Retro Review: Project Gotham Racing 2

Ah, Project Gotham Racing. If you checked out my Blur review, you know I like Bizarre Creations as a developer. While F1 97 was my introduction to them, it was here when I really got to know about their formidable reputation for racing games. Going into this retrospective I thought one thing: "PGR2 had to be the slickest racing game I ever played". I remember the gorgeous cars, the great handling, the real world cities to pull off all manner of style, and the various events that you competed in to earn kudos. Notably, I thought it looked as good a racer as the original xbox was ever going to produce at the time. But do my statements still hold up over 10 years since the game's release? Does it legitimately beat out Forza Motorsport where it counts? And is it still worth talking about releasing a new instalment?

Despite playing this retrospective on the Xbox 360, I would recommend playing PGR2 on the original xbox. Firstly, there are some small technical hiccups from moving consoles, such as freezes and a black screen when selecting cars in the world series mode. Second, you have custom soundtracks on the original xbox that you can play on the radio stations while racing. Burnt CD's make a welcome change from the tracks shipped with the game, especially later on when you will have likely heard them all many times. Its a small touch, but its hard to beat The Cardigans "My Favourite Game" as you speed through the city streets.

For the record this is also the single player review. Multiplayer split screen is still fun, but the lack of online in 2015 is a blow to really fleshing it out.

The game contains a few different options for players. The single player has three main branches, the Kudos World Series, Arcade Racing and Time attack, and these three branch into a series of challenges for the player to complete.

The Kudos World Series feels most like a conventional single player, so most should jump in here first. The progression is done with 14 different car classes and over 100 vehicles, spread over every location the game has to offer. You must complete a series of challenges in one car class before you move up to the next series. Classes tend to feature two or three cities, all of which are beautifully modelled and have a nice introduction at every event.

The actual racing events are fairly straightforward when looking through modern eyes. There are street races, time challenges, one on one events and overtake events. Some more unique events are the cone challenges and speed camera events (where you must reach a set top speed). Cone challenges in particular emphasise the philosophy behind PGR; Its all well and good winning, but the best racers win in style.

If you want to succeed in Project Gotham Racing, you must earn kudos, the currency you need to unlock new (and often better) cars. To earn kudos, you must drive stylishly. The more common moves you tend to pull off are cornering well, powersliding around corners, racing a section without damaging your car and driving behind your opponents for drag and a slight speed boost (drafting).

You also earn bonus kudos based on the difficulty you choose. Silver is actually a reasonable normal, but a great challenge is found in gold, and only the best tactics and driving can get you to the platinum medals. The extra kudos bonus always has you trying to perfect your way around a course, and is a great incentive to push harder than you would in other racers.  This also helps the novice drivers out there, who may not be getting great cars, but can complete the career mode earning just steel and bronze and be content. Additionally, to ease the player from frustration when aiming one level beyond, the retry option is always there that instantly has you starting again. None of this excessive load times you tend to associate with newer racers out there.

There is something of a gambling theme running through the difficulty and scoring system that I quite enjoyed. Going back to cone challenges, these events in particular emphasise the combo bonus. If you pull off a succession of slick moves in between 2 seconds, a small bonus is given and increases with each subsequent move until your combo is done. Chaining two or three moves will net you maybe 5-10 kudos, but pull it off all race and the bonus is in the thousands. This bonus is the main way to pass cone challenges, and its up to you to decide whether you should keep the combo going or slow down and bank what you have. Crash, or hit a cone and you say goodbye to that bonus score.

Ranking up the world series from VW Golfs all the way through SUV's, touring cars, roadsters and up to the Ultimate high end racers is a great progression system. Each class gets just enough time devoted to it that it isn't short lived nor overstays its welcome. I wish PGR4 kept this system rather than multiple seasons to be honest, its just more straightforward.

Typical race selection in a class

The AI is about as impressive as you expect for a decade old game, and no doubt drivatars do it better, but opponents do put up a challenge in street races. Still, its very possible (and nigh essential in platinum) to knock an opponent off at the first corner and hold onto a lead for the rest of the race, particularly on one on one events. The actual driving is enjoyable and covers a wide range from drifting kings to speed demons. Each vehicle has its own handling feel, and some excel in a form of handling that requires their use. You WANT a drifty car for racking up extra kudos in cone challenges. The controls fit neatly between the hardcore tuning sims and the more obvious drift friendly arcade racers. So, if you like the idea of pushing a Skyline to its limits in a semi-realistic way, but without having to set up the damn thing for 15 mins, then this is the racer for you.

Outside of World tour, you have Arcade mode, which has a series of races in one specific category (Cone challenge, street race and timed run) and you can earn kudos by taking part. Vehicles and tracks are pre-set so its up to you to make the most of what you have been given. Its actually a great alternative to World Tour, where car selection plays a slightly larger role. I particularly enjoyed the string of 20 cone challenges, and testing your ability to really rack up the score for platinum medals.

Lastly there is Time attack, which, like arcade mode, has set tracks and set vehicles, but its a more relaxed affair, as no kudos score nor difficulty is involved. Its just you and the racing.

One more mention of note is the Instant Action option in the main menu. If you aren't in the mood to navigate the various branches of the single player, you can select this option and get a random car, city and mode to race in. Great for five minutes of action and adds a 'pick up and play' option. More racers could do with this small addition, and its a shame its not seen that much on modern games.

