Way back in the days of the NES, Codemasters released Micro Machines. It was an isometric racing game which featured the eponymous miniature model cars racing on tracks created from everyday household objects, such as pool tables, kitchen tables and work desks. It was a smash hit, particularly for its solid multiplayer mode, and created numerous sequels and spin offs throughout the 1990's.
I personally got into the series during the Playstation era with Micro Machines V3. The game used the same isometric racing as the earlier games, but with more tracks, vehicles, modes and a multitap support for up to 8 players on a single track. It was phenomenally fun, and ranks up there as one of my favourite racing games on the system.
*Spoiler Warning: I will be spending much of this review comparing World Series to V3*
It was with much surprise then that a new instalment, world series, was being released on current gen consoles, seemingly continuing the wave of reviving PS1 classics like Crash Bandicoot and Wipeout. So, at the cheaper price point of €30, I bought it and gave it a weekend of play.
And I feel quite disappointed with the end result...
First off, if you bought World Series for a solid single player like the older titles, you are in for a rude awakening. The game has no structured career mode of the sort, with only local skirmishes being the mode to play. You can choose between a meagre 10 tracks for racing, or a new battle mode that features a similar track count. Compared to V3's 48 tracks over 7 unique areas, a time trial, one v one and V3 challenge, it is scant pickings for the single player.
The appearance of the menu for xbox free members single player
This is a game aiming for an online audience, and it does accommodate its audience with quick play, special events, and a ranked playlist once you progress to level 10. There are standard races, battle modes in the arenas, and the classic Micro Machines game mode, elimination. Having six racers drive to the corner of the screen while knowing nothing of whats ahead is a staple and its very well done here. The screen even zooms closer in as time elapses, creating tense and more difficult driving if there are two neck and neck racers.
Thankfully, the racing controls at the core of the experience are exactly whats needed out of a Micro Machines game. The cars handle corners loosely, the weapons used are faithful (despite obnoxious NERF product placement) to the V3 formula, and the tracks are designed with 90 degree turns at the end of long straights, making for an unpredictable racing experience during your first few races. The AI is surprisingly difficult, and the environmental hazards are done just as well as their predecessors. A buzzsaw and moving billiard balls actually improve on the hazards in this respect, more than mere pitfalls off the edge of tables.
The fundamental concept of the vehicles in World Series is that instead of having every player in the same car, this time all of the cars have the same driving speeds, with differences in how the cars behave in battle modes instead. It is not a wise move, as it removes the unique quirks and stats of each vehicle in racing. F1 cars would be uncontrollably fast, tanks would have the ability to shoot at players, and only hovercrafts and boats could navigate the pond tracks in V3. Here, any vehicle can make the daring jumps and skillful drifts. Its interesting to give each vehicle four different abilities in battle modes, but it feels like it is made for a different game, one more in line with modern action shooters than Micro Machines.
However, a lot of tracks lack much of the creativity of the earlier games. While V3 had the blind turns beside the edge of tables, it also had long curved sections, crossovers and much more jumps than seen here, likely from having a jump button given to the vehicles. V3 also had races where you would use a lily pad as a makeshift ferry to cross a pond, a house of cards to jump over, boat racing, driving off a ramp to turn into a boat for the pond sections, shrink to microscopic size to race in a microscope, even TELEPORTATION!
But World Series online modes are limited compared to its contemporaries and previous games, and it brings me to the big frustration I have; There is just not enough here on day one in the game. Yes, the core racing is as faithful to the older games as it gets in 2017, and it is fundamentally more fun to play than say Super Toy Cars, but there is a severe lack of tracks, modes and vehicles for even the €30 asking price. If the developers had an extra few months reusing their current assets to create more tracks in the same environments, and a few single player modes to satisfy even basic gamer needs in a Micro Machines game, it would have done the game wonders. As it is, it is barebones, and a short shot of nostalgia with little meat on the bones to return. I guess getting Brian Blessed in for the voice overs must have blown the budget...
