Need for Speed SHIFT

Need for Speed™ SHIFT is an award-winning authentic racing game that combines the true driver's experience with real-world physics, pixel-perfect car models, and a wide range of authentic race tracks. Need for Speed SHIFT takes players in a different direction to create a simulation experience that replicates the true feeling of driving high-end performance cars.

Imagine a racing game built by racers for racers and you'll have a good idea of what to except with Need for Speed SHIFT. It'll introduce gamers into a level of realism never before seen in a Need for Speed title, offering an incredible authentic and immersive driving experience.

Need for Speed SHIFT has been designed to replicate the true feeling of racing high-end performance cars and features a stunningly realistic first-person cockpit viewpoint and an all new crash engine which offers an unrivaled sensation of racing at high speed.

Player: Single.                                                               Genre: GT Racing/Driving.

Let the games begin - Maingear F131

 Maingear F131 is a high end gaming desktop with a overclocked Core i7 950 chip (overclocked to 4.2GHz), and two Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 graphics cards. The cost of this system is $2,499 and it is lower than what other manufacturers are asking for such components. The gaming performance is nothing out-of-the-box but still very competitive. There are not a lot of games out there that the Maingear F131 will struggle with. There are a few that might challenge the machine but you can always tone down the settings for a good looking and smooth gaming experience. Because of the Intel X58 motherboard and the 3 PCI Express graphics card slots, you can put in another gaming card for getting more gaming eye candy.

Dino Strike

Forza Motorsport 3 DLC

Continuing to add content to Forza Motorsport 3, Turn Ten today released Auto Car Week Show Pack that adds 10 new cars to the game. The DLC is priced at 400 MS Points and keeping with the tradition, one car (2009 Lotus 2-Eleven) from the pack is available as a free download. The other nine cars in the DLC pack is as follows:

GAMING ZONE - CONTROL IN HAND

Like most of the othe components of gaming, congaming, con trollers have also evolved with time.

There are many types of controllers designed according to the nature of the game and the device being used.

The basic purpose of a controller is to help a gaming device interact with humans.
If you talk about computers then the most common controllers are the very humble and useful keyboard and mouse. Though many people might not consider these as controllers many games -- most of the FPS -- are designed to work with ASDW key combination on keyboard. While the mouse is there for supplementary functions, this keyboard and mouse combination actually works very well.

Many companies have come up with special keyboard and mouse designed for the gaming purpose. Logitech has a full range keyboards with pre-pro grammed keys and digital display. Similarly special gaming mouse with weight balance are ex tremely precise.

While this combination controller is more PC focused, there are varieties of controllers for consoles. Joystick is one of the common controllers. Again there are different types of joysticks catering to different games.
The simplest ones are the arcade style joysticks, which basically is for moving left/right, up/down and to shoot. With time joysticks have evolved to more complex forms. These days there are 3D joysticks meant for car games and simulators. Not only are these modern day controllers armoured with added functions; they are also designed to adjust well into the hands of a gamer. These also come with third access where a gamer can even twist the joystick. The added abilities also in clude throttle control, pivotal/view control on the top and shoot button at index finger.

The most advanced form of joysticks has this amazjoysticks has this amazing capability called `forced feedback'. What happens is that while racing if a gamer tries to turn right immediately after a left turn the joystick will not allow that. Plus in case of a car crash the whole controller will vibrate giving the user a sense of an almost real crash like situation. In terms of simulator -- just like flying a real plane -one has to put extra effort to move the joystick while taking the aircraft up. Joysticks are mostly compatible with games like car racing, simulators, FPS and the arcade style can also be used for playing sports games.

Then comes the gamepad, which is the most common ones for console. Most of the consoles have their own gamepad but basically a gamepad in- cludes direction keys on one side, action buttons -- like shooting -- on the other side. These handheld controllers are controllers are suitable for sports, arcade, FPS and character involved games like Mario Brothers. These days gamepads also come with feedback functions so in case of an accident the whole thing shakes.

The advanced forms of gamepads are the wireless ones and the ones with multiplayer ability. When it comes to wireless ones batteries can be an issue. But one can enhance their gaming experience by connecting a headpiece to the wireless controller.

Again gamepad has also gone through makeovers like the motion control gamepads. The best example is the Nintendo Wiimote, which has motion sensor ich has motion sensor along with the normal gamepad functions.

So the controller detects the mo tion of a gamer and functions accordingly.

Such controllers have taken the w h o l e gaming ex perience to another level.

Forza Motorsport 3

Forza Motorsport 3 Hands-On

During a visit to Microsoft's E3 booth earlier today, we had an opportunity to meet with representatives from developer Turn 10 and talk to them about the recently announced Xbox 360-exclusive Forza Motorsport 3. Turn 10 didn't share any crazy new information about the game with us but instead gave us a few facts, figures, and philosophies, and then more or less let the game speak for itself.