I mentioned how this is the slickest racer out for the Xbox and the presentation definitely helps the game out. All of the cars are modelled with great detail for the time (including modelled interiors and animations), the cities are well and truly mapped street for street for an authentic racing experience, and the menu's and interface are simple, but not trying too hard at impressing like perhaps its sequels. It has aged, particularly with the lack of extra details once the cities and vehicles were modelled, but this is one of the better looking xbox racers. The sequels did add the extra detail to impress, but even without that its got the authentic masquerade in full swing.

As great as the box art

Its not just the visuals that impress. The city specific radio stations further give each city its own flavour and Menu music and sound effects are simply perfect; I cannot think of a better sounding racing game as far as menu's and sound design are concerned. The soundtrack is varied too, from calming night drives to desperate last lap sprints, you won't feel the need to turn the radio off for a while. All in, the audio has you feeling like you are about to get into the driver's seat, and that's exactly what you need for this game.

While this retrospective has seemingly had a strong set of rose tinted glasses, there has to be a few flaws to be acknowledged. Sadly Xbox live multilayer is offline, as it is with all original xbox titles. From my understanding this was a racer to really showcase online multiplayer until Halo 2 came along and introduced the lobby to consoles.

The presentation has not dated all that badly, but the driving does feel less enjoyable than it did in 2003. Playing PGR4 or Blur shows the subtle advances that Bizarre implemented to improve handling across the board. Bizarre also added a few more modes to the series, and compared to the more recent Forza games, PGR2 would feel a lot more repetitive and anaemic if its cone challenges and overtake modes were missing. Also notably absent for more hardcore racing fans are a cockpit view and tuning system. Save for a transmission option, all you get to change about your vehicle is the paint job. The game also has a feel of being stuck between arcade and simulation at times, minus the intense speed and craziness of the former nor the insane customisation and physics of the latter.

This is still king for a sense of speed

It is also apparent in the world tour that there tends to be only one or two cars you need to win races per class. Grand Touring has the Ferrari Maranello, Sports Utility has the Porsche Cayenne Turbo and so on. Sometimes you may have a class with a vehicle with slightly better acceleration to beat speed camera events, but for the most part the car with best top speed and acceleration wins.

And of course, for a game that demands fast reacting at times, the reduction from the previous games 60 FPS to 30 has an effect on gameplay in subtle ways. You won't have the faster 'feel' up close, so the pacing may appear slower. The quality of the graphics had to mean compromise in some areas, and this is it. It doesn't wreck the game by any means, since 30 was standard for its time, so its just a nitpick.

I guess my reasons why I prefer Project Gotham Racing to Forza comes down to the kudos mentality of progression, the racing taking place in the cities as opposed to purpose built tracks, a strong and unique identity to its presentation, and the actual driving feels more enjoyable to play. This really is an arcade game wearing a simulations coat of real cars and cities, and I think this broader appeal is why it worked as the Xbox's flagship racing series until the 360's release of Forza 2. I hear rumours every now and then that there is the possibility of a reboot or new instalment in the series, but with the success of Forza Horizon as an arcade/sim hybrid it is unlikely, and oversaturating the racing genre is not Microsoft's strategy.

Project Gotham Racing 2 is one of those top tier xbox racing games that offers a middle ground for players who don't want to tweak everything like a simulation, but also want a sense of authenticity to their racing. This has everything a fan could want from the series, with the series strongest track lineup and progression system. Importantly, the single player stands the test of time, being thoroughly fleshed out and not dependant on an online component (as perhaps Blur was) or DLC down the line to be great as it is. This is not really a game for players turned off racing games, but if you feel the need for speed and have your old xbox, definitely check this one out. If you have more recent consoles, give the sequels a shot as well (They are really cheap now). Forza may be Microsoft's favourite racer now, but its worth remembering the brilliance that preceded it.

Now the Hype is Gone: WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2007

Ah, WWE. Some part of my youth was spent watching SmackDown and Heat on TV on weekend mornings, and seeing the heroes of the attitude era fight weekly. While boxing (and later MMA) revealed the ultimate kayfabe nature of wrestling entertainment, it was during college that I renewed interest in watching the Pay Per Views, and appreciated the skills and physical pressure put on the superstars week in, week out. Yeah, its silly now, and not nearly as interesting as the attitude era, but you always get a great match every now and then that demands your attention.

After a disappointing Survivor Series, I thought I may as well dive into Smackdown vs Raw 2007 for a more positive experience. As a fan of WWE, its no surprise that I may have a biased opinion on this as opposed to the UFC games. My last experience with wrestling games came from Smackdown 2: Know your role back in 2001, and that was barrels of fun. But does the SvR series have great value for a wrestling game?

First impressions were somewhat mixed; Being developed by Yukes (who have done every major WWF/E game since 2000), SvR 2007 does feel very similar to the games of old. That is both a good and bad thing. The good news is that the creation tools, game modes and career options are as fun as you remember back on the PS1. The Flipside of course is that this is a game developed for consoles two generations later and with more expansive opportunities, it feels a little primitive alongside similar games built from the ground up for the 360. It also doesn't help that it has an anaemic playlist of 2007's worst alternative metal tracks and odd hip hop to keep you going through painfully long and frequent loading times.