Microsoft gets a lot of flak these days for its less than stellar exclusive titles. The Xbox trinity of Halo, Gears of War and Forza was long in the tooth even five years ago, and aside from the occasional Sunset Overdrive, Titanfall (before it became multiplatform) or the upcoming Crackdown 3, the system has been aiming for the multiplatform titles over in house exclusives. This is a real shame, since you can look back at the original Xbox and find a slew of exclusives that took creative risks or made strong arguments as worthy alternatives to multiplatform genre titans. With Sony and Nintendo already unleashing strong exclusives this year, the high profile cancellation of Scalebound, and E3 approaching in a few months, I thought I could check out 5 Microsoft exclusive series worth resurrecting for new instalments. 1-Amped
In 2003, Microsoft launched their XSN sports brand, with the emphasis as an alternative to other sports franchises run by EA at the time. Links, Top Spin, NFL Fever and NHL Rivals are decent, but for the most part are second rate to your Tiger Woods or Maddens. Amped however was a standout of the bunch. Rivalling SSX, it decided to focus on a Tony Hawk style trick system and a more grounded approach to the slopes. Amped 2 expanded this to incorporate a very authentic snowboarding experience on mostly real world mountains, real boarder cameos, and a keen sense of what makes the sport so enjoyable from the inside. The third just lost the plot and went for a full on cartoony approach to boarding, with little approach to realism, but amping up (pardon the pun) the fun and insider references to insane levels. Time has sadly forgotten the series, with only games such as Steep keeping winter sports games alive to the public. Even so, adding a fresh coat of paint to the existing games could satisfy the old fans, and perhaps with enough interest could invigorate the series enough to warrant a fourth entry.
2-Crash Course I never understood why Microsoft decided to leave this series alone. Released in 2010, it was a colourful platformer inspired by Total Wipeout that used the players Xbox 360 avatar as a contestant to complete various obstacle courses. The challenge was not in simply finishing each level, but finishing with a fast enough time to put on the leaderboards. Split screen was the games true strength, as having 4 players try to see who is fastest to the finish became a staple at house parties after a few drinks. Few Microsoft IP's cater to the more casual party gaming scene since kinects demise, and this series could do with a free download Xbox One instalment. Just avoid the always on, microtransaction filled approach of the sequel and instead add DLC levels like the original for revenue. The original is still free to download, so check it out if you are curious.
Make it happen Microsoft
3-Grabbed by the Ghoulies Lets face it, Rare has been wasted by Microsoft. One of the greatest game developers in the 90's has been relegated as a developer of family games and worse, kinect sports titles. Sea of Thieves looks promising, but I feel that a beat em up at least in the style of Grabbed by the Ghoulies may be worth revisiting.
The game was about a boy fighting all manners of ghosts, skeletons and mummies in a haunted mansion to rescue his girlfriend. It was a beat em up where you can utilise all manner of environmental hazards against enemies through creatively designed linear segments, with a cartoony halloween aesthetic and catchy earworm of a title song. The unconventional twin stick combat and dodgy camera was criticised, as was its apparent 'downgrade' for Rare from its previous titles, but honestly, this game is not bad, and the basic fighting was strong enough to warrant another outing. Maybe Rare could make another beat em up similar to GBTG, but the overall point of this entry is that they could do with actually making strong action adventures again, especially after the solid launch of Rare Replay. Get to it Microsoft. 4-Project Gotham Racing
Forza may wear Microsoft's crown as its top racing franchise now, but Project Gotham Racing was (and in some circles still is) the original killer app in regards to driving games for the Xbox. While the series has been dormant for a decade, after PGR4 released every conceivable mode and street circuit imaginable, I still believe there is some life left in this series. Microsoft just needs PGR2's progression system of racing each car class, progressing to faster and faster cars, until you become the ultimate champion at the Nurburgring. Add in an inspired choice of cities to race in, a looser handling style comparable to Forza Horizon, and the all important kudos risk/reward system, and the game can shine once again. Playground games are the logical developer for this entry in the absence of the sorely missed Bizarre Creations.
5-Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
Remember Halo Reach's space combat? Remember feeling frustrated that the section with a completely different set of mechanics to the shooting was only given 10 minutes of screentime before returning back to shooting so soon and never seen again? Did you wish to see more of it? If you said yes to any of these questions, then another Crimson Skies title may be for you. The game's mechanics were essentially copy/pasted and given an updated Halo skin for Reach, and those looking for a similar experience but with more variety and strategy should pick it up if they can.
Its easy to forget, but the title released on the original Xbox was a hit in the early days of online play, before Halo 2 took the world by storm. Up to 16 players flying around a huge skybox partaking in daring dogfights is something unmatched since its 2003 release. A new title could easily reinvigorate the aerial combat subgenre. The game released at a time when a full single player was needed to carry a game, and it has all the swashbuckling, open ended adventure you could want, with fantastic aerial landscapes to explore and suitably challenging enemy pilots. Dieselpunk at its best, this game deserves a chance to shine on the Xbox One.
So there we have it, five game series I think Microsoft could do with being brought back to bolster its predictable exclusive lineup. We are at the time of year when games get announced before the E3 gameplay gets shown off so hopefully Microsoft can pull somethign out of the bag this year.
