Review: Colin McRae Rally (Steam/Mobile, 2014)

You know your favorite band's greatest hits album? Sure, you've heard all the songs before and are probably tired of them but you know they needed to make a little more money before the next full release so a greatest hits collection is their next step, and maybe you still buy it anyway. Colin McRae Rally is that in a nutshell. I understand that its actually a port of the iOS game which is a remake of Colin McRae Rally 2.0, but you would think Codemasters would add a little extra to sweeten the deal for both new and returning fans of the original franchise. Instead it feels like less-than-half of what the latter games in the series became and a barbones recreation of the PS1 classic. Last year Codemasters teased that the next CMR game will be focused on rally racing, rather than hopping from one sport to the next as done in the DiRT Series. There's been no word on whether it will be the next DiRT entry or a return to the classic CMR staging but us fans can only hope that this isn't what they were talking about.

There are only 4 cars and 30 stages. The stages feel planned out rather than organic. The physics dulled down. The power sucked out. The driving stiff. The awesome feeling of awesomeness as you drift through a hairpin is completely absent. A lot of the magic has been lost in its conversion to mobile, and even more so with its port over to Steam. I'm sure the original was never this dull and there was more than likely an exciting feeling of powering through turns and speeding through forests but this time it suffers by removing a lot of the technical aspects that introduced a lot of people to not only sim racing games but the sport of rally racing as well. Players can no longer tune their cars before each race (which is fine because all four cars play exactly the same) and for that it grudgingly inserts itself into the casual racing category, but even then it fails because the driving is simply boring.

The physics problems are just the beginning. In one of the first races in Australia, a large jump is the main event that completely breaks the game (see below). As your car almost does a barrel roll in mid-air it immediately proves the point that the game engine itself is broken. Speaking of breaking, the cars actually break down as they drive through the stages, and not just falling apart from hitting things; by the end of the second stage there is a clanking sound that wasn't there before that lets you know something is seriously wrong. Repairs are still allowed after every other stage but players may find the 30 minute time limit a bit too short for all the damage that was mysteriously caused while driving.

Australia, Greece, and Corsica are the only three locales to drive through and there just isn't anything within them to make things interesting. There are no sights to see, no majestic backgrounds, nothing within the roads to make it fun and yet it stretches out to 10 stages a piece. Ford Focus, Subaru Impreza, Mitsubishi Lancer, and Lancia Stratos are the four cars but, like I said, since they all play the same it only comes down to which one you prefer. 

On mobile devices you can choose between tilt controls with auto-acceleration or full on-screen controls. On the PC/Mac version, you can choose to use either the keyboard, a gamepad, or wheel support. Mapping the controls are difficult as it seems to fight against what the player has chosen as presets. There is no pressure sensitivity for accelerating and braking so even the keyboard feels fine when being played with.

(via Steam community member CueZero)

The graphical update is just about the only thing done well enough. The graphics engine gets the job done until you notice the faults such as front-facing sprites for the trees, flat crowds, and the plastic-like textures on the cars. The stages fair no better with a static image for the background and distance pop-in. Understandably this is all limited due to being built for mobile but nothing was changed for the Steam release. If you own a computer from 2006 then you should still be able to play on lowest settings with few hiccups.
The co-driver directions by Nicky Grist are just pre-recorded and chopped together but are accurate enough to not leave you heading toward a tree at high speeds. One of the biggest concerns that you'll face immediately in the area of sound is the airhorn which blares EVERY TIME you pass a crowd and is so distracting that you may want to consider turning the SFX down, which in turn reduces the engine and gravel sounds so its a lose/lose situation unless you can do without either. Sliding on gravel or the pavement produces an accurate enough sound and crowds cheer as you pass but your attention should be focused mainly on the directions rather than immersion.

Engines don't sound powerful at all and gradually decline in strength the more you drive. At least they put in enough thought to make the engines separate from one another.

There is no in-game music, only the menu, which is a simple tune that is easily forgotten. 

