(Credit:
Microsoft)
2009 is suddenly a holiday of racers. If you don't believe that, consider the trifecta that have been unleashed upon us already: Need For Speed: Shift, Dirt 2, and Microsoft's holiday tentpole Forza Motorsport 3. All of them promise realistic physics, blazing speeds, and tons of customization, but NFS: Shift and Dirt 2 are multiplatform, while Forza Motorsport 3 is an Xbox 360 first-party exclusive. For my money, though, I'll take Forza 3. After playing all three, the newest Forza has, surprisingly, won me over--not with realism, but with fun.
I say surprisingly because "simulation racers" generally lie in a calcified place among the hearts of the mainstream gamers: the hundreds of factory-immaculate car models and pitch-perfect world racing circuits, along with the endless class licenses and intricate engine tune-ups, can turn most gamers off completely. Right here in the CNET offices, I told a colleague I was playing Forza 3, and that I actually enjoyed it. "Really?" he asked, somewhat disbelieving. It's assumed that Gran Turismo and Forza will be inaccessible to those who don't appreciate racers, just like Madden often erects a wall between NFL fans and gamers and the rest of the world.
I am a casual racer, and Forza 3 sucked me in.
Its first success was employing a calm British man to talk to me. Much like LittleBigPlanet, a gentle voice of authority (although in this case, not Stephen Fry) welcomed me, showed me the basic ropes, and told me everything was going to be all right. Rather than worry about detailed car controls and under-the-hood tinkering, a simple press of a few A and B buttons got me right into a season-long circuit of races. The voice tutorials gently tailed off naturally, until I had the ropes completely. Suddenly I realized that I had been playing for several hours, and was itching to complete just one more race challenge to unlock more credits. That's when I realized that, fundamentally, Forza 3 is a success. ... Read more
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The Need for Speed: Shift demo is PC-only for now. Xbox 360 and PS3 demos will be available in October.
(Credit: Electronic Arts)Electronic Arts has quietly released a Need for Speed: Shift demo. The catch is that it's PC-only for now. Xbox 360 and PS3 owners will have to wait until early October before getting their respective demos.
The game lets you pick five cars, including an M3 (E46), a Dodge Viper SRT10, the Lotus Elise 111R, the 2008 Nissan GT-R, and the 2006 Pagani Zonda F (which is unlockable).
Grab the demo from here, then check back and let us know what you think!
(Credit:
EA Games/Slightly Mad Studios)
Amid all of the hoopla around the battle between Gran Turismo 5 versus Forza Motorsport 3, we'd almost forgotten about Need for Speed: Shift--the NFS series' latest foray into the world of sim-racing. However, its recently announced release date of September 15, 2009, has jarred our memory and brought the scrappy upstart back to our attention.
For those needing a refresher, check out this GamesSpot video that outlines most of what we know:
While NFS:S' 65 cars and 18 tracks will have a hard time competing with the hundreds of cars and tracks that GT5 and F3 will bring to the table, having an extra choice on which to get our digital driving fix is always a good thing.
(Credit:
EA Mobile)
As a fan of iPhone games and racing sims, I'm pretty excited at the news that EA Mobile has finally released Need for Speed Undercover for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch.
The story of Need for Speed Undercover (NFSU) is told through live-action cutscenes interspersed among a series of races. The basic plot is pretty much the same as the rest of the Need for Speed series: There's some sort of underground smuggling ring connected to some gang of street racers, and you, the driver, must infiltrate their ranks. Come to think of it, that's also the plot to "The Fast and the Furious"! What a rip-off!
Apparently in the world of Need for Speed, every vehicle is rear-wheel drive!
(Credit: EA Mobile/CNET)Rehashed plot aside, NFSU's gameplay is quite simple. There is no gas pedal, so when the race starts, the car begins to constantly accelerate (much like in the VW Polo game we looked at previously). Touching the screen activates the brakes and tilting the iPhone controls the steering. Swiping a single finger down the screen activates Speed Breaker (a sort of bullet time for precision maneuvers) and swiping up fires a nitrous boost for a quick burst of speed.
The controls are among the better of the iPhone racing sims, but the accelerometer-based steering is still floaty and difficult to control with much accuracy. Fortunately, the courses seem to be laid out with a pedal-to-the-metal driving style in mind, and the Speed Breaker mode is always there when you need to make the vehicle dance.
I counted 19 cars available in the game's menu, including vehicles from Ford, Nissan, Mazda, Porsche, BMW, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, Pagani, and Lamborghini. There's even a pair of Pontiacs to chose for those feeling nostalgic for the fallen brand.
In typical NFS fashion, you can add a fugly body kit to any vehicle in the game.
(Credit: EA Mobile/CNET)Each vehicle can be customized in typical NFS fashion with performance upgrades to the handling and power, along with the requisite gaudy body kits and garish paint jobs we've come to expect from the street racer genre.
Race types include simple circuit races, sprints, and cop takeouts--where the player must disable a number of surprisingly fragile police cruisers before the clock runs out--along with a few other modes spread out across over two dozen races. Winning a race earns you cash prizes that can be used to upgrade your ride or unlock new ones.
At $9.99, Need for Speed Undercover is at the top end of what I feel is reasonable for an iPhone app, but the number of courses available combined with the number of vehicle to choose from and customize adds to the replay value of the game.
EA ramps up the realism for Need for Speed: Shift.
(Credit: EA)We love racing games here at Car Tech. So we jumped at the opportunity to play a preview build of its upcoming Need for Speed: Shift when we were invited by EA.
Need for Speed: Shift is the first of a three-pronged split of the Need for Speed franchise that will also include Nitro--a casual, arcade racer--and World Online--sort of a racing sim MMORPG.
We were particularly blown away by the fully modeled interiors of the vehicles, which included fully functional gauges and mirrors. Having recently sat in many of the test vehicles, we were impressed by the level of detail. For example, the in-game Corvette featured the same head-up display as the 2009 Corvette Convertible we'd tested earlier.
Need for Speed: Shift is expected to be released in the fall for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. Check out our gallery with more photos and details.
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