Video Games - dvd

Lost Odyssey: Xbox 360

...

up with a better villain.

It really is a 3 star-rating Japanese RPG. You already know if you want this game or not, but I do urge you to wait until the price goes down to 25 bucks since that's what it is worth.

Halo 3: Xbox 360

...

up with a better villain.



It really is a 3 star-rating Japanese RPG. You already know if you want this game or not, but I do urge you to wait until the price goes down to 25 bucks since that's what it is worth.

Mass Effect: Xbox 360

...

up with a better villain.





It really is a 3 star-rating Japanese RPG. You already know if you want this game or not, but I do urge you to wait until the price goes down to 25 bucks since that's what it is worth.

Too Human: Xbox 360

...

up with a better villain.







It really is a 3 star-rating Japanese RPG. You already know if you want this game or not, but I do urge you to wait until the price goes down to 25 bucks since that's what it is worth.

Too Human: Xbox 360

...

up with a better villain.









It really is a 3 star-rating Japanese RPG. You already know if you want this game or not, but I do urge you to wait until the price goes down to 25 bucks since that's what it is worth.

Mass Effect: Xbox 360

...

minor things aside, however, this really is an awesome game - possibly my favorite for the 360.

Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise: Xbox 360

...

is not without depth. As in the original, your job is to build and nurse a budding ecosystem literally from the ground up. Start with clearing enough grass or soil and you'll attract adorable little Whirlms in your garden. They'll soon attract Sparrowmints, who will eat the Whirlms and may themselves be eaten by a Buzzenge as a part of their Romance requirement. It's all a part of the great circle of life. Or something.

VP:TIP improves on the original in several ways. First, it simplifies the menu system, particularly the buying and selling aspects. Gardeners can now just highlight objects for sale and they are automatically marked, rather than having to trudge all the way to the village. On the retail side, objects are placed immediately in the garden right before the money (chocolate coins) changes hands. This saves you "travel time" and really helps in letting you see how you want to plan your garden.


Other improvements include the introduction of an actual storyline. Professor Pester, leader of the sour piñatas, has a plan to destroy this paper paradise forever. He's a man (a "straw" man?) with a plan, which both unfurls and unravels as you level up your garden. The Prof's intrusions can range from just sending Sour Shellybeans to eat up all your seeds to building stone walls that keep essential piñatas out of your garden until you can pay to knock the walls down.

I mentioned "no two piñatas are the same", and this time its true. Not only can you still name each and every piñata, and design a custom tag for it, but they also all have varying states of happiness. These states are known as the piñatas' "Candiosity", and are an indicator of how happy your paper pal is in your garden. The higher Candiosity level, the more your piñata is worth, and the more likely that she or he will stay in your garden and make lots of little piñatas.

The Prof's machinations, along with a more structured mission system (usually "raise a piñata with maximum candiosity and ship it somewhere around the world") really add to the adventure without taking away from the sandbox feel.

Rounding out the new features are opportunities to leave the garden, both in game and out of game. In game, you can use signposts to nip off to such exotic locations as the Dessert Desert and the Pinarctic region. You don't play in these gardens - you go there, capture new and exciting piñatas, and bring them to your home garden. Out of game, you can search other folks' gardens if they are on XBox Live, or use the Xbox Live vision camera to scan piñata cards (ala Sony's Eye of Judgement) and import new piñatas into your garden. Full garden multiplayer, both at home and via XBox Live, completes the set.

If this all sounds like a lot, it is because it is, which is one of the chief issues with the game. The problem is not that it is too deep, but rather that there is too much thrown at the player too fast with not nearly enough space to use it all. For example, in order to get a pair of piñatas to do their Romance Dance (mate) they need a home. Each species of piñata has its own type of home, and even the smallest of these, the modest Whirlm home, consumes a considerable amount of real estate. By the time you've built the Sweetle home you need to complete the final tutorial mission, you're out of room for more piñata homes unless you significantly tear up your little slice of heaven. Your garden size does increase, but the first bump isn't until level 12, by which time you'll really need the extra space.

The more things change, however, the more they stay the same. The developers obviously spent a lot of time lovingly crafting piñatas and items. Why, then, could they not manage to record all new bits for the speaking characters? As far as I know no one had a deep-seated attachment to the exact phrases spoken by shopkeeper Lottie Costalot as she swindled you out of your coins. In fact, most of her phrases (and the other villagers') were pretty annoying. There are some new spoken bits, but most of it is reruns.

All in all, though, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise is a worthy sequel to Viva Piñata. The visuals have been upgraded, and the piñatas actually look like paper. The game controls better, and the new Romance Dance cutscenes are hysterical and adorable. If you haven't seen a VP Romance Dance, check one out on YouTube.

The bottom line is that if you don't like sandbox games or god games, you're not going to start liking them with Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise. If you do enjoy them, and particularly if you enjoyed the original Viva Piñata, you've got a lot of love coming in this title. Share it with your friends! Just beware of papercuts.
I'm giving Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise 4 Weiñatas out of 5.

Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise: Xbox 360

...

helps you get a decent understanding of the game and whether or not you would enjoy it.

Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise: Xbox 360

...

helps you get a decent understanding of the game and whether or not you would enjoy it.

Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise: Xbox 360

...

helps you get a decent understanding of the game and whether or not you would enjoy it.

Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise: Xbox 360

...

helps you get a decent understanding of the game and whether or not you would enjoy it.

Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise: Xbox 360

...

in the most effort -- and it seems they've fulfilled requests by gamers for pinatas that were missing from the original.

The controls are relatively the same, but Rare has implemented some new twists. You'll now have easy access to your pinatas and all the available seeds with simple bumper-clicks. The camera seems to zoom out more than before, so you'll have a much wider view of what's going on. Cycling through and finding a particular pinata is now extremely easy -- Rare did a great job implementing this feature.

The game incorporates some new challenges. Langston's factory challenges now require that the pinata be at "full candiosity" before you can send them. This will require additional creativity on the part of the player. You can also visit the new Desert and Pinarctic areas, and trap the new pinatas in those locations. This can prove extremely challenging and time-consuming, and since the game continues in real-time, the pinatas in your central garden may start fights, get sick, etc. In addition to the romancing mini-game, you can now involve your pinatas in races and fashion shows, although there doesn't seem to be much value associated to these other than unlocking their associated achievements.

The Pinata Vision camera/card functionality is only useful for those with a Vision Cam. Gameplay includes an in-game camera function, so you can snap pictures of your pinatas and upload them to a website, where they can be viewed, shared, etc. This creates a much more social aspect to the game, and creates a greater tie between the game console and the Internet. There are also leaderboards incorporated into the game, and your ranking is displayed on the associated website. Other than just reviewing achievements, this is a great way to show others what you're doing.

The game's achievements are somewhat difficult to unlock. A player should expect to devote many, many hours to this game. Like the original game, most of the achievements should unlock over time as a player gains experience and levels-up. This game is designed with excessive replay value in mind.

For the most part, the game seems to run faster than the original. Menus open faster, and travel between your garden and the village areas is much quicker. There have been issues with slow-downs, more so than the original game, but fortunately the game has not crashed. Sounds and music are typical and no different than the original game. The CGI-animated sequences show more detail and are much more fluid this round.

Overall, the game is fun and immersive. It is quite easy to forget about the real world while playing this game, looking up at the clock, and suddenly realizing that 5 hours have passed. The game forces you think in multiple directions at the same time, and with the added desert and arctic regions and the new mini-games and other features, you'll have more to do than in the original. On the downside, however, most of these new features seem to be tacked onto the original game and don't add much value to your primary goal. If you've played the original, you'll be somewhat dismayed to start this one and have to face the same challenges all over again -- sours, ruffians, Pester, as examples. Fortunately, if you've never played the original, you can pick this game up and skip the original. If you're a fan of the original, you'll likely enjoy this.

Too Human: Xbox 360

...

in the most effort -- and it seems they've fulfilled requests by gamers for pinatas that were missing from the original.



The controls are relatively the same, but Rare has implemented some new twists. You'll now have easy access to your pinatas and all the available seeds with simple bumper-clicks. The camera seems to zoom out more than before, so you'll have a much wider view of what's going on. Cycling through and finding a particular pinata is now extremely easy -- Rare did a great job implementing this feature.



The game incorporates some new challenges. Langston's factory challenges now require that the pinata be at "full candiosity" before you can send them. This will require additional creativity on the part of the player. You can also visit the new Desert and Pinarctic areas, and trap the new pinatas in those locations. This can prove extremely challenging and time-consuming, and since the game continues in real-time, the pinatas in your central garden may start fights, get sick, etc. In addition to the romancing mini-game, you can now involve your pinatas in races and fashion shows, although there doesn't seem to be much value associated to these other than unlocking their associated achievements.



The Pinata Vision camera/card functionality is only useful for those with a Vision Cam. Gameplay includes an in-game camera function, so you can snap pictures of your pinatas and upload them to a website, where they can be viewed, shared, etc. This creates a much more social aspect to the game, and creates a greater tie between the game console and the Internet. There are also leaderboards incorporated into the game, and your ranking is displayed on the associated website. Other than just reviewing achievements, this is a great way to show others what you're doing.



The game's achievements are somewhat difficult to unlock. A player should expect to devote many, many hours to this game. Like the original game, most of the achievements should unlock over time as a player gains experience and levels-up. This game is designed with excessive replay value in mind.



For the most part, the game seems to run faster than the original. Menus open faster, and travel between your garden and the village areas is much quicker. There have been issues with slow-downs, more so than the original game, but fortunately the game has not crashed. Sounds and music are typical and no different than the original game. The CGI-animated sequences show more detail and are much more fluid this round.