It will take you about 5 hours to complete and there is very little after-game. Playing a few stages here and there is all it will amount to but there are other racing games on the app stores and Steam that are worthy of attention. This game should have stayed on the mobile platforms and even then the small amount of content should be asking for no more than $5. To even call itself a remake is a disappointment since it doesn't really feel like a Colin McRae Rally game, more like a fan project. The original CMR games were about the driver's skill and knowledge of the car and physics, that's all been thrown away in favor of tilt controls and making it more mobile friendly. The thrills of driving and overcoming opponents have been cut out in favor of ease-of-access just to make a quick buck.  Its an insult to the series and the fans, and that's what hurts the most.

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A Second Look @ Enthusia Professional Racing.

(All images are from Gamespot.com. YouTube video is not mine either.)

Enthusia Professional Racing, made in-house by Konami, attempts to blend arcade and simulation racing. It does this rather well by keeping the arcade aspect in the menus while the racing is fully simulation (minus vehicular damage).

This wouldn't be such a bad thing if it weren't for the fact that the player may spend the bulk of their time in the menus trying to figure out the probability system in their favor.

As the game is first started, you're treated to a walkthrough of the menus. Skipping this may be a bad idea as it teaches the player about the probability system, which the game seemingly runs on. It's all about whether or not the player's car has a chance of winning the race, and this is explained during the walkthrough. Don't let these words fool you though; you can still win a race at a harder difficulty but only by roughing up the other cars and driving harshly.

It's an ambitious title that strives to show off what it does. Ambition doesn't cut it as the game is littered with problems that are hard to overlook and limit the overall enjoyment.

One problem lies in the fact that each race is only a few laps, you may find yourself participating in the small-fish races that can give you the odds in your favor. There is no limit to this and its a smart way to upgrade your vehicle to tackle the harder races and improve your odds. If you're feeling daring you don't have to stick to the easy stuff, you're welcome to try the harder races in order to acquire better cars.

This presents a few more problems: Before the start of the start race you can place a “bet” on which car you think will win. This has no bearing on the outcome, leveling up, etc. and is generally useless in the game.

At the end of the race a raffle is presented wherein the cars that participated in the race are displayed and a single one is highlighted. The player presses a button and probability takes effect again as to whether or not the player acquires a new car. This is THE ONLY way to get new cars since there is no purchase system. Konami lost the point with this game when more focus was put on the probability system and Enthu points rather than the gameplay.

The Enthu Points present another problem: Enthu Point are points you get for racing; they deplete with each scrape, each time you go off the road, or each time you hit another car (or when another car hits you). Other than that they exist to gauge nothing. The points refill with each successful win or when you take an in-game week off from racing. If the total points reach zero, it will force you to take a week off. Your Driver level determines how many points you regain during this process.

No matter how many Enthu Points you acquire, one bump or slide off the road will take away the same amount of EP, forcing the player to pay more attention to their driving. This is the question that begs to be addressed when concerning the Enthu Points: if the same amount of EP is taken away for each mistake, why have it so the total number of EP raises with each level? To put it another way: if you have 100 Enthu Points, bumping another car might take away 10 points. Meanwhile if you have 1500 points, bumping a car seems like 150 points are taken away. No matter how many Enthu Points the player has garnered, it seems they're penalized for the same percentage for each mistake.

The Free Ride mode is limited to what you have unlocked so far, meaning new tracks and cars are pretty much off limits unless you work to win them.

There is another mode called Driving Revolution which is a take on Konami's Dance Dance Revolution series. The player is given a preselected car and tasked with driving down a three-lane highway, passing through certain marker gates along the way while trying to make the best time. It's a mixture of skill and little bit of luck (bringing in the probability system again).

The racing is, for the most part, straightforward with the physics and speed being as closely accurate to the real world as Konami can muster. Each car handles, accelerates, and brakes differently from each other. The upgrade system has a small but noticeable effect on the cars.