Be prepared to see this a lot, especially with matches of 4 wrestlers or more

Aside from the comparisons to its earlier incarnations, there are a few things that trip up the fun. The initial user interface of the game is a bit iffy, particularly with throwing you headfirst into the game for the first time. The brief video tutorials introducing the controls and movesets are not the most helpful, but then this was before every last game had interactive sequences for every step. Game modes are not well explained as to how you actually perform finishers on table matches, casket matches etc (I had to resort to looking online just to find how to break the Spanish announcers table). In the long run, you really need to create a character, assign the controls you want, and then play through that way to have some sense of what you are doing.

Thankfully, the creation tools are user friendly enough and at the same time feature scores of variables. Instead of going straight to the matches, its wiser to start from scratch and build your own superstar.

First and foremost, this is a game intended to make you feel like you are a part of the WWE experience, and for the most part it pulls it off very well. You can create your superstar to battle against the established legends, create a Pay Per View event with the dream matches, create an entrance for peppered variety, and even title belts for some elaborate hardcore championship. The character customisation has a wide variety of clothing and moves. Choose whatever you like, but I strongly recommend picking the heavyweight weight class. My first playthrough had a Cruiserweight struggling to lift a few bags of potatoes around let alone the Big Show or Kane, so if you want a superstar that can actually compete and pull off fantastic moves, go for heavyweight.

Another way the game intends you to thoroughly enjoy the WWE experience is the career mode. Your created superstar goes through a season of the WWE with contracts and feuds against the well known stars. You get in typical double crosses, backstage fights, a love story is thrown in for good measure, and you ultimately have showdowns at the major PPV events. Its all silly stuff, but as a fan its hard to dislike. WWE is a lads soap opera after all, so the corny dialogue and overacting is worth a watch. The e-mails and magazines you get over the seasons also flesh out the stars, particularly General Manager Teddy Long during the first stint at SmackDown.

I do have an issue with the career progression, in that your created character is so weak initially you can't put up a decent fight until you have levelled up after four-six months. To make that issue stick out more is the roster you face initially. The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio and Chris Benoit are great to see, but these were (at the games release) top tier stars that would beat any created characters. Starting at the midcard against the likes of Finlay or Hardcore Holly would have been a better place to start with before fighting progressively stronger stars instead of being thrown in at the deep end. Being on the losing end of a match means things devolve into button mashing just to recover from powerful moves, and after a while it becomes frustrating.

The streak was 17-0 undefeated at this point, no chance you n00bs will break it

The gameplay itself is fairly solid, a long list of moves is great to have in a fighting game, and adding dozens of match types spices up the usual one on one seen in others in the genre. The interactive environments and weapons add a layer of strategy to the matches, and if your character is a heel type its encouraged. Finishers are done with multiple camera angles and sound effects for emphasis and added oomph, something apparently lacking in more recent entries. The responsive controls work well, and you never feel like you are pulling off moves you didn't intend to. Being on the receiving end of multiple blows does require a lot of seemingly fruitless button mashing but there are counters to grapples that, if timed right, give you a chance to regain some momentum.

Multiplayer matches are very entertaining. Being a series made on the PS1, its no surprise split screen is catered for, but with the 360's 4 player support, you can have a great time with ladder matches, royal rumbles, or a TLC match.

Online support was also for the 360 version, but unfortunately at the time of writing the population is non-existent. Bets are they are on WWE 2K16 by now.

The game does bear the mark of the time it was made. The brand extension of the WWE means you feel like you have half a game in career mode until you get to the Raw side and play through the other half of the roster. The push of some wrestlers on loading screens seem funny when viewed in hindsight. Benoit, Khali and Boogeyman stand out as ones that simply are not getting pushed again in future. The presentation is far from the best nowadays but it get the job done, and the announcers deliver their lines well during matches, but it gets old and repetitive fast. Sound effects from Smackdown 2 actually are in this game, such as countouts and ropebreaks, further hurting the familiar feel. AI feels a bit slow to respond in comparison to later entries, so seeing the ever energetic Mysterio stand around for a second is a bit distracting.

durr

A really minor final gripe, but any location not in the states or UK will feel ticked off at thit tiny detail in customisation; where your superstar is from.

As an Irishman this tidbit surprisingly ticked me off, Finlay is from here!

Smackdown Vs Raw 2007 is an entertaining, if familiar wrestling game and worth playing for fans of the WWE. Its a game that lives or dies on the blend of customisation, wrestling and story, and it pulls off these well enough to recommend. Non-fans will be turned off by the silly stories, painful load times and dated presentation. However, anyone can appreciate the fun and solid gameplay that holds the whole thing together. Multiplayer with friends, a few beers, some hot wings and SvR is not a bad way to spend a few hours, and its a great warm up activity before those PPV's. However,it does feel ultimately like FIFA; to be bought every few years for non fans to really notice the difference. SvR 2010 was a refinement of the series, so if that game is at a discount, I would probably play that over this. That said, 2007 is a respectable entry, so its not a squash match by any means.

Game Defence: Crash Twinsanity

Talk to your average gamer and ask them about Crash Bandicoot. You will hear about their love for the original trilogy and Crash Team Racing, dismiss the later games entirely, and then contemplate another instalment for the former Sony mascot down the line, preferably for the PS4 and developed by Naughty Dog.


Its hardly a surprising attitude. The Naughty Dog Era of Crash Bandicoot games are seen as a masterpiece of platforming for the PS1 and tend to feature on any reviewers best of PS1 list in some form. The levels are fun to play, the characters are unique, the humour is slyly macabre, silly, and often in spades. The Boss fights make the most of the mechanics, and the Character of Crash himself feels exactly like the sort of character the Playstation deserves; Cool without being too childish or conventional. Everyone loves the guy.

