Review: Project Gotham Racing 4

Format: Xbox 360

Dev: Bizzare Creations

Pub: Microsoft

Players: 1-2 (Offline), 1-8 (System Link)

Online: Multiplayer (1-8), Downloadable Content

Certificate: 15+

Us petrolheads have been having a good time of it recently, haven’t we? Forza 2, DiRT, Sega Rally. They’ve all been excellent. And we’ve still got Burnout Paradise to come. So far this year, Forza’s been the best, no doubt. But now the king has returned. And he wants his throne back.

The last Gotham, PGR 3, was unarguably superb, and the best driver on 360 until Forza 2’s release. And, at first look at PGR 4, you know it’s kept that same old magic. The trick with a sequel is to take what was good of the previous one, and then set about improving what was perhaps not so good. Getting the balance right is tricky, as what you do not want to is have a new game exactly the same as the old one, or have a new game that cuts all ties with its predeccessor. But Bizzare have managed to avoid those pitfalls. And in that respect, PGR 4 is superb.

The most obvious improvement is the graphics. I mean, PGR 3 was no dog, but next to its big brother, its pixelated and jumpy. Bizzare have really taken advantage of the 360’s power. The cars themselves, all real of course, look stunning, but the game’s real beuty is in the details. In older racers, 5th gen perhaps, the crowd were nothing more than some cardboard cut-outs of racing fanatics. But in PGR 4, you get the impression that each spectator has been individually created by a team of highly skilled monkeys.

The trackside detail is truly astonashing. But the new Gotham has one more trick up its sleeve. And it’s not something I’d usually be happy about. Its the rain. And the fog. And the snow, ice, wind. In fact the weather in general. It’s just astounding.

It’s not just the graphics that have been improved either. PGR3 had roughly 80 cars, but PGR4 has over 120, including, for the first time, motorbikes. For me personally, it’s not that great an addition as I’ve never been that interested in bikes, but others will be thrilled and it makes a nice change from 4 wheels. Yes, you can fall off, but it’s not as easy to as it is in MotoGP ‘07. And the bikes give PGR4 it’s greatest moment.

I don’t usually do a ‘best bit’, as it’s hard to choose in good games, and in poor ones it’s hard to find any good bits at all. But I don’t think there can be any doubt over PGR4’s highlight. Dashboard view (Are you listening Turn 10? Dashboard!) on a bike in the rain is one of the greatest moments in racing game history.

The kudos system has been improved too, as has the track design. And the online and multiplayer have also seen enhancements. It all sounds jolly great and exciting, doesn’t it? But wait. Because it’s not all good news.

The damage is the a weak point, and next to Forza 2, it’s so poor, it may as well not exist. Also, the tracks, although improved, are still based on cities with no real race tracks except the Nürburgring. It’s no great loss, but some may be ticked off and the likes of Gran Turismo has led us to expect better. As it has done with the cars. GT4 had over 700 cars and even Forza 2 had 300. PGR4 fails to make it to triple figures. But I guess it does have the Ariel Atom so it’s not so bad.

All in all, this is a stupendous game. A real testament to how good driving games can be. Compared to Forza 2, it’s equally as good in terms of the actual racing, but with the weather and lighting effects, it just edges it, and makes a triumphant return to its throne.

Jusgement:

One of the most realistic and enjoyable racers ever developed. Dashboard view. On a bike. In the rain. Driving heaven. 93.

Review: Red Steel

First Person Shooters on the Wii, you could argue are an entirely new genre. While naturally the core of the game will be the same as conventional FPSs, being on the Wii means that you don’t have a conventional controller. So the developers have to make a whole new control setup from scratch. Ergo, reviewing the first of them is a little difficult as there is nothing to which it can be compared.

First impresions of Red Steel, however are good. The controls are well thought-out and the motion-sensing well implemented. The first few missions are quite good too, after of course the painfully long, pointless and baldy written intro which has you looking at a variety of fish. But then the story starts and you make your way around capping random Japanese and American blokes in suits and it’s all jolly exciting. But then you realise that all those things you thought could crop up to spoil the fun; they’re there.

The controls feel too sensitive, and the gesture-activated moves, although seemingly good at first, are too vague and have been attributed to vital operations, such as reloading and picking up new weapons. So you’ll often find yourself throwing away an Uzi for a pistol, despite meaning to reload it. Or perhaps you’ll knock over a table, or open a random door.

But eventually those niggles melt away and you can start to enjoy the game. And, as it turns out, enjoyable it is. Sure, the story isn’t very good but the once irritating, now revolutionary controls and half-decent sword fights make up for it. For a while. Because sooner or later, you will make another disheartening discovery. It is very, very short. I was expecting a long and enthralling game which, playing casually, would take weeks to finish. Instead the game will take you a not-so-amazing 5 hours to complete.

By the end, your arm will ache, your head numb with the blandness of the sword-fighting dojo you must visit to improve your repertoire of moves and your faith in the Wii son the wane. By the third last level, all of which are very short, the story has completely and utterly fallen to pieces. You find yourself fighting a gang of ninjas with weird spandex masks on and only the extremely commited will play the game through to the bitter end.

Somehow or other however, the multiplayer is amazingly quite good, with 4 players supported and some genuinely high-quality modes here. But despite all it’s shortcomings, you have to admire Capcom for attempting it. It’s new, it’s different, it’s not very good. But when the Wright brothers managed only a few hundred yards in their plane, I’ll bet nobody though you would be able to fly anywhere in the world in mere hours. FPSs on the Wii will improve, believe you me. Just wait for Metroid.