In Forza Motorsport 3, the cars are most definitely the stars. There will be around 400 of them in the finished game (including classics, SUVs, and micros), each with 10 times as many polygons as their Forza 2 counterparts and higher-resolution textures. Needless to say, the results are impressive, and if seeing the game's signature bright-red Audi R8 V10 against the stark white background of the new user interface doesn't get you excited to drive it, then nothing will.

Cars look every bit as good on the circuit as they do on the selection screen, and you're in for a real treat if you're someone who likes to drive using the in-car view. Beautiful environments, like the mountain range and lakes that surround the Camino Viejo track, whiz by at a smooth 60 frames per second, and a plethora of driving options ensure that practically anyone can have a good time behind the wheel. Turn all of the auto-assists on, and you can drive doing little more than hitting the accelerator and turning left and right. Turn them off, and you'll find that Forza 3 offers a challenging and realistic driving experience that, if you're not as skilled behind the wheel as you think you are, might give you a great opportunity to roll your car and check out the impressive damage modeling.

Forza 3 will also be forgiving in ways that its predecessors weren't, though. If you make a mistake, you have the option to rewind time for what seems to be about 10 to 15 seconds, and try again. Cleverly, when you upload times to the game's leaderboards, they'll be listed only as "certified" if you didn't use the rewind feature. Purportedly, the game will also know if you gained an advantage by riding walls, taking shortcuts, or drafting someone for the entire lap or if you had someone in a faster car push you around, and your times will be listed as uncertified accordingly.

Toward the end of our meeting, Turn 10 made a point of telling us how important the Forza community is to them and how, while they're not ready to talk about specific features just yet, players who specialize in painting or tuning cars aren't going to be disappointed or forgotten. We were also told that Forza 3 will feature "a lot" of real-life and fantasy tracks, though only three of the latter are being shown here at E3. After leaving the meeting, we were invited to get some hands-on time with the game, and that's when things got really exciting.

The E3 demo includes eight highly desirable cars from Lamborghini, Ferrari, Ford, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Porsche, Corvette, and Audi, and after choosing one (the Aston Martin on this occasion), we got to race two laps against the other seven. Playing with the regular Xbox 360 controller, we immediately felt comfortable with the controls, and as we maintained position in the middle of the pack for much of the first lap, we were afforded several opportunities to witness the game's AI at work. Opposing drivers were competitive but knew when to back down, and crucially, they were fallible. We witnessed one driver make a completely unforced error going into a corner, which, while not entirely realistic, is certainly more entertaining than seeing opponents move around a track on rails.

However, where Forza 3 reallyimpressed us at E3 2009, was inside one of the three simulators that Microsoft has set up behind its booth. These simulators incorporate force feedback steering wheels, three pedals, three widescreens, and hydraulics that make you feel every bump in the road and, apparently, necessitate the wearing of a seatbelt. Most of us will never get to experience Forza 3 in this way outside of an event like E3, but the fact that it's even possible to do so underlines just how much attention to detail has gone into its making.

October can't come quickly enough, and in the meantime we hope to bring you plenty of updates on features that aren't being talked about at E3. Stay tuned.

Microsoft's Working on an Xbox Next

Sometimes it's what a company says it's not doing that grabs your head and twists it around. Case in point, Blizzard veep of game design Rob Pardo is flatly denyingrumors the company's been rapping with Microsoft about a hypothetical Xbox 360 successor (unimaginatively dubbed 'Xbox 720' by the mathematically literalist media).

It's no secret high level execs yak about this stuff behind hermetically sealed walls and chambers, probably carrying around microscopic explosives that could blow open their carotid arteries if they squeal. Occasionally something leaks anyway (or appears to) then bangs around the blogosphere with exaggerated gravitas.

With the Xbox 360 over three years old, it's as likely as not that Microsoft's already broached the subject of its Xbox 360 followup act (in one form or another) with whoever it's dubbed worthy.

Need for Speed Underground 2

Need for Speed Underground 2 Strategy - Racing tips

Circuit Racing Tips:
Be sure to save some of your NOS for your final lap. This will ensure you have that final boost if you need it.

Look for shortcuts, but don't always use them! In some races, shortcuts are actually longer, or have sharper turns requiring you to lose speed!

Sprint Racing Tips:
On Sprint races be sure to stay close to the turns and stay away from traffic that could cost you the game. Also don’t be afraid to spin the computer out from the back.

This will work in any race that allows NOS. Right before the start of the race, during the countdown, tap the NOS button. This will give you some style points thus refueling your NOS and giving a little extra. Its not a lot but its something to get off the line with.