The tracks consist of real world and original designs, each one requiring a different way to master driving through. It's not tough since the course map provides the player with enough warning of which corner is coming up, its up to them to remember when to brake and accelerate.

There is no damage and, seeing as how there is no monetary system involved, this is a good idea. Since the computer AI is anything but intelligent, you'll have to deal with them bumping into you in their attempts to drive the correct line. The AI is lifeless in that it doesn't fight back, its programmed to just go, to never make a mistake, to accelerate and brake perfectly, to recover from when the player cheaply runs it off the road and continue along as though nothing has happened.
There are two camera views: a close chase camera and a bumper cam with a rearview mirror. The bumper cam is the only way to see what's behind you since there is no button to look back.
Also, you may want to make sure you take a drive properly as there is no restart, only retiring. Doing so forfeits any Enthu points recovery and the chance to unlock a new car.

Enthusia shows off its potential in the graphics department by featuring some of the best graphics seen in a racing game on the PS2, potentially rivaling Gran Turismo 4. There are rarely any jagged edges on the environments, which are unique in their own rights, and the cars are smoothly designed. The game feels to run at a steady 30+ fps (I could be very wrong in that description) even with several cars all going full speed. The car models shown in the menus aren't the same during gameplay, however, but its hard to take notice of the other cars when your main focus is directed towards the driving.
Cars gather no dirt on the off-road courses, similarly the dust isn't kicked up behind you. During the wet courses the rain runs down the screen and back up when speeding. The reflections on car windows are dulled down to pixelated blocks but the reflections on the cars themselves are nice. Lighting during the night levels is nice, but nothing to get excited over. The ground reflects the light during wet night levels.

The soundtrack has an interesting mix of songs, the menu music is piano-techno mix, something of the arcade variety. The in-game soundtrack mixes it up quite a bit with songs mixing techno with rock guitars, its tolerable but best taken in small doses.
The car's engines seem to drone, increasing in pitch when accelerating and decreasing when revving down. Sadly, it's just unnoticeable.
What may be noticeable is that there are no crowd noises. The game feels lifeless and because of this you get a sense of loneliness. No one's cheering you on because no one cares.

FINAL LAP:

In the end, Konami took a bold step in an attempt to blend arcade and sim. It was, however, a misstep. In essence it can be seen as a game you would play in an arcade with a sim racing engine, it just can't make up its mind to figure out which side of the fence it wants to reside on.

If a sequel is ever put into production, Konami should learn from they're mistakes and rid the game of the Enthu points, complicated menus, probability system and focus more on the driving.

The game is littered with problems, sure, but it's not a bad game. The roster of cars is a strong one, the racing is accurate and fun, and the probability system is tolerable, even ignorable.

Konami attempted to make a community behind the Enthusia brand name with a website, which is no longer active, that was meant to be a community hub for Enthusia players which held events, contests, leaderboards and other news. It was just mediocre when compared to other racing games of the time (Gran Turismo 4, Forza Motorsport, even R: Racing Evolution) which had more reason and depth to them.

Even with the game being as old as it is, it would make a perfect addition to the Sim Racing Aficionado's collection. All others would be better off sticking with the more AAA titles.

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Gran Turismo PSP Review + A Note

(All images from Gamespot.com)

Announced a few years ago and released October 1, 2009, "Gran Turismo 4 Mobile" finally sees a release on the PSP this year simply titled "Gran Turismo." (But for clarity's sake, I'll call it GT PSP.) The first thing to remember about this release is an important one: it's not meant to be an 8-hour epic journey through time and space. Many people have complained about the lack of a Career Mode when the bulk of the game is really all you need. It's more a game to be played from Point A to Point B, something to do when waiting for something or someone. It would be frustrating to spend your time completing race after race to upgrade your car as you do in previous versions, thus the upgrade system has been removed also.
GT PSP feels like it's own entry into the series, design-wise the menus make it feel as though it's a whole game on it's own without ever losing touch of the Gran Turismo spirit. With over 800 cars and 35 tracks, you can see why. Excess is always the name of the game. However that excess comes at a cost....