Overall, the game is fun and immersive. It is quite easy to forget about the real world while playing this game, looking up at the clock, and suddenly realizing that 5 hours have passed. The game forces you think in multiple directions at the same time, and with the added desert and arctic regions and the new mini-games and other features, you'll have more to do than in the original. On the downside, however, most of these new features seem to be tacked onto the original game and don't add much value to your primary goal. If you've played the original, you'll be somewhat dismayed to start this one and have to face the same challenges all over again -- sours, ruffians, Pester, as examples. Fortunately, if you've never played the original, you can pick this game up and skip the original. If you're a fan of the original, you'll likely enjoy this.

Halo 2: Xbox

...

can also charge at you. Nice animation is done on their part. Elite, Humans, and Flood characters are equally well designed.

Level design is a little bit of a let down. The previous Halo had a problem with having repetitive levels. Halo 2 continues this trend to a lesser degree. While some levels are constantly unique, some still have repeating areas. This can cause you to be turned around and lost easy. Luckily, this is not as much of a problem as in the first game.

I only have two other problems. The Energy Sword you can wield should have made areas like up more. The glows a bright blue, but never illuminates the ground or surroundings. My second problem is the way the graphics work. As you get closer to something, details you see will increase. This sounds nice, but you will notice many weird graphical sequences where the graphics shift from ugly to beautiful to ugly again. Sometimes the graphics will not change at all and you will be left with a very ugly view.

Story- 9/10
The story for the original Halo was amazing. This game is much deeper, and has a more intricate storyline. Some people will enjoy this; others will shun the complicated ideas in this game. I loved the storyline and its ideals based on Natural Selection, Racial Wars, and Mankind as a whole.

This game is broken into two parts. In one, you play as Master Chief. Chief has just learned that Earth is being attacked the Covenant, the same alien scum you took on in the first game. Your mission is to stop the covenant. Soon you learn of another Halo that could potentially be used by the Covenant, based on some outrageous religious-like claims. I like how Covenant follows whatever their prophets tell them without question. It really should let people look at themselves and maybe make decisions on their own and not just based on what a "higher knowledge" tells them.

In the second portion of the game, you play as The Arbiter. He is of the Elite race of the Covenant. He is being held responsible for the destruction of the original Halo and has been sentenced to death. The Prophets have a better idea for him though. He will work for them in tracking down heretics and stopping "the demon," who happens to be Master Chief. I actually enjoyed this side of the story better. The Arbiter works off his debt, but slowly learns the truth about Halo. There is also a ton of tension between the Elite and Brute races, which both work under the Covenant. This leads to the Elite's being undermined and often pushed to the side for the superior Brute Class. This reveals a lot about our own society in how we push away those who we feel are weaker.

Master Chief and Arbiter will meet eventually in the story. To me, not many people will understand the depth of the story. If you can though, there is a lot to get. I hope reading this review will help you understand it a bit better. People may also have a problem with the ending, or lack thereof.

Sound- 10/10
Halo has always been known for its phenomenal sound production. The music, or absence of music, has been a strong point in the series. Whenever you are traveling a large area with not much going on, music will usually not exist. Traveling a small area with an enormous conflict will feature a thunderous musical score that you will love. No matter what though, the score will not distract you from the gameplay.

Voice Over is also great. Every main character in the game has a unique voice. Chief and Arbiter bring depth to the story with their voices. Grunts and Human Soldiers often bring a humor in their voice.

Weapon and Vehicle sounds are all perfect. Usually the addition of weapons will lead to some having similar sounds; this game does not though. Each vehicle also sounds exceptionally well.

Gameplay- 10/10
Many people say that the Halo series never really brought anything new to the table. I completely agree with them. This series did take everything that was good in other games and placed it in this one, thus creating one of the best first person shooters on the market today. Halo 2 expands on the idea of the first Halo with more weapons, better levels, more vehicles, and more customization.

In single player, you will play as both Master Chief and the Arbiter. You usually play a chapter of the game then switch to the other. Master Chief plays like a normal character. You usually find yourself shooting through walls of smart enemies. Arbiter is different though. You usually begin with an Energy Sword, and you can turn invisible for a certain amount of time. This allows you to become a stealth-like character at times. If you do not like being stealthy though, you can always pick up a gun and begin killing everything. If you find yourself in trouble, you can quickly turn invisible and escape the battle.

Enemies range from Elites, Brutes, Flood, Human Characters, and more. It just depends on how far along you are and whom you are playing as at the moment. The Flood will run at you like maniacs and try to overwhelm you. Elite and Humans characters hide behind objects and try to stay smart. Brutes are very hard to kill and can go bezerk, charging at you to hurt you. There are other ranks of enemies such as Flood mixtures and a giant Covenant monster, whose name eludes me right now. They all have their weaknesses and strengths. Therefore, the game stays fresh the entire play.