We Happy Few is my first foray into both early access and indie survival games. My only knowledge of both niches are that they have a tendency to be seen on Steam, but We Happy Few caught my eye for being the first time early access has been prominently featured to me on my Xbox One. I suppose the era of game demos are replaced by early access, so it was worth having a look to see if it was worth trying.
The game itself looked interesting solely because of its premise; In an alternate WW2, the Island of Wellington Wells committed an unknown atrocity on an invading force. Guilt ridden, the population invented a new drug called 'joy' that they take at regular intervals to feel all cheery and forgetful of the awful realities. From this setup, we end up in 1964 (if the clocks are to be believed) and take on the role of one Arthur Hastings. If my gameplay was anything to go by, he loves censoring articles for a living, at least until a woman with a smiley face mask comes in and invites him to the company party.
After refusing to take the joy pill, you discover the unfortunate realities of what is going on in the party, and run to hide from the bobbies, a very 60's dressed police force with creepy smiles.
Now in a safehouse, you begin to explore the world, and complete a few quests and side missions, while surviving on rotten food, water and bandages.
For an early access version, the story was set up fairly well, even if it is a bit abrupt. On top of that, the opening animations are smooth and the world they set up is well crafted in the opening scene, even if some tiles like exterior roads are missing in the build. There is a constant sense that nothing feels quite right. A filing cabinet has papers flung around, a coworkers clock has the wrong date, a mysterious agent drugs a colleague....wait
Yes, there is an Orwellian 1984 vibe running through all of this, with influences from Kubrick and with other Unreal engine powered games like Bioshock and Dishonored coming to mind from the aesthetic. Dishonored especially comes to mind when you are in the safehouse, within the sewers and where you can collect anything not tied down. Even so, it has its unique look, and the vibrant aesthetic works to hammer the joy addiction rather pleasantly.
Once outside of the safehouse, it is quite a large playable area, with sidequests and a few missions. It feels generous knowing a lot of other games on the 360 had tiny contained demos. However, the procedural generated map felt a bit samey, with few real surprises in the architecture in a way that other games with fixed levels tend to have. The sidequest of clearing a pond of syringes felt like it could have been placed anywhere within a hundred metres of the safehouse for example.
Then the actual game happens, and the unique facade begins to reveal this as a survival game. Being a novice to the whole idea, I didn't really enjoy the way you need to constantly sleep, eat and drink. The meters felt like they were draining far too quickly, or that the minute you sort one of the meters, another would drain almost too quickly or inconveniently. I feel there could be tweaks needed to make the game more enjoyable for novices of the genre; maybe have it so that the ramifications are less severe than death, or the meters drain slower, or perhaps an option to change settings in a difficulty menu.
Being a fan of the later Far Cry games, I did dig a full crafting system. The inventory for the preview build is large enough for most needs, and you eventually take any little item just because the space is there for you to. Having items you craft break after a few uses was a nagging issue. Like the survival system, the degradation was too quick to be enjoyable, and looks like it needs a set of difficulty tweaks for a wider range of players.
I hated the combat, but since the game emphasises stealth in public in areas, it doesn't look like its the games intention for a full combat experience. However, I did feel like the use of weapons on downers and bobbies was a weak point, with stiff animations and a lack of enemy feedback to how much damage you are inflicting. You also get downed an awful lot from even trying it out, so avoid at all costs. This looks like another aspect to improve.
Finally, there are a few other interface issues that are notably absent or could do with a tweak. The lack of a safe zone for the HUD hurt my enjoyment, as the main menu text cut off to the side of my screen, and gamma correction could do with a picture that needs adjusting to the suitable shade of grey. Otherwise, options are fairly standard for a console version, but add in the aforementioned difficulty adjustments and this may be a lot better for the novice players.
My takeaway thought is that I am not sure if the Xbox One should adopt early access the way Steam has. While We Happy Few looks like it will be more polished and narratively stronger in the final game, its not as enjoyable as a demo might have been, and I have a feeling that some players may be turned off by the existing chinks in the armour. A demo of the full version would have got me more excited for the final game than testing the unfinished build that starts out strong, but gets clunky when in the actual game. Still, its worth watching out for when the final build comes along because of its art style and setting. I do want to see what comes of its world and the characters attempting to escape it. Reviews and player feedback on the final game will be a better bet than buying at midnight on launch.