The gameplay is not what you'd expect out of a GT game: the lack of a career mode means you don't have to focus on failure or upgrading your car to a certain level to compete in a race. There is an easy flow to the game. If a player is in the middle of a race and their friend wants to challenge them, they can back out with no penalty, play their friend and retry the race. The player is rewarded with a rank up upon completion of a single player race (however, the requirements for achieving each rank eludes me. I'm not sure whether it has to do with the type of car, number of laps, or both). With a new rank comes a larger amount of money earned. Likewise the more laps you put into each race, the larger the cash income.
Many people have also complained about the game giving them a choice of four random dealerships every other day. It gives you the option to consider whether or not to buy this car you've just found or save your money for the one you want. This will happen often, meanwhile if you can't find the right car you can always race and let the days pass until the dealership is brought up, thus bringing up your rank and allowing you to buy the car you want. Other than the dealership changes, the amount of days have no bearing on the game whatsoever.
The driving style can be changed when selecting a car, from the most realistic of play styles complete with proper drifting, to a style best suited for beginners where the chance of sliding is null.
The car selection screen could have been implemented better. The default view showing your last 100 purchased cars. You can place a favorite marker on up to 30 that you choose and more advanced options are available for those. Make sure that when you buy a car it's one you want, there is no "Sell Car" feature which can be frustrating when you need the extra cash.

The License courses have been replaced with Challenges. Those who are fairly confident in their racing abilities can breeze through most of them while those new to the genre will find that pushing a few limits will complete the task at hand. The reward for completing the Challenges is cash and a new car.
The driving line, an idea taken from Forza (fanboys... read the note below), is helpful in certain aspects. However if a player has perfected a way around a track it can be useless. At times it seems the line can steer you wrong. As an example, I have found my own way of driving around Laguna Seca, GT PSP feels I should take their line, braking when I'm not used to it, turning into a corner at an apex I don't normally use. There is no wrong in pushing the car to it's limits when racing, but pushing the boundaries of the track will run you off-course often. There is no penalty or slowdown for crashing into another car, sliding off the road or running into a patch of sand or grass, something the Gran Turismo series has never done, and for that you can get away with a few things and cheat.
The UMD game can be installed to the memory stick provided you have at least 700 MB free, this improves load times and, seeing as how this game can take what seems to be forever to load, is preferable. (It should be noted that the GT PSP UMD needs to be inside the PSP in order to play unless you've purchased the game via digital download.)

Graphically GT PSP could have used an overhaul. Those 800+ cars means the racing tracks have been dulled down to mostly flat surfaces. Graphical breaks in the track area, pop-ups in the distance, and that annoying effect when you're in front of a wall you can see it but behind it there's nothing can be minor annoyances. Graphics whores will have a tough time with this one.
The car details, however, are sharper than one would expect. The car selection detail is better than the one you will find on a race course.
As far as the racing tracks are concerned, you won't find any new exclusive locales for the PSP. All the tracks from the previous versions of the game are included, which can ultimately be tiresome if you've played the console games already.
The PSP can produce some pretty smooth effects, and at 60 fps, it's one of the smoothest. However there is no real sense of speed: 120 mph feels more like 60. Each track will take the same amount of time as they normally would, but the game feels going in slow motion at some points. Despite all of this, it is never laggy. There are no bugs when inspecting a wall or coming off of a jump. It all feels as familiar as it did in Gran Turismo 4.
The amount of cameras has been increased to 4 this time around. They include a front bumper view, an awkward but steady over-the-car view, an in-car driver viewer, and a chase camera. It's a little "something for everyone" and all depends on what the player feels comfortable with.

The audio is clear and precise, however each car, no matter how powerful or different, will sound just like all the others. A constant thrum of noise increasing and decreasing in volume as you accelerate and decelerate around corners. Unless you love the sound of cars the only sensible thing would be to turn the engine volume down and listen to the music.
The ability to choose either the GT PSP soundtrack, your own music from your memory stick, or a mix of both can be chosen under the options menus.
(As is always my fault, I never listened to the audio presented by the game. I seem to always do this given the option of listening to a game's music or my own. All I can ask is for forgiveness in this area. Although I'm sure some of you will agree that you would also rather hear your own music choices.)