Drag Racing Tips:
When in a drag race against AI, watch their movements during the race if they are ahead of you. They will be more aware of upcoming obstacles and traffic.

If you're first during the drag race and enemy is right behind you, he will surely want to get ahead of you. To avoid this, you should often look behind and if enemy try to change the line, quickly drive on the same line.

If you can't finish a drag race, because you blow you're engine, try to change Final Drive Ratio scrollbar nearer Top Speed. (Performance Tuning -> Tune settings -> Drivetrain).

When drag racing on the PC, try using a steering wheel or joystick, anything that'll get you analog control of the throttle. That way, it's easier to get perfect shifts right on 1st, then 2nd gear, which helps dramatically in getting the early lead and hopefully, winning the race.

Many of you already had the problem of blown engine because of using nitro. If you are in the 4th level of transmission (I don't know the exact word for this, sry) do a short shift so the arrow comes low in the 5th level, now you can use nitro before blowing up your engine and your still going fast.

Later in the game, on the longer courses, you will need car with a 6-speed gearbox to avoid blowing your engine.

In one of the drage races in the second sponsor level, there are a lot of traffic cars which makes it almost impossible to finish. Just do it slowly, the other cars will get totaled and you can just slowly do it and dodge the traffic.

When you are racing in quick race or multiplayer online, after unlocking all the peformance upgrades. The best way to win a race is to stay behind the first opponent and try to be very close to him. in that way, you are earning Style points which will be an extra nitros to your car. through the race, in about 1/2 to 3/4 to the finishing line, tab the nitros or keep pressing the nitros button which will last longer.

Drift Racing Tips:
Choosing the right car is essential when preparing for a Drift race. All wheel, rear wheel and front wheel drive cars all perform differently.

If you can control your car exceptionally well, then go tune it to have the front moderately "loose" or so that it loses traction easy, and the rear as "loose" as you can get it, if you experiment with what works best one your car via the test track then you will have a car that drifts easy, yet still controllable, another thing is to use handbrake sparingly due to the fact that it burns to much momentum and speed reducing chances of chaining it.

If you have a rear will drive car with lots of power, sit on about 30 to 40 km then gas it as soon as you turn this is more effective then pressing the handbrake but if you want to keep it going just zig zag. I find this more effective with an Audi TT with all level one upgrades or higher. If you do have higher performance then you may find it hard to finish in time but the scoring is taken care of.

When you see you're about to loose control of you're car and going to hit a wall or traffic cars, push the brake/reverse trigger and the hand-brake at same time and hold'em until you see the points go in the bank, usually, you'll get the points before the car completely stop or hit the wall!

On open course drifts that have turn-around driveways, you can see these on your map as a separate road that goes off the main road and reconnects. Take the driveway and slide around and back onto main road for "Insane" drift points, 60,000+.

Street X Tips:
A tip for racing on Street X is to make sure that you hit the other cars out of the way. Hit them as though you are playing dodge 'ems, and hit the back corners of their cars and launch them into a spin.

You can either hit them out of they way, by hitting their back corners (aka the P.I.T. maneuver) or you can try to take the inside corner of every turn. This gets you around the course faster, and also prevents the opponents from trying to spin you.

In order to have great performances in Street X racing, just tune your gear ratios for acceleration, therefore you have to concentrate all your transmission on acceleration. Therefore all the bars have to been set for optimum acceleration, cause you need no top speed for Street X.

URL Racing Tips:
When you're racing a URL race make sure when you fill the N2O as much as you can via: Drafting, Fastest lap, Leading lap and Power slides, but don't overdo it with the powerslides. NOS can help you to get in first, creating and maintaining a gap. Depending on opponents strength you can get a gap from 3 or 4 seconds and if you're lucky even 12 seconds. When starting at the back, rev as high as possible to get a good burnout score. Then draft until you reach between 500 and 900 points this should give you enough NOS for the next two laps if used sparingly i.e. on the exit of the apex of turns for acceleration and long straights.

Outrun Racing Tips:
To beat an opponent the fastest come up on him at near top speed and right when you get near him press the button to start the outrun. He will flip over your car or be hit to the side and you will win in seconds.

The tip is when racing outrun races do it on the highway it makes things a lot easier and don't accept the race until your right up on them so you can spin them out first thing and almost always win with in ten to twenty seconds as opposed to two or three minutes. This will not always work but does most of the time, works like a charm for levels 1&2.

If you are far enough ahead of your opponent and on the motorway turn a hairpin into an off ramp and you opponent will overshoot it and take a long time to recover.

When racing in Outrun mode get as close as you can before challenging them. Then challenge them and press the nos and try to ram the side of your opponent causing them to lose control and crash. Another tip is when racing try to go towards a place where you can make a u-turn, if you do it right then you will get a big lead while they try to turn around.