Halo 2 also features some new vehicles. Favorites like the Scorpion Tank, Warthog, and Ghost all return. New vehicles include the Wrath, Spectre, and a new version of the Warthog. The Wrath is a Covenant Tank that you saw a lot in the original game but never could ride in. This time you can. They sport an angled weapon that shoots blue plasma. The Spectre is the Covenant version Warthog. It shoots plasma from its turret. The new version of the Warthog shoots mortars instead of machine gun ammo. Did I mention that you could jack all of these vehicles?

Multi-Player has always been this games biggest aspect. If you have three or more friends available to you, this game will last you a long time. You can connect X-Boxes and have some epic battles. Levels like Beaver Creek and Coagulation are remakes of some of the first game's best levels. Lockout and Zanzibar are just two of the awesome new levels to play on in the game. I suggest buying the Multiplayer Map Pack for even more great levels.

This game allows you to edit your Multi-Player characters in detail. You choose between Master Chief and the Arbiter. You can apply multiple different colors to your characters. You can change your looking speed and controls. You can even create your own unique logo.

Difficulty- 10/10 (Note- This is how much I like the difficulty)
There are four different difficulty levels to choose from. Easy allows you to plow through enemy after enemy with little difficulty. Normal is good for those on their first try. Hard will have you dying a lot and feeling satisfied with yourself. Legendary mode will have you slamming your television into the wall out of anger. Maybe you are good enough for that to be necessary though. If that is not enough then you can Log onto Xbox Live and be killed by the masters of this game.

Overall- 10/10
This is one of my favorite games. I personally prefer the Single Payer in the first Halo, but I enjoy the Multi-player in this game far more. Still, this game has a very solid Single player experience. The graphics are nice, despite having some repetitive levels here and there. If you own an X-Box, you need to own this game. This game also is compatible with Xbox 360 Console.

Halo 3: Xbox 360

...

can also charge at you. Nice animation is done on their part. Elite, Humans, and Flood characters are equally well designed.



Level design is a little bit of a let down. The previous Halo had a problem with having repetitive levels. Halo 2 continues this trend to a lesser degree. While some levels are constantly unique, some still have repeating areas. This can cause you to be turned around and lost easy. Luckily, this is not as much of a problem as in the first game.



I only have two other problems. The Energy Sword you can wield should have made areas like up more. The glows a bright blue, but never illuminates the ground or surroundings. My second problem is the way the graphics work. As you get closer to something, details you see will increase. This sounds nice, but you will notice many weird graphical sequences where the graphics shift from ugly to beautiful to ugly again. Sometimes the graphics will not change at all and you will be left with a very ugly view.



Story- 9/10

The story for the original Halo was amazing. This game is much deeper, and has a more intricate storyline. Some people will enjoy this; others will shun the complicated ideas in this game. I loved the storyline and its ideals based on Natural Selection, Racial Wars, and Mankind as a whole.



This game is broken into two parts. In one, you play as Master Chief. Chief has just learned that Earth is being attacked the Covenant, the same alien scum you took on in the first game. Your mission is to stop the covenant. Soon you learn of another Halo that could potentially be used by the Covenant, based on some outrageous religious-like claims. I like how Covenant follows whatever their prophets tell them without question. It really should let people look at themselves and maybe make decisions on their own and not just based on what a "higher knowledge" tells them.



In the second portion of the game, you play as The Arbiter. He is of the Elite race of the Covenant. He is being held responsible for the destruction of the original Halo and has been sentenced to death. The Prophets have a better idea for him though. He will work for them in tracking down heretics and stopping "the demon," who happens to be Master Chief. I actually enjoyed this side of the story better. The Arbiter works off his debt, but slowly learns the truth about Halo. There is also a ton of tension between the Elite and Brute races, which both work under the Covenant. This leads to the Elite's being undermined and often pushed to the side for the superior Brute Class. This reveals a lot about our own society in how we push away those who we feel are weaker.



Master Chief and Arbiter will meet eventually in the story. To me, not many people will understand the depth of the story. If you can though, there is a lot to get. I hope reading this review will help you understand it a bit better. People may also have a problem with the ending, or lack thereof.



Sound- 10/10

Halo has always been known for its phenomenal sound production. The music, or absence of music, has been a strong point in the series. Whenever you are traveling a large area with not much going on, music will usually not exist. Traveling a small area with an enormous conflict will feature a thunderous musical score that you will love. No matter what though, the score will not distract you from the gameplay.



Voice Over is also great. Every main character in the game has a unique voice. Chief and Arbiter bring depth to the story with their voices. Grunts and Human Soldiers often bring a humor in their voice.



Weapon and Vehicle sounds are all perfect. Usually the addition of weapons will lead to some having similar sounds; this game does not though. Each vehicle also sounds exceptionally well.



Gameplay- 10/10

Many people say that the Halo series never really brought anything new to the table. I completely agree with them. This series did take everything that was good in other games and placed it in this one, thus creating one of the best first person shooters on the market today. Halo 2 expands on the idea of the first Halo with more weapons, better levels, more vehicles, and more customization.