Graphics: Some poor textures and samey scenery are balanced with a few decent interiors.

Gameplay: Camera can be lairy, but the shooting’s surprisingly good. Sword stuff is underused.

Lifespan: Too short. Little replay value. Multiplayer’s OK but overall its a very poor show.

Judgement:

Interesting if nothing less. Its very short, there’s little replay value, the sword malarkey is underused and the camera can be lairy and irritating at times. Until Samus arrives, the only good Wii FPS. 77.

2 Word Review: NBA 08

The reason I’m doing a couple of 2 word reviews back-to-back is that I’m in London and time is hard to come by. But here we go.

Reasonably good.

Overall: 7

Review: Space Giraffe

What can I say? This is the worst game I have played this generation.

Judgement:

Epileptic shite!

Overall: 17

What Next for Spartan-117?

Halo 3 was the perfect way to end the trilogy. There can be no argument about that. But while nobody’s playing anything else at the moment, eventually we’re going to be lured away by something new. So what are Bungie going to do now? Is that the end of Halo for ever? Not by a long shot. So; what next for Spartan-117?

Well, there’s all the marketing and merchandising I mentioned earlier, and I’m sure he’s going to be busy with some book signings and his imminent autobiography before he gets paid thousands to appear on Celebrity Big Brother, then fading slowly into obscurity.

Or he might appear in the upcoming Halo Wars, a 360 exclusive RTS. Expected to be released sometime in 2008, it will have you fighting the same fight as the original Halo games, only in the form of a real time strategy rather than an FPS. It looks great, but there’s still no word about the Flood yet.

Then there’s the very mysterious project known at the moment as the Untitled Halo Project. To be honest this could be anything, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a new series of games. Perhaps a prequel to the current trilogy, à la Star Wars.

Finally, and further away than any other Halo thing, is the movie. Since it’s being directed by Peter ‘I like long films and I cannot lie‘ Jackson, you can expect the film to take longer to watch than the Halo trilogy takes to play. It should be good though, providing they don’t cast some douchebag like Nicolas Cage. Fingers crossed.

Even with the Halo trilogy over, Master Chief’s going to be busy for some years to come. Those autobiographies take ages to write.

Marketing Master Chief

When a series becomes as big as Halo you can be sure it will be accompanied by more merchandise than you can shake a Special Edition box at. The Halo series is no exception. And Microsoft have gone all out on the marketing front to ensure maximum public eposure. And it worked, snaring a slot on the news prior to it’s midnight launch and  And man there’s a lot of Halo 3 stuff to buy.

There’s action figures, for instance.  There’s a 12 inch one of Master Chief coming out soon, likely to be sporting a price tag of about £100. And an exrtremely limited edition battle-damaged Scarab. Only 500 were ever made, and are worth a couple of hundred each. There should be a non-damaged one out soon costing a little less. There’s also some action figures of your Covenant enemies.

If you don’t want toys, you could go for the Halo 3 beach towels and clothes. Jumpers, t shirts, even ASBO-friendly hoodies have been plastered with that now iconic 3. There’s special things to go around your license plate saying “MY OTHER CAR IS A WARTHOG”

Then, of course, there’s the books, comics and graphic novels that have become so popular and sought after now. There’s soundtrack CDs and even replica weapons. Unfortunately, they’re only six inches long. So no running round your home town with a battle rifle pretending to be Master Chief killing Covenant bad guys.

And, of course, there’s the special editions. The standard one, usually costing £40, contains only the game disc and comes in a rather fetching green transparent box. The Limited Edition has a wicked black metal case and an extra DVD with ‘the making of’ and other such fantastic things. Finally, the Halo 3 Legendary Edition is the most exclusive and expensive one. It comes with even more extra material and the box is in the ubercool shape of the helmet of a certain Master Chief.

The amount there is out there really is simply staggering. And not all of it is cheap junk. In fact, even if you hate Halo (hello?), you should get some of this stuff, because in about 30 years, it’s going to be worth an absolute bomb.

That Halo Obsession

Yesterday, I reviewed Halo 3. And I gave it a 87, because giving it any less felt too much like an injustice, but it just lacked that magic spark, that x factor to merit a score of 90+. It has broken countless records, but it’s deserving of them all. In it’s first week, it made over £300,000,000. So why does it deserve such praise? Why has it, and not any other fantastic game, been described as “the game of the decade”?

Is it all down to the hype? I mean, Halo 3 has been the most eagerly-anticipated launch of any game in history, but is that exclusivly because of Microsoft’s marketing? For the sake of argument, let’s say it is.

So Microsoft have marketed to the best of their ability, and then the big day comes. And goes, $170million and a handful of world records later. But then, the next day, everyone returns it as it sucks. It may sound a tad outlandish, but that’s what happened to Driver: Parallel Lines. It was over-hyped, and the game couldn’t live up to the public’s expectations. So it set the world record for the most-returned game in history.

Is it all down to the hype? Nah, I don’t think so. Of course, the hype will help shift the copies. But the bottom line is, if the game is shit, people will not buy it. So while Bill Gates can take some of the credit, he can’t take it all. You simply cannot take anything away from Bungie. What they have done with the Halo series is phenomanal. You get the feeling that they’re not just making the games for the money, like you feel EA do. You feel they really care about Halo as if it were a beloved family pet they’ve had for years. And it’s that love and care that’s made the Halo series their magnum opus, and made it a trilogy that will remain the pinnacle of FPSs for a long time to come.