There are two good ways to easily win an Outrun. The first is to come up behind the opponent and do what is called a PIT Manoeuvre. To do this you must go to the side of your opponent and with the front of your car lean sideways into the back of their car. If done correctly then their car should spin round but remember to press up to start the outrun just before they spin because this will make then stop and they take ages to turn round. The second way is to drive through to 5 fountains in the City Core. It takes a lot of practice to do it but when learnt you will be able to do it with ease and your opponent will always crash trying to follow you.

If you are enough ahead of your opponent, use shortcuts. Opponent may not use shortcut, but he can use it and he will crash on it.

To load up NOS real quick, drive backwards until you hit max RPM and then steer hard left or hard right. This will let you do a J-turn for a massive 500 points! This is easiest on the highway, if you start out facing the oncoming traffic, but parking lots work well too.

For some nasty Outrun action, allow your opponent to close in behind you, as you approach an off ramp of the highway. Try to push him into the concrete at top of the junction, where the roads split. If this works - he'll be standing still and you'll be rocketing away to victory. If this doesn't work, you'll spin around; grab your handbrake to control the spin, and shoot NOS to chase after your opponent; he'll be slowed down enough to let you draft from his rear. try to push him into a spin while he's still figuring out what happened.

If you have the lead and cannot seem to lose your opponent, head towards the Fountains at the City Center and weave through them. Your opponent is most likely to crash into the fountains. Easier done using a small car, e.g. A3 or 206 because of their size. Or using an SUV, due to their "lack of Speed". Practice makes perfect.

Dirt 2 First Look

Dirt 2 First Look

The original Dirt--a rally racing game carrying on the legacy of the Colin McRae series--won over fans and critics with its combination of gorgeous visuals, varied events, and an impressive damage modeling system. In other words, it was a hit across the board, which naturally means that Codemasters is hard at work on a sequel. Known quite simply as Dirt 2, this follow-up was unveiled by the English publisher at a press event last night in San Francisco.

During the presentation, the big theme that Codemasters was hammering on for this sequel was the idea of off-road racing with an extreme sports attitude. What does that mean, exactly? The first game featured voice-over work by motocross legend Travis Pastrana, but this time around Codemasters is looking to go full tilt with the game's presentation. A teaser video revealed a scene from the player's RV, the hub where you control all your career mode exploits, and it was a raucous collection of grime, half-naked women, and general insanity. That should serve as a good hint of what the overall attitude will be.

But of course, this is still a racing game, and gussying up the user interface will take you only so far. Thankfully, Codemasters revealed some intriguing information about the type of racing you'll be doing this time around. The biggest chunk of information they let out is the inclusion of stadium rally events. They showed a gameplay video of a fictional stadium built around London's Battersea Power Station, with all manner of twisty dirt roads, puddles, and smoke stacks making up a very gritty and industrial-looking setting. Another similarly fictional stadium they mentioned is one set in Los Angeles for an event they're calling the Stadium King Shootout. Apparently, they've done work to the engine to make these stadium events feel quite massive, with crowd sizes going from 40,000 in Grid (a Codemasters racing game using the same engine released last year) to 120,000 in Dirt 2.

However, it's not just the number of fans watching you peel out and smash your front end that has been tweaked. A tech video shown during the presentation revealed some other enhancements to the game's engine. The biggie is probably advanced water physics: the game will be going beyond the rain-slick roads in the first game to include puddles that appear to be at least a foot deep. This new type of hazard ought to severely impact your driving ability and add a new dimension to the way you'll be racing around the course, because no longer will the optimal line around a corner always be the best one to take if it happens to bring you through a miniature lake.

In terms of locations, you can expect to see races held in London and Los Angeles, as previously mentioned, but also in some less expected spots, including Croatia, China, and Malaysia. Those Asian locales should come as quite a departure from the European-heavy settings in the first game. Another welcome departure is in multiplayer mode: you will now be able to take part in online matches against other drivers in real time. If that doesn't get you excited, you're probably not familiar with the first game's solitary, time-trial multiplayer, which felt like little more than a mean prank in the context of the great game built around it.

We'd love to have seen more on Dirt 2 than the few brief videos shown during this presentation, because what we did see looks promising. You can expect more coverage leading up to the game's release, which is currently slotted for late September.

Fuel Updated Hands-On

Fuel Updated Hands-On

It's fair to say that the sandbox racing genre hasn't taken off as quickly as action games set in a similarly open environment. But Burnout Paradise proved it could be done quite well, so now we're beginning to see more open-world racers come join the fray. One of the more intriguing examples is Fuel, a sandbox racer being developed in France by Asobo Studio and set to be released by racing megapublisher Codemasters. In it you pilot a variety of vehicles through a massive map depicting a variety of Western United States natural landmarks in the nasty, climate-changed future. We took an extensive look at the game last month during a visit to the developer's studio, though recently an updated build was shown off here in San Francisco at a Codemasters press event.