Then Naughty Dog left...

From Wrath of Cortex onwards, most people act like the series never happened from that dark time in 2001. Yeah Crash Bash was okay, but by no means a classic, Nitro Kart wasn't a patch on CTR, and Crash of the Titans took the characters sense of cool and threw it out the window with a new look that fans hated.

Dafook is this?!

However, for all the mediocrity that Crash has endured, there is one game in this dark period that shows that a Crash game can and should be just as good as the Naughty Dog games. That game is Crash Twinsanity.

Here is a game forgotten by the masses, dismissed as another game for the pile, not nearly remembered as fondly as the original games. I must disagree, because this feels like a logical progression of the series. Read on.

For starters, the crucial elements of the original games i.e the charm, sense of humour and level design, are all present and accounted for. In fact, if you use the rule of gaming comedies (judging the game solely on if it makes you laugh), you will laugh with a few of the games scenarios. Dr Cortex getting used as a snowboard by Crash? Crash being completely oblivious to Cortex's disguises? The silly death animations? A game mechanic of controlling a big ball of violence? Fourth wall jokes about how bad the Wrath of Cortex was?! All of these have chuckles to them, and the story facilitates this really well. Its true that the jokes are more juvenile perhaps than the originals, but they fit well with the characters and scenarios.

The nonlinear beach is a great start to proceedings

The story follows Crash 3 years after the events of Wrath of Cortex, lazing about on the beach of N'Sanity island, when Cortex (in the laziest disguise imaginable) lures Crash to a Mecha Bandicoot to destroy him once and for all. When this fails, the two fight until they find out that a pair of alien twin birds from another dimension are planning to destroy the Wumpa Islands. From there its a quest to stop the evil twins, visiting a lot of open ended locales, collecting crystals and learning about teamwork (or, just tolerating). Its very much a style reminiscent of Saturday morning cartoons and it pulls it off with aplomb. Remember, the PS1 games had a paper thin excuse to take Crash on adventures as well, so while this is still fairly barebones to other games, its still contains more lore.

The main gimmick of this game is that Crash and Cortex have to work together to defeat a greater evil. Watching the apparent 'brains' of the operation getting humiliated by Crash's brainless antics, or having Cortex discover something mindblowing, only for Crash to give the same bemused look as when he sees a passing bee, is the stuff that comic duos are made of. Cortex in particular gets fleshed out more as a character, since Crash is a silent protagonist. Cortex's lines are very much in character,and his bumbling, hammy antics are worth watching through the cutscenes. He is the sort of character that you love to see get his comeuppance, and it has just the right amount that it doesn't feel particularly cruel or unfair to the mad scientist.

The gameplay is a hybrid of Crash games of old, and newer mechanics that feel right in place. The levels are now constructed with one hub area, before travelling through the traditional linear levels. It feels very open, and that works to the games advantage. While less of a linear rollercoaster, it still has the levels fans love; The side scrolling, the "escape from approaching doom", the Boss Fights, the enemy variety, and of course, pits. The standard Crash controls are familiar to veterans and are still simple enough for the casual player to get going. New mechanics such as controlling a fighting Crash and Cortex downhill like a pinball, controlling the two together, preventing Cortex from getting hit by numerous hazards, and controlling Cortex all add some variety to the gameplay. You will have had just the right amount of Crash by the end, and its satisfying to get to the end in one piece.

Sometimes the gameplay is quite unforgiving, and you will need multiple attempts to complete certain levels. I do enjoy this aspect, as it shows the developers like to challenge the player. Its no dark souls, but its no stroll down easy street. Veterans will like this aspect.

The devil is in the details, and as you play you notice callbacks to the older games too. N'Sanity Island has Papu Papu's hut designed identical to its original appearance in Crash 1, Crash's hut is reminiscent of its appearance in 3, and the many recurring bosses appear for cameos at worst and full on encounters at best. The game captures the essence of the Crash games visually, and even has the silly names for the levels (Boiler Room Doom springs to mind)

Shoddy quality but you get the idea

The game also needs to be commended for its soundtrack. In a very bold move, the developers got Spiralmouth to do the score. Spiralmouth are an entirely a cappella group, and the tracks are very unique. You simply won't hear anything like it, and the variety in sounds is surprising. Its tense when it needs to be, and cheery when you are simply exploring the beaches of N'Sanity island. The gamble paid off, especially when you remember just how great the original Crash score was.

There are criticisms about the game, no question. Its apparent in hindsight that the development time was just too short in some areas. This is lampshaded in some places, and while funny, it still feels like continuity around the midpoint is a bit off. The most glaring example is a boss fight that appears out of nowhere, just a short time after another with N-Gin. With the more open ended nature of the gameplay, its likely that simply adding levels as bonus ones like in Crash 2 and 3 would have been harder to do without messing up the pacing. Some aspects of the gameplay are a bit rough around the edges, such as Cortex's slow movement, and Nina's late game addition feels like a missed opportunity that doesn't hang around nearly long enough.

And without wishing to spoil, but the ending does leave something of a sour taste with the villains. It feels like an ending made for a different series, one with characters that don't return after each instalment like this one.

