of the world you reside in Blur threatens to be a number one best seller for race fans. The game drops players into heart-pumping, electrified racing action with 20 cars starting out on the track and all targeting the finish line. However the race for the line isn’t a straightforward one as the driver’s battle against each other and trading paint as they collect the intense power-ups littered around the circuit. I liken it to an adult version of Mario Kart with better graphics and greater playability.

The cars themselves look sleek and sexy with over 50 to select from but don’t expect your motor to look like it has just left the showroom as you cross the finishing line. As you bump and scuff your way around the street circuit expect to see wing mirrors fly off, panels get dented and cars getting completely trashed.

The race tracks are exciting and carry a varied degree of difficulty; they include street circuits from Hackney in the UK to L.A. San Francisco and Spain. The real difference Blur brings to the table over rival race car games is the power ups which can literally change the outcome of a race in seconds.

Power ups are special abilities that you can pick up on the track and use against your opponents, there are five in total:

• Nitro the simplest power up gives you a burst of speed.
• Shunt a projectile weapon to lift an opponent off the track.
• Shock an electric energy transmitted from the roof of your car.
• Barge when you feel cramped in activate barge and throw your opponents sideways.
• Mines drop a mine and watch the explosion.

Looking beyond Blur’s single player story, gamers can engage in competitive and team-based multiplayer races with up to 20 players online, or on a single console via 4-player split-screen. Bizarre Creations are especially excited to introduce Blur’s original social gaming experience – Custom Groups, where anyone can create unique multiplayer modes based on their favorite ways to play the game. These new modes are immediately shared through Blur’s social network, expanding the game in ways that are only limited by the gaming community’s creativity.

Review Based On Xbox 360 Version – Also available on the Wii and PS3

Codemasters’ latest racing title, Dirt 2, is an offroad racer that pits you against some of today’s top drivers. As a relative unknown, you don’t start with much but do well in a few races and you’ll find yourself with some sweet new rides. There are nearly forty vehicles in the game and each one is defined by it’s handling, acceleration, and top speed. Upgrades kits become available as you progress and although there is not a lot of vehicle customization and tuning available, there is some and it’s very straightforward even for beginners to tweak their rides to be more in line with their driving style.

Drivers of all skill level can play all the way through the career mode and have a blast doing it. With over 100 events, Dirt 2 will feed you hours upon hours of adrenaline pumping high-speed action before you finally reach the pinnacle of your offroad racing career, and that’s not even counting the superb multiplayer game. Wherever you race, you’ll be staging out of your RV which acts as a first-person interactive menu keeping you immersed in the game world. It also serves to display trophies and souvenirs you collect from the different races and locations you visit.

You can adjust difficulty settings prior to each race so if you’ve just started driving a new vehicle or your last run went a little more offroad than you would have liked you can tune it down for the next race. Conversely, if you were playing it safe but a few races in you feel like you’ve really got the hang of it and want to up the challenge you can, any time mid-career. There is also a flashback feature that allows you to undo driving mistakes mid-race. How many flashbacks you get is determined by what difficulty level you are currently playing at.

The AI is pretty good. Your opponents drive strategically and are not pushovers to beat, and when they do make mistakes they can be even more dangerous if you happen to be behind them. An odd little feature Codemasters added in is other (computer controlled) drivers will change their opinions of you over time depending on how well you do and your racing history. This is seen primarily by things they say to you during the race. It’s an interesting idea and certainly adds a bit more to the illusion that you’re really a part of their community and eventually they see you as one of their peers.

Multiplayer, while lacking a split-screen option, is otherwise fantastic. There is little-to-no lag and every experience from the single-player game is available in multiplayer: All game modes, all vehicles, all tracks. The vehicles and tracks, by the way, look amazing. They are somewhat stylized so people who crave ultra-realism may not be thrilled but if you’re at all flexible on that then you will be impressed by the way this game looks. Of course, a major complaint often tied to great looking games is that the framerate suffers when there’s too much going on at once. This doesn’t seem to be the case at all with Dirt 2, which had the occasional screen jitter but for the most part ran perfectly.

Overall, Dirt 2 is both an accessible racer anyone can and will enjoy, and a thrilling challenge for experienced veterans. If you love offroad racing, or if you just think you might “like” it, you will love this game.

Review Based On PS3 Version – Also available on the Xbox360

The Midnight Club racing game franchise’s entry into the PS3 market is visually stunning and difficult to master. Clearly the developers were keen to take advantage of the Playstation 3′s graphical capabilities and they did so very well. The cars look fantastic, the backdrops are jaw-dropping, and the sometimes grimy-looking streets make you really feel like you are speeding through the city of angels.

With a few cut-scenes and some brief back-story, the game manages to ease you into the game world quickly and doesn’t waste too much time before you find yourself behind the wheel. Not long after that you’ll begin to notice the dynamic environment: Time marches on and day turns into night, which eventually becomes day again. Sun is blocked out by clouds, which occasionally turn dark and pour sheets of glistening rain down onto the pavement, only to clear up a bit later and let the sun shine through again. It’s street racing gone-virtual-reality and it is one of the most immersive experiences ever offered for racing game fans. You’ll even see familiar brands like Pizza Hut and Holiday Inn while driving around the city.

 

Immersion can sometimes conflict with the ultimate purpose of a game though, and to some extent that happens with the map system in Midnight Club: Los Angeles. You have a minimap on your screen while racing but you can also zoom out seamlessly to an overhead view like a blimp camera or satellite photo of the area. It’s a gorgeous system but it completely lacks one thing: route information. You can set waypoints, but there is no easy way to keep track of which streets you need to take in order to get to each waypoint. It’s like having a fantastic GPS mounted to your dashboard that does everything except give you directions. This can mean making wrong turns during a race, and that wouldn’t be so bad except for the fact that the drivers you are up against (the AI ones at least) don’t make those mistakes.

Drive around for a bit and it won’t be long before you run into other drivers who are spoiling for a race. Flash your lights and pull up to the starting line to get going, earn respect and cold hard cash for doing well. There are several racing modes to keep things interesting and earning respect unlocks new vehicles and customization options. Unfortunately, while cash doesn’t often become a problem in this game you may find gaining enough respect to unlock your next intended purchase can sometimes be a frustrating endeavor.

This is in part due to the fact that Midnight Club: Los Angeles has some of the most flawless AI drivers you’ve ever been up against. The programmers did a great job teaching their computer drivers how to maneuver each hairpin turn but seemingly forgot to teach the computer to drop the ball every once in a while so you have a fighting chance. Ultimately this means a single error can cost you any given race. Although races are rated for difficulty, those ratings seem to be based on the course and not the AI drivers — so a course that’s easier for you is also easier for your competitor, making it not-easier-at-all to win.

Multiplayer is where this game really shines, primarily because you’re not racing against the computer anymore. There are several racing modes and the game supports up to 16 players at once, either on the internet or by system link. Midnight Club: Los Angeles is a very good game overall, but the one major flaw (flawless AI drivers) ends up making the single-player game less fun than it could have been. Still, you’ll have a blast and if you’re the type of racer who loves a challenge then this might become your new favorite game.

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