I like cars. No, that’s an understatement. I love cars! The speed, the cool designs and pushing the limits of control, it’s all stuff I love to experience through racing games.
These days racing games are usually divided in three categories. The simulators, semi-realism and the arcade racers. If you're looking at the categories from a console point of view, after all the hardcore simulators are on the PC, Forza Motorsport 3, NFS Shift & Gran Turismo 5 are in the first category. Project Gotham Racing 4, Dirt 2 & Grid are in the second and games like Blur, WipEout HD and Burnout Paradise are in the third.
So, lately then, I’ve been playing two new racers. Each in their own of these categories. I’ll take you through the paces!
Released: 2011
First off, is Test Drive Unlimited 2. Sequel to one of my favourite racers, ever. The first game let you free-roam around the island of Ohau in Hawaii. Taking part in point-to-point races all over the island. You lived a rich lifestyle, buying expensive houses, cars and clothes. I loved the game to death, despite it's many flaws and rough edges. The sequel then, was an extremely anticipated title for me.
This time around, not only was a remade Ohau island included, but also the island of Ibiza! Man, was I excited.
TDU2 starts off on it's new location, Ibiza, with a truly cringe worthy party scene. Here you pick a character from a stupid looking, slow-motion, dance scene, followed by an equally bad introduction scene to the main cast. The voice acting is so bad, combined with doll-like characters, you’ll end up laughing at it's mediocrity. But hey, it’s a racer and the story side is at least an attempt at something new, I can’t really complain, even though it’s so bad!
Once the intro is over, you get settled with a caravan to live in and a small car. You’ll be introduced to easy races, how to obtain licenses, you’ll need different ones for various motor classes and types of racing, and how to find your way around the island. In fact, the learning curve is really smooth. It adds new elements at a steady and manageable pace.
The driving mechanics do feel a twitchy at the first but they quickly grow on you, resulting in some very enjoyable races. The environments, although completely empty for pedestrians, look really good. The day and night cycle and lighting effects are fantastic. The geometry and nature are incredibly represented. The rain coated streets will definitely make you look twice in amazement!
At first glance, everything seemed perfect. This was building up to be everything I wanted TDU2 to be, bar the bad intro. Then the bugs hit. First off, from day one, the online servers went down. Which in turn, destroys the MMO aspect and it didn’t help that some of the in-game menus were on the servers either.
Then the game plainly didn't allow you to get in, it just froze on the title screen. This, was closely followed by a bombshell, my whole save got corrupted. The one single thing that really pisses me off, is when a save gets destroyed by the game itself. I refused to play further before they fixed it. A month later and they fixed the save and added a patch. Thanks, but my motivation for playing was seriously dented.
Although some of the bugs have been fixed and the online part seems to be more stable now, there are annoyances. For instance, the automatic gearing on the faster cars is completely messed up and gets stuck in one gear for at least 2-3 revs before shifting, making races with many bends and frequent acceleration, deceleration, almost impossible to win. I also hate the fact that I can’t sell, ugly painted cars I’ve won from my stupid competitors. It should've been postponed and released after all these bugs were fixed.
I wanted to love TDU2, I truly did. The same way I loved TDU1 and forgave it for it's faults and lack of polish. Even the first game corrupted my save file back then too, and all I wanted was for TDU2 to be perfect the formula of the first games truly original racing concept. Instead I’m annoying myself over lots of the same faults.
I’ll be kind and give it credibility for still being an ambitious and original title compared to the mainstream racing market, but they should've had plenty of time to fix the experience and improved the end result.
Released: 2010
So, if TDU2 was semi-realism, Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit is a pure arcade racer. A lot of people have waited for a fast NFS game, going back to the classic formula of long races with the police pursuing you.
These days racing games are usually divided in three categories. The simulators, semi-realism and the arcade racers. If you're looking at the categories from a console point of view, after all the hardcore simulators are on the PC, Forza Motorsport 3, NFS Shift & Gran Turismo 5 are in the first category. Project Gotham Racing 4, Dirt 2 & Grid are in the second and games like Blur, WipEout HD and Burnout Paradise are in the third.