In single player, you will play as both Master Chief and the Arbiter. You usually play a chapter of the game then switch to the other. Master Chief plays like a normal character. You usually find yourself shooting through walls of smart enemies. Arbiter is different though. You usually begin with an Energy Sword, and you can turn invisible for a certain amount of time. This allows you to become a stealth-like character at times. If you do not like being stealthy though, you can always pick up a gun and begin killing everything. If you find yourself in trouble, you can quickly turn invisible and escape the battle.



Enemies range from Elites, Brutes, Flood, Human Characters, and more. It just depends on how far along you are and whom you are playing as at the moment. The Flood will run at you like maniacs and try to overwhelm you. Elite and Humans characters hide behind objects and try to stay smart. Brutes are very hard to kill and can go bezerk, charging at you to hurt you. There are other ranks of enemies such as Flood mixtures and a giant Covenant monster, whose name eludes me right now. They all have their weaknesses and strengths. Therefore, the game stays fresh the entire play.



Halo 2 also features some new vehicles. Favorites like the Scorpion Tank, Warthog, and Ghost all return. New vehicles include the Wrath, Spectre, and a new version of the Warthog. The Wrath is a Covenant Tank that you saw a lot in the original game but never could ride in. This time you can. They sport an angled weapon that shoots blue plasma. The Spectre is the Covenant version Warthog. It shoots plasma from its turret. The new version of the Warthog shoots mortars instead of machine gun ammo. Did I mention that you could jack all of these vehicles?



Multi-Player has always been this games biggest aspect. If you have three or more friends available to you, this game will last you a long time. You can connect X-Boxes and have some epic battles. Levels like Beaver Creek and Coagulation are remakes of some of the first game's best levels. Lockout and Zanzibar are just two of the awesome new levels to play on in the game. I suggest buying the Multiplayer Map Pack for even more great levels.



This game allows you to edit your Multi-Player characters in detail. You choose between Master Chief and the Arbiter. You can apply multiple different colors to your characters. You can change your looking speed and controls. You can even create your own unique logo.



Difficulty- 10/10 (Note- This is how much I like the difficulty)

There are four different difficulty levels to choose from. Easy allows you to plow through enemy after enemy with little difficulty. Normal is good for those on their first try. Hard will have you dying a lot and feeling satisfied with yourself. Legendary mode will have you slamming your television into the wall out of anger. Maybe you are good enough for that to be necessary though. If that is not enough then you can Log onto Xbox Live and be killed by the masters of this game.



Overall- 10/10

This is one of my favorite games. I personally prefer the Single Payer in the first Halo, but I enjoy the Multi-player in this game far more. Still, this game has a very solid Single player experience. The graphics are nice, despite having some repetitive levels here and there. If you own an X-Box, you need to own this game. This game also is compatible with Xbox 360 Console.

Xbox 360 - Crackdown

...

who occasionally comments on your play ("are you crazy?" "i sure love the smell of agent in the morning!" "you sure like to push your luck!") along with gameplay and strategy tips; more than once his comments on my play made me laugh out loud. the avatar has physical and tactical skills that improve with use, notably the ability to leap and climb tall buildings if enough "agility" points are collected (these resemble the flags scattered around in assassin's creed) and the strength to lift and throw almost any detached object, from dead bodies to cement mixers, as weapons. but otherwise you have three options of play: roam the city to collect markers or perform racing stunts to improve agility; take on random firefights with street thugs to improve strength and skill, or kill off the senior members of three different crime gangs. these "missions" can be done in any order; each requires penetrating the gangster's lair after killing his almost endlessly spawning guards (though most do have a back entrance or rooftop way around defenders). this involves quite a lot of wearing down of the opposition, but each time you're killed and "regenerate", the enemy forces remain weakened, so you don't have to start the same exact mission, over and over, as happens in most games. the game physics are compelling, especially the explosions and flying objects, and the avatar has plenty of agility without cumbersome button combinations or programming limits. overall: a great game to look at, lots of fun to play, a very nice blend of humor and excitement, and no glitches in the xbox version that i could find.

Lost Odyssey: Xbox 360

...

who occasionally comments on your play ("are you crazy?" "i sure love the smell of agent in the morning!" "you sure like to push your luck!") along with gameplay and strategy tips; more than once his comments on my play made me laugh out loud. the avatar has physical and tactical skills that improve with use, notably the ability to leap and climb tall buildings if enough "agility" points are collected (these resemble the flags scattered around in assassin's creed) and the strength to lift and throw almost any detached object, from dead bodies to cement mixers, as weapons. but otherwise you have three options of play: roam the city to collect markers or perform racing stunts to improve agility; take on random firefights with street thugs to improve strength and skill, or kill off the senior members of three different crime gangs. these "missions" can be done in any order; each requires penetrating the gangster's lair after killing his almost endlessly spawning guards (though most do have a back entrance or rooftop way around defenders). this involves quite a lot of wearing down of the opposition, but each time you're killed and "regenerate", the enemy forces remain weakened, so you don't have to start the same exact mission, over and over, as happens in most games. the game physics are compelling, especially the explosions and flying objects, and the avatar has plenty of agility without cumbersome button combinations or programming limits. overall: a great game to look at, lots of fun to play, a very nice blend of humor and excitement, and no glitches in the xbox version that i could find.