You can get the full rundown on Fuel in our most recent hands-on preview. Essentially, the game takes place in a giant map that covers 5,000 square miles of terrain. It's a diverse environment that encompasses all manner of settings, from dense forests to barren beaches with the rusted skeletons of cargo ships washed ashore. It's a big grab bag of natural landmarks plucked from the Western US, including Oregon's Crater Lake, Washington's Mt. Rainier, Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats, and Arizona's Grand Canyon. The scope is hard to put into words, but with a 40-kilometer draw distance, it's definitely a sight to behold.

So while the gameworld is a huge mash-up of rolling outdoor terrain that you can explore however you like in a free roaming mode, the career races take on a more traditional approach. The bulk of the races seem to be point-to-point checkpoint events where you'll be navigating from one glowing red column to the next, while some of the others we saw are circuit events that have you running several laps around the same area. In the case of checkpoint events, these points are usually spread pretty far apart, so you've got a good deal of room to navigate how you'd like to get to the next one. This usually involves a combination of sticking to the road or trail while, in the back of your head, weighing the pros and cons of darting through shortcuts that always seem to be taunting you. We had a lot of fun barreling down steep cliffs with a checkpoint at the bottom when the in-game GPS advised taking a series of cautious switchback trails, or cutting through a dense forest when told to stick to the asphalt road veering around it.

One of the neat things about that GPS system--a series of red arrows floating overhead--is how it adapts depending on what sort of car you're driving. It doesn't just have an ideal line for each race; it has an ideal line for which type of vehicle you're driving and how you're driving it. For example, because motorcycles can scale hills much easier than a sedan, you'll be instructed to take the occasional uphill cut between tracks while on a bike that you wouldn't get in another vehicle. And with 70-plus vehicles spanning different classes, like motorcycles, dune buggies, quads, muscle cars, and monster trucks, you'll have lots of vehicles to choose from.

At this point, the big question you might be asking is why place the game in an open-world setting if all the races are fixed events. That's where user-created races come into play. You can create your own events by dropping checkpoints anywhere on the map, so if you want to do an uphill endurance race straight up Mt. Rainier or a lap around Crater Lake, that's well within your means. These can then be shared online with others, and you can take part in 16-player online matches. But, as mentioned before, you're also given the ability to explore around at will.

So far, we like what we've seen of Fuel. Its artistic design is especially impressive, though one big flaw we've noticed is that the frame rate really chugs during big events. Still, it's a unique take on the off-road racing genre, and we're excited to get the chance to explore the entire gameworld. It's due for release on the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 this May.

RacePro Updated Hands-On

RacePro Updated Hands-On

"The problem is when you have a lot of horsepower." So says SimBin Studio's creative director Diego Sartori, one of the driving forces behind the studio's upcoming racing debut on the Xbox 360, RacePro. Long known for its heralded PC sim-racing games, including GTR, GTR 2, and last year's Race 07, the studio is branching out with RacePro, a game that the studio hopes will please hardcore racing fans and perhaps create a few new racing fans along the way. We've had a chance to spend some time with an updated build of RacePro and, yesterday, we spoke with Sartori about the game's evolution on the Xbox 360.So, back to that horsepower problem. As Sartori puts it, one of the benchmarks in developing a successful racing game is making the upper-echelon cars in the game both compelling and manageable. "We still want to have a game that can handle a lot of horsepower, but still have an intuitive [driving] experience. I definitely think once you open up the more powerful cars [in RacePro], the game begins to flex its muscles and shows how well we have managed."

You go about unlocking those upper-tier cars in the game's career mode, which appears to be the game's single-player highlight. It's organized in a very straightforward manner: You earn credits by placing high in races, and then use those credits to open test drives for teams in other classes. You start off in low-powered rides like Mini Coopers but, soon enough, you'll be piloting 400+-horsepowered brutes around the game's 13 circuits from all over the world. There are eight tiers that you'll need to conquer throughout your career, and though each tier will feature a mixture of car classes to choose from, the further you progress in the game, the hotter the rides (and the tougher the competition).

From a development standpoint, RacePro's mixture of approachability and demanding realism called for a brand-new game engine, codenamed "Lizard," to be built for the console. Although the game is still in development, and the preview build that we played had some rough edges (namely in the unstable frame rate), there are some important high points that improve on what SimBin fans have come to expect on the PC. Take track surfaces, for example. As Sartori put it, track deformations have been significantly improved in RacePro. You need only drive a single lap at a track like Brno--a constantly changing, engrossingly challenging track in the Czech Republic--for proof. When entering and exiting certain corners--turns that we've experienced many times in other console games--we were shocked by the amount of undulations threatening to upset the balance of our car. And the more powerful the ride, the more obvious each and every bump becomes.