Yes, ultimately the original Naughty Dog era still remains the best time to be a Crash fan, but Twinsanity isn't half bad. By no means a classic, but a respectable effort in a series filled with disappointing sequels. The mechanics are solid, the art style hasn't aged as badly as some others, the story is silly enough to overlook the flaws, the characters are likeable, and the hub world design feels right for the game. A bit more polishing and a few extra levels may have put this beside its better loved predecessors, but what is here isn't bad. If you long for a bit more of Crash, but have somehow played your PS1 collection to death, you may find what you are looking for with Twinsanity. Just hope that they go with this style for any future Crash game, and not whatever this is...

Burnout Revenge: A 10 year retrospective

Today marks the ten year anniversary of the release of Burnout Revenge in North America, and as a fan of the series I had to take this opportunity to give Burnout Revenge a retrospective. Criterion has created a top tier arcade racing series and titles like Burnout Paradise and Revenge could still stand out as objectively better than some of the next gen racers out there. My Burnout 3 retrospective has what needs to be said about that game; its a masterpiece of the PS2 era that perfects its gameplay around what it wants to achieve, and is worth recommending to even haters of driving games.

First off, I will admit, I did not like Burnout Revenge when compared to Burnout 3 when it was released. I felt the tone was a bit too aggressive, the addition of traffic checking brought it into cartoony aggression, and the tracks were self contained in their own bubble without a feeling of belonging in a greater world.

That said, Revenge has most definitely aged better than Burnout 3 ,and if both of these games were presented as they are now, I would pick Revenge as the game to play because of the HD graphics, sense of speed and award calibre sound design. That's not to say Burnout 3 looks bad 11 years on, but just that Revenge has a much stronger presentation to itself over its predecessor and feels made for a newer generation of consoles, as evident in the Xbox 360 version.

So, does the 360 version significantly improve the game? Is it still worth playing a decade later and with new consoles on the scene? Well, lets find out.

On the 360 version, the first thing I noticed when playing is the intro screen. It has the same female voice as the xbox/PS2 version, but she describes how the game is now all set for the next generation of racing in HD. Its a nice touch and a feast for both the eyes and ears when playing on a widescreen TV with surround sound (another thing only imagined back in 2004/5).

So next up, the differences between what was on the original xbox, and the 360 version.
The menu has a different background, of a high end supercar plastered with the 360 logo racing down the sunshine keyes, along with the traditional burnout theme as opposed to the BT remix of the doors playing to a car weaving through traffic in the older version. The menu itself is fundamentally the same, so its easy to choose whatever race type you wish.

The tracks themselves have more detail, from added barrels to new animations in the skybox like a helicopter flying overhead or a flock of birds. It still has the reddish tinge of aggression that fits the games overall theme of revenge. The sound is improved, more on that in a bit. the game also feels seamless, as transitions from the menu to a race are more fluid thanks to the soundtrack playing through instead of abruptly halting every time a new race is chosen. The loading screens are animated with crashed vehicles instead of wallpapers sliding together awkwardly, but are just as long. Importantly, it still plays and looks like a burnout game should, and is just as fast, so no complaints. A solid upgrade.

Races are in one word:INTENSE. I could not believe the sense of speed that the cars were giving, and these were supposed to be the slowest in the game?! The sound of the car shifting into top gear with boost flowing and dodging oncoming traffic is bound to be on my list of great xbox 360 moments if I ever get round to making such a list.

hyperdrive has nothing on this

The sound design has a lot to do with this. Boost sounds like a rocket igniting, and shifting to the highest gear at 209MPH really pumps you up as you dodge a seemingly endless road of oncoming traffic. Drift slams sound like tigers clawing into each other, and the sound of near misses comes with the appropriate whoosh of wind past. It truly is award winning stuff that no racer since has managed to capture.

In terms of gameplay, the same modes are available as on the old xbox version. There are the standard races through traffic, time attack, traffic attack, crash mode and road rage. My younger self hated the idea of traffic attack being the default in Revenge, something which got fixed somewhat in Burnout Paradise, but right now I see how it adds to the idea of speed being able to obliterate anything. Traffic attack as a mode is a logical progression, smashing vehicles to set a new record on the leaderboard, and ultimately is a barrel of fun. If you want a way to vent off your frustrations of the work commute home, then look no further!

Traffic Attack as a concept feeds into a larger idea, that there is a lot more traffic on all of the courses, and the mechanic can be a necessity in the urban environments. Even Paradise seems to have a lower traffic count than some of the busy junctions you have to traverse, so in that regard checking traffic works within the game rules.

The track design is absolutely superb for the mechanics. Alternate routes and big air jumps are included into tracks, with windy corners for great drifts, and opportunities to test your top speed on long straights. Leap off Eternal City's Spanish Steps and get a pair of wings.

But the base ingredients of the driving controls are just as perfect as they were in 3, and that is what makes Revenge fun as a racer. The great tracks, presentation and intensity could have been all for nought if the game was a chore to play, particularly since the game has multiple events on similar routes. Thankfully, you could not ask for a smoother arcade racer. The drifting is as responsive as ever, boost works a treat, and you can control your car even at rocket speeds through al manner of obstacles. No other racing series could craft a track like White Mountain's downhill descents, and make it as easy to control round as this game does. Beginners will love it, and Even the best burners will find a challenge when avoiding trickier obstacles at faster speeds on the later levels.