Forza Motorsport 2 ( Xbox 360 )

...

maybe...now why don't they make a console version of that?). While there are good tracks, there's no Monza, no Longbeach, ect.,ect. (crazy to say it, but the best track selection is still in Ferrari F355 Challenge for Dreamcast and Grand Prix Legends for the PC). The controls are great, but they can frustrate as well. The graphics are beautiful, but not definitive from my viewpoint (even in high-definition). And then there's the irritation of the letterboxing in standard aspect ratio which FORCES you to run the darn thing in widescreen ratio if you don't want a huge chunk of your screen empty (and makes me have to keep switching the aspect ratio back and forth... Urgh!). And if you don't want to fly off the road into the dirt over and over and over.... you're going to have to concentrate on your driving and tweak your setups like never before (when oh WHEN are they going to start putting in some kind of auto-tuning wizard?). But the upside...ah the upside.

I've been playing racing games since Rad Racer on the NES. I've played every kind of racer you could imagine over the years, and very near and dear to my heart are good racing simulators (provided they don't get to PC levels of complexity that drive men insane). This game may not be Gran Turismo, but it definitely is its Nemesis. The soundtrack turns itself off during an actual race, but if it bugs you during menus you can turn it off. The controls are precise and smooth. The level of car data available is almost too much to fathom. The graphics on a high-definition display are incredibly crisp and clear. And the car A.I., all so often the weak point of a racer, is pretty darn awesome. So many times I was racing, and one of the other cars tapped me just right to spin me out and send me into the wall. Call it what you like, but I swear it was on purpose.

The meat of the game, strangely enough, is not the racing. It's the car collecting and (RPG/racing fans rejoice!) Leveling Up. That's right. You Level Up your cars in this game through winning races with them, simultaneously leveling up yourself. As your car gains levels you get discounts. As you gain levels races are unlocked. You also get to add a custom paint job and decals to your car, turning it into your own work of art. And that's where all the depth hits you.

You see, you can't just buy the most expensive upgrades for any car and go to town with it. Some races have weight requirements, some races have horsepower restrictions. You'll find yourself undoing upgrades so you can enter the race. And then you'll find that certain upgrades will make your sweet ride totally unusable simply because the car-type isn't suitable for that oh-so-pretty turbo tune you saved up for. I found that out the hard way. But on the upside, when you finally figure out how to maximize your car (I took a Porsche 911 Turbo into Unlimited Class through a powertrain swap, every engine upgrade, and every handling upgrade possible), you'll really love driving. The key in my case was discovering the tire and rim upgrades combined with the downforce upgrades. Trust me, the difference in handling with wide, super-slick tires with extra-large, extra-light rims and three downforce upgrades (spoiler, front and rear flaps to decrease lift) is HUGE when you've got an S or U class monster.

While there aren't ALL that many races to compete in and you'll find yourself doing some over and over and over on the same glorified oval tracks, the tracks are fairly well designed (not Gran Turismo 1 or 4 well-designed but passable for fun driving), and can be very very pretty on a good display. Personally I find more gratification in finally getting that tuning setup on a car just right (or getting just the right upgrades), painting a car with a neat custom pain job, and seeing my skills as a driver increase as my car increases it's drivability through upgrades and tuning tweaks. That's where the real fun in this game is, that's where the gameplay is at. I've restarted races countless times because I got tapped and hit the wall, getting more frustrated each time, only to find that those two or three upgrades or tweaks made my car unstoppable.

Thankfully, you can also make a LOT of adjustments to the difficulty of the game (including the now-famous driving lines to guide you), so if you keep spinning out and cars keep racing ahead of you, you can turn the difficulty down a notch at the expense of extra credits you would earn for a difficulty bonus. The actual damage simulation is pretty neat on a cosmetic level, with mirrors and bumpers ripping off, pain jobs getting scratched to steel-wool proportions, and windshields shattering. It's still not perfect of course (only Grand Prix Legends lets you blow out your transmission on the starting line by red-lining in neutral as far as I know), but the effect of hitting walls with simulation damage on can make your car undrivable if you hit a wall head-on at 200MPH. The replays at kind of neat (worth watching but still not Gran Turismo level), and the car views are great

For the inevitable Forza 3 I have the following recommendations: More real-world, world-class tracks such as Monza, Silverspring, Monaco, and Long Beach. They would add tremendous depth. Also, race series in which you must complete every race in order, larger numbers of cars to race against, an auto-tune wizard, and maybe some dynamic weather and time-of-day changes to make the tracks less boring. I say if you're going to go for realism, go all the way. Make those changes and a few more (I loved how Gran Prix Legends had the car's handling change based on how much fuel was in the tank and how your car would break apart differently every time when you had a crash).