As Sartori put it, that extra attention to track surface detail will play a big role in determining how you want to attack any course in the game. Now, of course, every track is different. Sartori describes Brno as a track in which every corner is connected--and a mistake on one turn will have ramifications on upcoming corners, if not the entire lap. Other courses in the game, such as Italy's Monza and Brazil's Curitiba, have a little more room for error yet are still, in their own ways, lots of fun to drive. To help you make the most of your laps, a color-coded racing-line feature can be turned on or off. Although the feature itself has become a racing staple over the years, we were interested in learning why the developers at SimBin went with a static racing line, as opposed to the dynamic line featured in Forza Motorsport 2. As Sartori put it, there's something to be said for a line that shows you the optimal line around a track, not just one that helps you get out of trouble if you make a mistake in braking or accelerating.

While the game's racing line is immovable, there will be lots of options for tuning your car. Like any racing game worth its salt, RacePro will go deep with the tweaking options; gear ratios, downforce, and brake bias are just a few of the aspects of your ride that you'll be able to change. Sartori told us that the development team has put a lot of effort into finding the correct default setups for all of the cars in the game. In fact, once the game's base physics system was in place, a large part of the testing came in the form of determining just how those default car setups should drive. As a result, the cars are currently set to understeer a bit, meaning that they're less twitchy and nervous in the corners, which presumably makes them easier to drive from the outset.

With a list of cars that range from Mini Coopers to open-wheeled F3000 cars, and a host of GT-class cars, race fans will likely find something to love in RacePro. We're particularly fond of the open-wheel Formula BMW rides; with front and rear wings that give you downforce in turns and enough horsepower to be fun, these rides seem to find the sweet spot between control and power in the early goings of the game. This is just a handful of the 44 unique car models found in the game, with plenty of different liveries to choose from.Though RacePro will feature racing for up to 12 players online, there is an offline mode known as Hot Seat that looks like a good alternative for those who don't want to hop online. Here you can race competitively against a friend, or race cooperatively, with each player taking a turn driving the car. When racing cooperatively, you choose how many laps you want, the number of opponents and their skill and, most interestingly, the length of time that each player drives before switching out. You can choose between time (30 seconds, 60 seconds, 90 seconds, and so on) or number of laps. In a race, a prompt appears onscreen a few seconds before you switch over to the other controller. It's certainly no substitute for online competition against real foes, but it is an interesting twist on multiplayer racing.

RacePro will ultimately support online racing for up to 12 players, but the build that we played wasn't ready for online yet. However, we're hoping to hook up with the SimBin folks in a couple of weeks to check out that aspect of the game and hopefully learn some tips from the pros on how to improve our times on the various tracks. We'll be sharing those tips with you in our next look at RacePro in December.

Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace's development must have felt like one of those inspirational sports movies - like Rocky or Champions - where the odds are stacked against them from the very beginning. First off, QoS is a movie to video game crossover directly tied in to the launch of the movie it's pimping. Next up there's the whole "Goldeneye" factor, where any game featuring James Bond will always be compared to one of the most famously championed video games ever. Then there's the fact that the game is made by Treyarch - a competent development team commonly known in gaming circles as "Not Infinity Ward".You'll see the effort that went into the game - and the subsequent failure to reach its goal - within the first 15 minutes of the game. Straight up you'll see how much detail has gone into making James Bond look like Daniel Craig. They put a lot of effort into putting Daniel Craig into the game - far beyond just getting him to do some voice acting. It's astounding how good the whole thing looks - and then the rest of the game rears its head. 

While the character models are fantastic, the rest of the game is not so great. The car animations, environmental effects and the gunfire - all the other elements in the game look really average. The cover system is a great addition - because it shows off the work put into Daniel Craig - but the rest of the action is quite poor. Leaping out of cover can be very hit and miss - sometimes you'll run to another piece of cover, other times you'll stand in the crossfire, wondering what went wrong. 

One area you'd think QoS would be safe is the storyline - you've already got a story set out in the movie, right? Unfortunately the game flits between Casino Royale (the previous Bond film) and Quantum of Solace so often you get confused as to who you need to kill. It's also somewhat short - but that's a curse inherent with the movie tie-in genre really. 

The bulk of the game is really in the multiplayer then - and Quantum of Solace is actually quite cool in this regard. You don't have to worry about poor car animations here - it's pure kill or be killed in the game's more than adequate multiplayer. The Call of Duty 4 engine provides QoS with a solid multiplayer foundation - although things do work a bit different. 