Crash Mode returns, and is a marked improvement over 3. It just feels more self contained, and events are played on dedicated junctions this time around. You get more dedicated crash vehicles, from tiny bangers to mobile diners. The junctions are certainly more creative, with Lone Peak's Doughnut ramp being a particular highlight.

The only downside to the crash mode is the relatively painful loading time. The older versions suffer from a long rewind, while the 360 version speeds up the replay, but not quite as quickly as in 3. The 360 version also removes the golf meter style startup so that's welcome. Admittedly, the loss of the powerups featured in 3 does mean you only score well from the largest crashes as opposed to being given the best route to the 4X powerup, but that is minor. It still is at heart a racing/puzzle hybrid that is still in a league of its own.

You could say its a blast

Finally there is multiplayer, and the Xbox live feature comes into its own for the series. At the time, there were fantastic team road rage races and crash tour, but the population is so low that the only players left are those willing to break track records. Split screen is present, but with a noticeably lower framerate I would recommend taking turns on the crash mode than racing.

While the game has aged better than 3, it isn't without fault. It has been ten years so don't go in expecting it to look as good as Burnout Paradise or Criterion's later Hot Pursuit. The aforementioned aggressive tone can get a bit much. This is a racer that goes out of its way to make you crash opponents, rather than staying focused on winning by dodging obstacles. The tonal shift feels mean and somewhat unnecessary, but some will like it and others will hate it. Traffic checking may be incorporated into the design, but it takes the suspension of disbelief too far (as if the 200MPH racing wasn't enough for you) and the soundtrack isn't quite as memorable as 3. B3 had a soundtrack that would only exist in 2004, while Revenge has some oddball choices that stand the test of time, but many are run of the mill Burnout.

A lighter tone would have been better

In the end, Revenge was and still is a blast to play. Some racers have tonnes of mileage but fall flat from being a bore to drive around, but Revenge is the complete dream for an arcade racing fan. You could not ask for better controls, interesting tracks to race around or modes to enjoy. Some may bemoan the tonal shift, but it still shows newer racers how it is done in the intensity department. Any developer making a racer right now needs to learn that 60FPS high speed racing like revenge is better than any form of 30FPS dull racing in a pretty skybox. The tracks have enough alternates to make the world tour just long enough to not wear out its welcome, and multiplayer still excels, even if the population isn't around these days.

If you like racers, Revenge is a must buy. If you hate racers, Revenge is a must buy to challenge your perceptions. Its worth getting even 10 years on.

Now the Hype is Gone: Far Cry 2

The Far Cry series is one that I have admittedly got into fairly late into its series. I played Far Cry 3 last year, and considered it to be amongst the best shooter stories out there for action fans. While games like Bioshock have a lot of philosophical quandaries, Far Cry 3 had a deceptively simpler story of how far you would go to save your friends. While simple on the surface, it addressed a lot of smaller issues that go deeper; drug use, sex and love relationships, proving yourself in an age where being a man no longer matters, what makes a civilisation civil, are we missing our primal roots? It was very enjoyable and the story added much needed context to the madness happening on screen.

On top of that the game was well presented. A series tradition is showcasing the strengths of the graphics engines, and it showed with a lush tropical theme and a bright colourful aesthetic to add to the drug theme. The gameplay mechanics were rock solid, allowing for viable stealth and all out gunfighting if you upgraded protagonist Jason Brody into a ninja or a killing machine. And of course there were awesome set piece moments, which worked in context of the story. The helicopter gun turret may have been done to death in other shooters, but here it was important storywise.

You know its good when this plays

So with such a high benchmark I had caution when buying Far Cry 2, expecting less from the game in most aspects (and ultimately it does feel like an inferior sequel, more on that near the end) but unusually it has things which I enjoy more than Far Cry 3.

The setup is fairly straightforward; you play as one of a cast of mercenaries with their own backstories and are sent to a war torn country deep in Africa to assassinate the main arms dealer, the Jackal. He has been supplying both warring factions with all the death devices they could possibly need to continue the war, and he is bad news...or is he?

The Far Cry tradition of curious villains likely started here, with the Jackal really showing a lot of traits with both Vaas Montenegro and Pagan Min. He actually nurses you back to health after you contract malaria literally five minutes into the game (you really should have planned this better) and the rest of the game is the hunt for him while playing the warring factions against each other to get more information.

Unfortunately, another trait the Jackal shares with Pagan Min is that he disappears for long stretches of the game, mostly existing through audio logs, and you really feel his loss, as the rest of the characters are just so bogstandard, with only the mercenaries you encounter on your travels providing an anchor to the chaos. You want to hear more of his stories on the nature of warfare and blood diamonds but because there is so little screentime his point is lost in the chaos of the game. This leaves a game with the feeling that there could have been a much stronger narrative framework for the missions than what we actually have.

Did you miss me?

The civil war aspect seems to be the secondary focus then, and to its credit the game shows two very believable armies fighting for control. The UFLL feel authoritative but are constantly hiring mercenaries to keep dodgy deals off the books, and the APR are ruthless intimidating masses, and the obvious invaders, but which gained a foothold from ruling nearby nations for the better. Neither ultimately benefit the country, showing some dark scenes like destroying water supplies and burning villages. Its a shame then, that ultimately you never influence how the conflict ultimately turns out.

However, what they are fighting for is the reason Far Cry 2 stands out among the pack; the African country.