I can understand why a game like Split/Second exists; take the desperate explosive filled vehicle escape sequences seen in other games and turn it into a fully fledged spectacle. A racing game where you must evade all manner of destruction while also having the ability to knock an air traffic control tower on top of the racer ahead of you is something you just cannot get anywhere else. Add in an interesting framework and some solid, if derivative arcade racing and you get a game well worth picking up, at least to experience the novelty. Split/Second came out in the Summer of 2010, alongside other strong racers such as Blur, and while its tragic that both studios closed, both games released show the efforts the developers put into the game. I have already talked about Blur, so let's give Split/Second its time to shine, specifically its single player component. Multiplayer is strong when you find players, but its not as populated as you would hope for an in depth analysis. The games single player is set as a TV series, where you start off by applying for the eponymous show of the title. After a quick tutorial, you become a contestant vying to be the greatest racer of the series. As a contestant, you must race through the season, with 12 episodes, and 6 events per episode. At the end of each episode is an elite race, where the championship points are won, and whichever racer has the most points at the end of the season is the winner. The TV show style is what sets this racer apart from the rest in terms of presentation. There is a lot to like about how it gets the feel of american gladiators style TV right. TV recaps, the end credits after the final event in an episode, the slow-mo replays as half the city crumbles apart, and instant replays as rivals get smashed by obstacles all contribute to what Blackrock studio is going for. If there is one element that could have been added, its an option for studio commentary, though if its anything like Burnout 3 it may have been for the best to omit it.
Speaking of which, Burnout's gameplay DNA is certainly present in Split/Second, specifically Burnout Revenge for the darker tinged aesthetic of both cutscenes and design of the city streets. A big part of the game is about dodging obstacles to win, while filling a power bar by drifting, drafting and jumping. Of course, the emphasis on destruction to win cannot be ignored, though it is definitely done in its own unique way. So if you liked Burnout games when they stuck to closed circuits and not open world, this may be the game you are looking for. What Burnout did lack was the ability to drop bombs on opponents, and this is where Split/Second shifts gears into a league of its own. You could argue the whole point of the game is to give players the chance to collapse tunnels on racers that are getting away. With enough of your power meter turned blue, you can unleash small scale traps that require some timing in most cases to crash a rival racer. When your meter turns full, and red, you can unleash the large scale destruction. Entire sections of the track get rerouted as a plane crashes into the airport, or a train derails into the city centre. This tends to wipe out most of the pack ahead, and is very fun to watch in the instant replays the first few times you trigger them. How well you do in the game depends on how and when you use your power plays against rivals, and equally if you can survive your own devastation.
The racing itself is of the arcade style, which is sadly becoming all too rare in gaming these days. The three types of racers are cars that stick to tarmac like glue, cars that can drift with ease and the off road vehicles that can withstand explosive shockwaves, but with painfully slow acceleration to get to top speed. The lack of a boost meter feels like a problem, especially when you are far behind and not even triggering traps ahead can catch you up to opponents, so your only option of a speed boost is from drafting opponents a short distance ahead. The sense of speed suffers a little bit in comparison to Revenge, likely due to the lower framerate, but it still gives the oomph as motors roar to peak performance down a long straight.
My big issue with the game is the lack of diversity in the tracks. Many routes reuse sections of track on future routes, and after your initial burst of energy playing it is a shame it grinds a bit as you start seeing the same rain derailment or airport exploding. Even if you can take the low track count, you may tire of the fairly repetitive feel of the city in general. Back to Burnout, while that game also reused track sections, it also had world tour, where the changed continents and locations gave a new feast for the eyes when you got tired of the american city tracks or waterfront trams. This is definitely a game that needed a season 2: International mayhem, with more interesting flavours of destruction.
Imagine blowing up the Pantheon!
On top of that, the game modes are fairly limited, although they do work in the sense of the TV show. besides standard races, there are time trials to outrun the destruction, eliminator modes where every 20 seconds last place gets destroyed, outrunning helicopters firing missiles at you, dodging exploding barrels falling out of the back of a truck, or even deflecting missiles at a helicopter, where the fastest racer to shoot it down wins.
Then there are smaller issues, such as how early on the cars speed seems a bit too slow to start with, the difficulty in drifting at times in a game with an emphasis on arcade driving, the aforementioned lack of boosting, or how it can get frustrating at times when you are winning for the whole race only to get hit by a bomb and finish 5th, but in the grand scheme it doesn't matter too much. A final gripe is how you need to unlock the final event, but it turns out to be just another race, similar to ones you had done before. A final race joining up the best elements of all the prior tracks would have been a much more satisfying climax, with preset detonations of all the large scale power plays as you race to the finish. All in all, while Split/Second is a flawed game with some annoyances, it is still a fun arcade racer that has had a great amount of effort put in place. Any time you see a cruise ship crash into the port, or have a bridge collapse, you can just imagine the effort needed for this sort of idea to come to life. And to Black Rock Studio's credit, their idea of a TV show with infinite resources spent on a touring car season with explosions everywhere works within context of the game, and is a joy to behold when it all comes in place. The game may not be an arcade classic, but it definitely deserved a Season 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.
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.
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...