You have your average deathmatch stuff plus three other modes - a FFA style Golden Gun mode, a mode reminiscent of the old VIP_ maps on Counter-Strike - one player is Bond while everyone else either protects him or kills him and my favourite - a Bond versus the world mode. One player is Bond and everyone else is a guard - if you're Bond you want to avoid other people at all costs while you find bombs littered around the map, and if you're a guard... Find Bond and kill him! 

Multiplayer makes up for the short singleplayer experience, but we're forced to wonder if it's enough to get people buying the game. With decent support from Treyarch - new maps and regular DLC - QoS's online community might be worthwhile for some time, but Treyarch are involved with so many projects right now we're not sure that will happen. If you can find a core group of players to get your game on with you're at least guaranteed some fun in MP. 

Using the Call of Duty 4 engine was a slick move from Treyarch, and the cover system is a fantastic addition - if a little rough around the edges. Quantum of Solace directly suffers at the hands of a strict movie release schedule - with more time the game could have been the Goldeneye replacement everyone has been dreaming of. If you're a diehard Bond fan you'll enjoy the game - you still play as James Bond - but with so many A grade titles out right now it might be worthwhile holding off on this purchase for now. Oh, and see the new movie first if you want to have some semblance of a clue as to what's going on.

Burnout Paradise

Burnout Paradise

Burnout Paradise is a fascinating game. It takes the open-world, online play style pioneered in Test Drive Unlimited and couples it with the Burnout series' action-packed, thrash-and-burn gameplay. The result is one of the best racers on the road, where online and offline opponents cruise the same streets at the same time, and you can basically do anything you want as long as it involves driving fast, crashing, or both. The game takes place in the eponymous Paradise City, a locale that serves triple duty as setting, victim, and front end. It's a setting because it's where you drive; a victim because it's what you'll wreck; and a front end because you'll never have to jump out to a menu to change modes or go online--everything you could ever want to run over or crash into is right here in Paradise City...and it's also downloadable at a discount price as well on the PlayStation Network.

Prince of Persia (2008) Review

Prince of Persia (2008) Review

In many modern games, you rain death upon your enemies; how refreshing, then, that your main task in Prince of Persia is to breathe life into a darkening world. That doesn't mean that the forces of evil aren't on your tail in this open-world platformer, but the most indelible moments of this enchanting journey are uplifting, rather than destructive. Similarly, the latest iteration in this long-running franchise is a rejuvenation for the series, and it's an ambitious one, offering up a new titular prince and casting certain game traditions aside in favor of player immersion. And for the most part it succeeds, eliminating illusion-breaking mechanics like game-over screens and long loading times in the process. This re-imagining comes with a few caveats, however, and if you're a longtime series fan, you'll quickly discover--and possibly resent--that Prince of Persia is, far and away, the easiest game in the series. But if you can clear your mind and let the game's magic wash over you, its easygoing joy and visual beauty will charm you into forgiving a sprinkling of flaws.

In some ways, Prince of Persia represents a return to Sands of Time's storybook vibe, which had been somewhat lost in that game's two sequels. Yet our new hero isn't exactly Prince Charming, but rather a wisecracking nomad interested only in his donkey (named Farah, in one of several nods to previous games) and the riches she apparently carries. His royal status is referenced but never fully explored, though his companion Elika is clearly a princess, and as the game progresses, you'll become much more invested in her past than the prince's. Together, they seek to imprison the evil god Ahriman, who has been inexplicably set free by Elika's own father. To do so, they must restore a series of fertile grounds to their former fecund glory, thereby banishing the inky black corruption that has enveloped the land. Storytelling isn't the game's strong suit, and the dismissive, often unlikeable prince is hardly beguiling, a poor fit for the captivating journey ahead. Thankfully, Elika exudes enough charm for the both of them, and the relationship they slowly forge lends plenty of emotional impact to the game's final moments.

This relationship enriches the very core of the experience, given that Elika is not your standard game sidekick. She isn't just a helpless companion, but an important part of a number of gameplay mechanics. As the prince, you will pull off moves familiar to franchise fans: jumping, climbing, scaling, and wallrunning among them. There are also a few new acrobatics to play with, such as the aptly named roofrun, where the prince scuttles along the roof in a vaguely simian manner. But if the moves are familiar, Elika's presence enriches and enhances them. She will jump on your back as you scale across vines, reach for your helping hand as you climb, and perform an elegant pas de deux with you when you need to pass her on a narrow beam. In some ways, this relationship recalls that of Ico and Yorda in 2001's ICO.