If you dig the whole car collecting aspect of racing games and really dig simulators this game will be right up your alley. If you just want to race and feel the racing atmosphere you might want to look elsewhere (I thinking GRID). I don't enjoy this game more than any other simulator (the most fun one I've played yet is Gran Turismo 4), but it IS a very different kind of game and an enjoyable experience all-around. I just have a LOOOOONG way to go before I unlock everything (just like every other simulator I own). See you on the track race fans!

Lost Odyssey: Xbox 360

...

maybe...now why don't they make a console version of that?). While there are good tracks, there's no Monza, no Longbeach, ect.,ect. (crazy to say it, but the best track selection is still in Ferrari F355 Challenge for Dreamcast and Grand Prix Legends for the PC). The controls are great, but they can frustrate as well. The graphics are beautiful, but not definitive from my viewpoint (even in high-definition). And then there's the irritation of the letterboxing in standard aspect ratio which FORCES you to run the darn thing in widescreen ratio if you don't want a huge chunk of your screen empty (and makes me have to keep switching the aspect ratio back and forth... Urgh!). And if you don't want to fly off the road into the dirt over and over and over.... you're going to have to concentrate on your driving and tweak your setups like never before (when oh WHEN are they going to start putting in some kind of auto-tuning wizard?). But the upside...ah the upside.



I've been playing racing games since Rad Racer on the NES. I've played every kind of racer you could imagine over the years, and very near and dear to my heart are good racing simulators (provided they don't get to PC levels of complexity that drive men insane). This game may not be Gran Turismo, but it definitely is its Nemesis. The soundtrack turns itself off during an actual race, but if it bugs you during menus you can turn it off. The controls are precise and smooth. The level of car data available is almost too much to fathom. The graphics on a high-definition display are incredibly crisp and clear. And the car A.I., all so often the weak point of a racer, is pretty darn awesome. So many times I was racing, and one of the other cars tapped me just right to spin me out and send me into the wall. Call it what you like, but I swear it was on purpose.



The meat of the game, strangely enough, is not the racing. It's the car collecting and (RPG/racing fans rejoice!) Leveling Up. That's right. You Level Up your cars in this game through winning races with them, simultaneously leveling up yourself. As your car gains levels you get discounts. As you gain levels races are unlocked. You also get to add a custom paint job and decals to your car, turning it into your own work of art. And that's where all the depth hits you.



You see, you can't just buy the most expensive upgrades for any car and go to town with it. Some races have weight requirements, some races have horsepower restrictions. You'll find yourself undoing upgrades so you can enter the race. And then you'll find that certain upgrades will make your sweet ride totally unusable simply because the car-type isn't suitable for that oh-so-pretty turbo tune you saved up for. I found that out the hard way. But on the upside, when you finally figure out how to maximize your car (I took a Porsche 911 Turbo into Unlimited Class through a powertrain swap, every engine upgrade, and every handling upgrade possible), you'll really love driving. The key in my case was discovering the tire and rim upgrades combined with the downforce upgrades. Trust me, the difference in handling with wide, super-slick tires with extra-large, extra-light rims and three downforce upgrades (spoiler, front and rear flaps to decrease lift) is HUGE when you've got an S or U class monster.



While there aren't ALL that many races to compete in and you'll find yourself doing some over and over and over on the same glorified oval tracks, the tracks are fairly well designed (not Gran Turismo 1 or 4 well-designed but passable for fun driving), and can be very very pretty on a good display. Personally I find more gratification in finally getting that tuning setup on a car just right (or getting just the right upgrades), painting a car with a neat custom pain job, and seeing my skills as a driver increase as my car increases it's drivability through upgrades and tuning tweaks. That's where the real fun in this game is, that's where the gameplay is at. I've restarted races countless times because I got tapped and hit the wall, getting more frustrated each time, only to find that those two or three upgrades or tweaks made my car unstoppable.



Thankfully, you can also make a LOT of adjustments to the difficulty of the game (including the now-famous driving lines to guide you), so if you keep spinning out and cars keep racing ahead of you, you can turn the difficulty down a notch at the expense of extra credits you would earn for a difficulty bonus. The actual damage simulation is pretty neat on a cosmetic level, with mirrors and bumpers ripping off, pain jobs getting scratched to steel-wool proportions, and windshields shattering. It's still not perfect of course (only Grand Prix Legends lets you blow out your transmission on the starting line by red-lining in neutral as far as I know), but the effect of hitting walls with simulation damage on can make your car undrivable if you hit a wall head-on at 200MPH. The replays at kind of neat (worth watching but still not Gran Turismo level), and the car views are great



For the inevitable Forza 3 I have the following recommendations: More real-world, world-class tracks such as Monza, Silverspring, Monaco, and Long Beach. They would add tremendous depth. Also, race series in which you must complete every race in order, larger numbers of cars to race against, an auto-tune wizard, and maybe some dynamic weather and time-of-day changes to make the tracks less boring. I say if you're going to go for realism, go all the way. Make those changes and a few more (I loved how Gran Prix Legends had the car's handling change based on how much fuel was in the tank and how your car would break apart differently every time when you had a crash).