The first thing that really gives Far Cry 2 its own flavour is the setting. I don't think there is a better setting for this game and without it Far Cry 2 would be a shell of what it ultimately is. Set in the Unnamed African Country (UAC), it truly gives the game a breath of fresh air from most shooters with desert or urban combat. Here it shows an area where war is an everyday part of life, and some truly grim settings. The first visit to Mokuba feels awful because I had never seen such a place in games before. Its meant to be a town, but its really a slum built on sheet metal with no running water, food sources or electricity. Garbage bags and insects buzz around waiting to prey on the next poor soul to enter the area.

And that is only the beginning. You are truly surprised at the variety of locales. Going into Far Cry 2 I assumed it would be savannah's, desert and little else. What I actually got was a taste of jungles, swamps, oasis, desert, ancient villages, river settlements, huge elevations, even a breathtaking lakeside view near a bar. It all looks spectacular, even after a few years of improved graphics tech. The art direction towards a realistic depiction of an African civil war has to be commended, and more games should do a game world this interesting to play in.

With the realistic world comes some realistic mechanics, and this is the second way Far Cry 2 stands out. Your character is a real idiot for not taking malaria precautions before arriving, and as a result you have to take malaria tablets every half hour or so to prevent the disease from killing you. This also fuels story missions, because eventually you will run out of tablets, and must find civilian missions to help the people stuck in this war. It may sound noble, but you are doing it for the same reason they are; to survive.

Weapons you find are rusted and the only thing the armies have at times, and as a result they are prone to jamming and malfunctioning. I cannot think of many other games that do this, even in the military genre, so having this adds to the game immensely. You learn that to become unstoppable you need a clean set of tools to get the job done. As a result you do assassination missions for blood diamonds, and head to weapon shops to help them out to get new weapons. Like with malaria, the mechanic serves story missions.

And finally there are missions involving fellow mercenaries like yourself that help you in the long run if you do favours for them. Any safehouses you find will be better stocked the more you give a helping hand, and even if you get shot to bits other mercenaries will heal you when out on the job. Its either that, or do the graphic improvised first aid to keep going.

The realistic world does have issues though. The map reading keeps with the immersive theme, but you do wish you could fast travel to safehouses like in Far Cry 3 to save on the long car journeys. Bus stations are your only hope, and much of the time they are a trek to get to anyway so you may as well drive across the 50 square kilometres of map.

Gun mechanics are fairly standard, but the addition of flame based weapons adds another layer of strategy as you burn the grass with molotovs or a flamethrower. The effect looks great as you see wildfires spread and can be used tactically.

While comparing to later instalments, it becomes apparent early on that stealth just isn't a viable tactic for most missions. You have a monocular to tag useful equipment, but cannot tag enemies movements like in later games. You also have no stealth indicator, so enemies will show no signs of spotting you before firing the AK47's right at you, even if you were hiding in the bushes. It makes weapons like the silent MP5 or the suppressed Makarov feel like a wasted opportunity, that they could have been used to greater effect if the mechanics improved on the stealth focus. Headshots also curiously seem to miss, so if you did take the aforementioned weapons and hoped to get silent kills, good luck because a lot of the time you hit the body and enemies take a lot of damage anywhere but the head.

This might not do

Still, it does seem like a middling complaint knowing that these issues on the gameplay standpoint got rectified in the sequels, but heres my big complaint when comparing to the sequels; the narrative framework.

Far Cry 3 worked so well because the story pulled you into the mechanics, and not the other way around. You want to know more about the Far Cry 2 story because of the mechanics and the world. By contrast, Far Cry 3 has all of the same mechanics, but teaches them to you slowly and with fantastic story missions to invest you into it. You were intimidated by the first base you had to liberate because you were a Joe Soap with only a machete and the real fear of getting shot if you were spotted.By comparison, in this game you are a mercenary with all the military experience you need to kick ass across the world. Its perhaps a relatability issue, but then you also see that the characters in Far Cry 3 are a lot stronger. I cannot tell who the names are of the characters here, despite knowing a few over the course of a lengthy campaign.

You get to know all of your friends in Far Cry 3, along with the secondary villains and main baddies. They also reacted to your actions, illustrating your gradual arc from being a doomed tourist to an unstoppable legend. Its like Breaking Bad, you don't notice the change until someone else points out in the story of what you were like before you arrived on the island, and then it hits.

Despite all the moaning about a weak story and inferior mechanics, its not enough to avoid giving Far Cry 2 a recommendation. You just rarely see a game world as interesting as this one, and despite the lack of fast travel, there is something to be said about a relaxing drive through the lush jungles. Mechanics are solid, and standout in a genre filled with spotless weapons and no secondary concerns to your health. Its definitely worth buying if you see it in stores, as its likely quite cheap and easy to find. Who knows, maybe you will find a better tale in here than I could. Give it a shot.

Now the Hype is gone: Modern Warfare 2 (part 2)

This Retrospective review of Modern Warfare 2 was originally going to be a comparison between itself and Black Ops 2. Both had the story about an invaded America and both had multiplayer that was considered by many in the community to be the best in series. However, I figured both have very different approaches when you get down to it, and never is it more apparent than their multiplayer design.

Modern Warfare 2 differs from most other entries by going all out with its now blockbuster level budget, and is definitely bigger than its immediate predecessor Call of Duty 4. There are more killstreaks, more weapons, more equipment, more modes, more of EVERYTHING…
But does that make it a better game?