Any fan of the sim racing genre will love this game despite it's flaws. But If you've been a long time fan of the Gran Turismo series and are hesitant to make the purchase, you can do without, stick to the console versions. Those new to the racing genre who want to get their feet wet will find this a good starting point. At the same time those looking for more depth will be disappointed in how shallow it can really be. It's a bit of a struggle between the pros and cons and only your preferences can sway your opinion.

*A Note About My Reviews*
I would like for everyone to notice that I don't do numerical points, and I try not to suggest "Buy It," Rent It," or "F' It." I merely point out the pros and cons, the good and the bad, the major details and the minor annoyances, laid out flat for people to read. I try not to be biased when it comes to reviewing a game. In the past, just like many others, I've let things cloud my judgment. I realized that that is never the way to portray a game. I also try to never compare a game to another. Ideas and features, however, are fair to talk about. In this case the Driving Line from Gran Turismo was an idea taken from Forza, plain as day. This was done to help those who are new to sim racing games, to give them comfort in a world they are unfamiliar with.
Where Gran Turismo lead the way for sim racing, Forza took things in a different direction with customization, car clubs, etc. Meanwhile GT5 looks to push barriers graphically and play-wise by introducing WRC and NASCAR to the lineup.
There is no doubt Gran Turismo is still the king of sim racing, but does that mean Sony fanboys should discredit Forza and Microsoft for making a similar game? No. Where Gran Turismo excels in certain areas Forza surpasses in others. Does that mean Xbox fanboys should discredit Gran Turismo? Again: no. If it weren't for the original Gran Turismo, the sim racing genre would be less than what it is today.
Never think of these two games as competitors, but rather brothers in a sibling rivalry. They are on different consoles but they both have the same purpose which is to entertain us, immerse us in a zone where 100+ mph is the norm, and let us push our barriers by pushing the gas pedal down.

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Random Blog #2: Why all the hate?

When Tony Hawk's Ride was first announced, the masses silently booed, which rose to an audible "Durr... wut r dey thinkng? We dun need no mo' periferrals...."
I for one wanted Tony Hawk to go back to the arcade roots, be different from skate. Return us to what the series once was.

And now it has. It just took me a few months to realize it.

The skateboard peripheral that it introduces has been done before. Example 1:


I'm sure plenty of you have seen this piece of carbon in an arcade before. It's Sega's Top Skater. During the demo it'll spew out random phrases such as "Radical!" "Awesome!" and other phrases that died with the early 90's. It was a straightforward, downhill-style game (and ironically, a Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam on the Wii and DS are of the same style. But that's another part of this situation I don't want to get into.)

And speaking of arcades, Tony Hawk's first game, believe it or not, was in the arcades. The aptly named 720° (Degrees is pronounced when saying the name, btw) was brought about after Tony Hawk landed the, you guessed, 720° rotation.



Although he was never mentioned in any part of the game (at least I don't think he is) the credit goes to Hawk for inspiring it.

The Tony Hawk games have been all about pushing the limits, inventing new ways to play. Albeit Project 8 and Proving Ground were overcooked (Nail the Grab? Seriously?) Neversoft developed it's own thing once again.

So to those haters who say Tony Hawk needs to quit: Stop whining. The man has done so much for the sport of skateboarding and skateboarding video games meanwhile the only thing you can do is try to guess a kickflip from a heelflip. I would dare to go as far as to say that if it weren't for the TH games, skate. wouldn't exist.
I also want the haters to recognize this: have you ever compared Need For Speed Underground to Gran Turismo? If you did, hand over your Gamercard now. They are two seperate genres: arcade racing and sim racing.

Tony Hawk games = arcade skating.
skate. = sim skating.

Am I getting through to anyone?

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