If you dig the whole car collecting aspect of racing games and really dig simulators this game will be right up your alley. If you just want to race and feel the racing atmosphere you might want to look elsewhere (I thinking GRID). I don't enjoy this game more than any other simulator (the most fun one I've played yet is Gran Turismo 4), but it IS a very different kind of game and an enjoyable experience all-around. I just have a LOOOOONG way to go before I unlock everything (just like every other simulator I own). See you on the track race fans!

Xbox 360 - Crackdown

...

maybe...now why don't they make a console version of that?). While there are good tracks, there's no Monza, no Longbeach, ect.,ect. (crazy to say it, but the best track selection is still in Ferrari F355 Challenge for Dreamcast and Grand Prix Legends for the PC). The controls are great, but they can frustrate as well. The graphics are beautiful, but not definitive from my viewpoint (even in high-definition). And then there's the irritation of the letterboxing in standard aspect ratio which FORCES you to run the darn thing in widescreen ratio if you don't want a huge chunk of your screen empty (and makes me have to keep switching the aspect ratio back and forth... Urgh!). And if you don't want to fly off the road into the dirt over and over and over.... you're going to have to concentrate on your driving and tweak your setups like never before (when oh WHEN are they going to start putting in some kind of auto-tuning wizard?). But the upside...ah the upside.





I've been playing racing games since Rad Racer on the NES. I've played every kind of racer you could imagine over the years, and very near and dear to my heart are good racing simulators (provided they don't get to PC levels of complexity that drive men insane). This game may not be Gran Turismo, but it definitely is its Nemesis. The soundtrack turns itself off during an actual race, but if it bugs you during menus you can turn it off. The controls are precise and smooth. The level of car data available is almost too much to fathom. The graphics on a high-definition display are incredibly crisp and clear. And the car A.I., all so often the weak point of a racer, is pretty darn awesome. So many times I was racing, and one of the other cars tapped me just right to spin me out and send me into the wall. Call it what you like, but I swear it was on purpose.





The meat of the game, strangely enough, is not the racing. It's the car collecting and (RPG/racing fans rejoice!) Leveling Up. That's right. You Level Up your cars in this game through winning races with them, simultaneously leveling up yourself. As your car gains levels you get discounts. As you gain levels races are unlocked. You also get to add a custom paint job and decals to your car, turning it into your own work of art. And that's where all the depth hits you.





You see, you can't just buy the most expensive upgrades for any car and go to town with it. Some races have weight requirements, some races have horsepower restrictions. You'll find yourself undoing upgrades so you can enter the race. And then you'll find that certain upgrades will make your sweet ride totally unusable simply because the car-type isn't suitable for that oh-so-pretty turbo tune you saved up for. I found that out the hard way. But on the upside, when you finally figure out how to maximize your car (I took a Porsche 911 Turbo into Unlimited Class through a powertrain swap, every engine upgrade, and every handling upgrade possible), you'll really love driving. The key in my case was discovering the tire and rim upgrades combined with the downforce upgrades. Trust me, the difference in handling with wide, super-slick tires with extra-large, extra-light rims and three downforce upgrades (spoiler, front and rear flaps to decrease lift) is HUGE when you've got an S or U class monster.





While there aren't ALL that many races to compete in and you'll find yourself doing some over and over and over on the same glorified oval tracks, the tracks are fairly well designed (not Gran Turismo 1 or 4 well-designed but passable for fun driving), and can be very very pretty on a good display. Personally I find more gratification in finally getting that tuning setup on a car just right (or getting just the right upgrades), painting a car with a neat custom pain job, and seeing my skills as a driver increase as my car increases it's drivability through upgrades and tuning tweaks. That's where the real fun in this game is, that's where the gameplay is at. I've restarted races countless times because I got tapped and hit the wall, getting more frustrated each time, only to find that those two or three upgrades or tweaks made my car unstoppable.





Thankfully, you can also make a LOT of adjustments to the difficulty of the game (including the now-famous driving lines to guide you), so if you keep spinning out and cars keep racing ahead of you, you can turn the difficulty down a notch at the expense of extra credits you would earn for a difficulty bonus. The actual damage simulation is pretty neat on a cosmetic level, with mirrors and bumpers ripping off, pain jobs getting scratched to steel-wool proportions, and windshields shattering. It's still not perfect of course (only Grand Prix Legends lets you blow out your transmission on the starting l