Again, comparing to Black Ops 2, the single best word to describe Modern Warfare 2 in terms of multiplayer is ‘unrestrained’. Many elements that were toned down and refined to perfection in Black Ops 2 were let loose in this instalment, which leads to a gulf in enjoyment for the player. They can relish in the enjoyment of blowing up entire teams with grenades and shotguns, or they will be pummelled into the ground for half the match before they can get their feet and counterattack. This one element is enough to make it a love/hate game.

For starters, you are given approximately double the amount of available equipment from Call of Duty 4, and a lot of these, while misplaced, are all fun to use and offer a viable tactical advantage when used in the right way. The interesting thing about the weapons on offer is that despite having more, the balance isn't as all over the place as you might think, and all offer their own unique feel.  Modern Warfare 2 decided to add a decisively updated arsenal upon the CoD4 arsenal (which were relatively prevalent in modern times, but felt like the game took place in the 1990’s rather than present day). MW2 included the likes of the FAMAS, ACR, Intervention, UMP45 and TAR21 to feel like these were the weapons of now, and likely the near future. There are strong but slow automatics, fast firing but low damage hoses, semi auto powerhouses, burst fire precision rifles, and all act different to others in class. Its a well rounded class, and this works better than future instalments like Black Ops, which instead of offering variety, made clone weapons to balance. 

See anything you like?

Perks are reduced a bit from CoD4, in favour of adding pro perks as extra bonuses. Unnecessary perks from the predecessor, such as the ability to hold breath longer when sniping, work far better as extra pro variants for better perks in this game. With the exception of perhaps scrambler, all perks have their purpose and can be used to great effect, even if one or two perks feel better than others (more on that near the end).

And of course, killstreaks got increased from the base three from previous games to a whole host of reward options. AC130's, UAV's, Care Packages, Attach Helicopters and even a game winning nuclear strike can be earned through enough kills. This can be gamebreaking for many, as the rewards stack with kills and some are squashing to the enemy team. However, this really is a defining addition to Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer. The whole risk and reward element of picking higher rewards and then having it pay off is such a part of the strategy in this game that its hard to imagine it without rewards.

However, to play with great equipment and perk choices on poor maps would give MW2 a very bad rep. MW2 wins a lot of credit back in its map design and a lot of the community agree that this game has the best core maps of the recent series. The designers based maps around variety, some verticality and very well placed areas for combat. Rust for example is all Close quarters all the time while Afghan is made for domination with a fairly circular path leading to all three flags. The maps are also memorable in many ways because they all cater to different styles while also usually having some areas that can be effective for any class.

Highrise is a classic example of this. The map is suited for a general deathmatch, yet it contains a central elevated roof for snipers, two office buildings for close quarters, and tunnels for stealthy players. Even with that variety, there are areas inbetween, such as the long passages between the two office buildings that cater to a standard aggressive playstyle.

While Highrise may be the ultimate deathmatch map, by contrast Wasteland is built for Snipers with lots of grass and wide open spaces. Even here, the map has three trenches that lead to a chaotic bunker for those that want to play faster.

The gameplay is adapted to each map, and to succeed you must memorise the locations, know where the best spots to use your given class is, and if on an objective game mode, the fastest routes to the flag or bomb. Future games in the series have relied on a three lane system, which is good to play but eventually leads to having similar strategies for every match, and it becomes routine quicker.

We are looking at you Black Ops 2!

In this case, variety trumps philosophy, and Modern Warfare 2 is more varied. There are some three lane maps, such as Sub Base, but many maps are full of surprise routes and suitable cover to make for a lot more tactics to succeed.

While the game has a lot in its favour, the problem with the unrestrained MW2 is that it ultimately is unbalanced to this day. This boils down to many quirks that weren’t ironed out by release, and more so, weren’t patched after release. Many point to the West/Zampella exodus of Infinity Ward as the reason why many issues never got patched. The worst offender of balance issues that remains unresolved today is pairing the One Man Army or Scavenger perks with Danger Close and spamming grenades indefinitely. Other issues include the overly long Commando lunge, the Powerful Shotguns as secondary weapons, Tactical insertion in Free for all, party chat issues and broken suppressors on some weapons.

Despite this, the game did get a few patches early on, such as the Javelin patch, Model 1887 nerf and fast sprinting cut from holding a care package marker. If only this sort of repair happened for the duration of the games lifecycle, this would be the game that all can enjoy.

And now onto a truly subjective point, not one with much in the way of balancing the good and bad parts. Just a question; is this game more fun to play regardless of how it got to where it is?

And for me Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer is a tonne of fun. For all the balancing issues, killstreak problems and rich get richer gameplay, its hard not to admit that it is more rewarding to play when things go your way than other entries in the series. A lot of silly stuff is allowed to work here. Even if you hate things like quickscoping, tubing, shotgun rampages and dependence on equipment, you can still play very well with a solid all round class and show them who is boss. Others can be happy with their style, and you can be happy with yours, and there is a game mode for everyone.

Over time, this still is my favourite, and on its own merits it deserved the hype it got when it was released in 2009. The blockbuster budget nearly made it fly off the rails, but its still built on rock solid shooting and options. The graphics may not wow like they once did, but they work and have aged better than MW3's duller palette. If you never played a Call of Duty game, this may not be the best to start, but this is definitely the one if you want to find out why people love and hate the series.