While in ICO Yorda was totally dependent on her companion, here Elika is far more helpful to the prince than he is to her. She is, in fact, your constant savior, because she will not, and cannot, allow you to die. Should you fall, Elika will grab you by the wrist and whisk you to safety--meaning the last checkpoint. There is a checkpoint at almost every platform, so aside from possibly having to repeat a few seconds of gameplay, there is absolutely no penalty for plummeting to your doom. You will never see the words "game over," and you won't need to save and reload before difficult sequences. Nor will you need to ever puzzle over how to make it from point A to point B: Elika can fire off a magical homing orb that will show you the precise way of getting to your destination. Combined with simple platforming controls that require a minimum of key or button presses, these facets make Prince of Persia one of the easiest games you'll play all year.

This ease of use makes each individual action seem relatively meaningless as you string moves together. For many, this will translate to a diminished feeling of reward; aside from a few exceptions, there is no sequence that feels remotely challenging, certainly not for players familiar with the old-school difficulties wrought by the early games in the series. Yet while the unique satisfaction of overcoming hurdles is missing, it is tempered by other kinds of rewards. The platforming is fluid, and seamlessly chaining a number of moves together is simple but visually appealing, making for some silky-smooth motion that you'll get a kick out of. To get the most out of it, however, you will want to use a controller. While the keyboard controls work surprisingly well for platforming, the numerous quicktime events aren't well suited to a keyboard, and the key prompts are more confusing when you aren't using a gamepad.

As you progress through the game and explore some of the more intricate environments, you'll find some truly impressive level design. Each area flows organically into the next, and while the overall design appears a bit more synthetic than it did in Assassin's Creed, platform placement and other architectural features don't seem overtly artificial. This becomes even more apparent when you begin to unlock Elika's various powers--though calling them powers is a bit of a stretch. As you unlock new explorable areas by collecting glowing orbs called light seeds, you will be able to utilize the various colored plates that dot walls and ceilings. There are four types of plates, and each kind initiates a high-flying feat. Red and blue plates are functionally the same (though visually unique), propelling you automatically toward the next plate or platform. Green plates turn you into a sort of Persian Spider-Man, causing you to quickly scale up walls and ceilings while avoiding obstacles. Finally, yellow plates initiate on-rails flight sequences that give you limited room to maneuver around obstructions, sort of like a 3D version of Nights Into Dreams, the Saturn platformer. Many of the sequences combining plate jumps and standard platforming are exhilarating, and the manner in which some of them utilize all three dimensions make the level design all the more impressive. And amazingly, the camera is rarely a liability, which is quite an achievement. Unfortunately, the flying initiated by leaping from yellow plates is a clear weakness. The constant camera movement and overwhelming visual effect used here make for a few annoying sections, and it is never clear whether you need to go left or right, up or down to avoid certain objects. Given that most of the plate-initiated bits are terrific fun, it's a shame these particular flights of fancy were so poorly crafted.

There is some combat, and while it's hardly Prince of Persia's focus, it looks mightily spectacular. You fight only a single enemy at a time, including the four main bosses, which you'll take on multiple times. Battles are on the simple side: you have four main attacks--sword, gauntlet, Elika's magic, and acrobatic vault--that you can string into various combos. Enemies can change states, making certain attacks ineffective, and there are some other occasional twists. Yet like the platforming, it is on the easy side; even if Elika is bound by corrupted tentacles or rendered unconscious, she's always there to pluck you from death's cold embrace should you miss an important quicktime event (of which there are many). But battles are still uniquely satisfying and look fantastic. The prince throws Elika into the air with ease, stringing throws, slices, and magic attacks together as the camera zooms in and out to showcase the slashes and backflips. The stringent enemy-focused camera and odd scuttling motions of the prince feel confining but work just fine in most of these battles, though they're a bit less successful during certain boss fights that require some environmental manipulation.

Combat's not the only thing that looks spectacular. Prince of Persia is beautiful to look at, thanks to vibrant cel-shading and some sumptuous environments. Tendrils of corruption reach toward you as you navigate the cold, colorless caverns of infertile regions. The contrast between these areas and the beautifully lit vistas and thriving vegetation of healed locales is palpable, and the transformation of a fertile ground from darkness to light may remind you of similarly impressive moments in Okami. There are a few rough spots here and there, in the way of glitched animations and tiny frame rate stutters, but they barely detract from the lovely visual design. While there are some minor differences, all three versions look great and well represent the capabilities of their respective platforms. And all three feature the same lovely ambient music, which sounds more Persian than the very American-sounding prince.

Most will be able to finish Prince of Persia in around a dozen hours, though if you want to collect every scattered light seed and avoid quick travel (you can teleport from one healed ground to another instantly), you could add a few more hours to the total. But while a few unlockable skins may not seem like enough reason to return, this game is so enjoyable and delightful that you may want to return to it as you would return to a favorite fantasy novel or film. While its lack of challenge may lull fans, its ease of use will delight newcomers and draw in anyone who appreciates a touch of magic.