So, lately then, I’ve been playing two new racers. Each in their own of these categories. I’ll take you through the paces!
Review
Played on: Xbox 360Released: 2011
First off, is Test Drive Unlimited 2. Sequel to one of my favourite racers, ever. The first game let you free-roam around the island of Ohau in Hawaii. Taking part in point-to-point races all over the island. You lived a rich lifestyle, buying expensive houses, cars and clothes. I loved the game to death, despite it's many flaws and rough edges. The sequel then, was an extremely anticipated title for me.
This time around, not only was a remade Ohau island included, but also the island of Ibiza! Man, was I excited.
TDU2 starts off on it's new location, Ibiza, with a truly cringe worthy party scene. Here you pick a character from a stupid looking, slow-motion, dance scene, followed by an equally bad introduction scene to the main cast. The voice acting is so bad, combined with doll-like characters, you’ll end up laughing at it's mediocrity. But hey, it’s a racer and the story side is at least an attempt at something new, I can’t really complain, even though it’s so bad!
The driving mechanics do feel a twitchy at the first but they quickly grow on you, resulting in some very enjoyable races. The environments, although completely empty for pedestrians, look really good. The day and night cycle and lighting effects are fantastic. The geometry and nature are incredibly represented. The rain coated streets will definitely make you look twice in amazement!
At first glance, everything seemed perfect. This was building up to be everything I wanted TDU2 to be, bar the bad intro. Then the bugs hit. First off, from day one, the online servers went down. Which in turn, destroys the MMO aspect and it didn’t help that some of the in-game menus were on the servers either.
Then the game plainly didn't allow you to get in, it just froze on the title screen. This, was closely followed by a bombshell, my whole save got corrupted. The one single thing that really pisses me off, is when a save gets destroyed by the game itself. I refused to play further before they fixed it. A month later and they fixed the save and added a patch. Thanks, but my motivation for playing was seriously dented.
Although some of the bugs have been fixed and the online part seems to be more stable now, there are annoyances. For instance, the automatic gearing on the faster cars is completely messed up and gets stuck in one gear for at least 2-3 revs before shifting, making races with many bends and frequent acceleration, deceleration, almost impossible to win. I also hate the fact that I can’t sell, ugly painted cars I’ve won from my stupid competitors. It should've been postponed and released after all these bugs were fixed.
I wanted to love TDU2, I truly did. The same way I loved TDU1 and forgave it for it's faults and lack of polish. Even the first game corrupted my save file back then too, and all I wanted was for TDU2 to be perfect the formula of the first games truly original racing concept. Instead I’m annoying myself over lots of the same faults.
I’ll be kind and give it credibility for still being an ambitious and original title compared to the mainstream racing market, but they should've had plenty of time to fix the experience and improved the end result.
Review
Played on: Xbox 360Released: 2010
So, if TDU2 was semi-realism, Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit is a pure arcade racer. A lot of people have waited for a fast NFS game, going back to the classic formula of long races with the police pursuing you.
I was excited when I heard Electronic Arts had put the Burnout creators Criterion on the job! In fact, I actually thought this could be a spiritual successor to the fantastic Burnout Paradise. That thought, however, would not quite match my expectations.
Yes, it has a large free-roaming map like Burnout Paradise, and yes, the driving mechanics are quite similar. You throw your car at any speed into corners, hit the brake shortly after and set the whole machine into a wild, Ridge Racer-like, power slide. It’s easy to drive, it’s fun and it’s action packed.
The races where the gadgets are available for use are, without doubt, the most entertaining. You’ll literally be laughing and smiling each time you either take out a police car, cut through a roadblock or smash a racer off the road in a horrible accident. The downside is that the crash physics are a little strange. It seems to be scripted, like you need to hit the cars at certain spots. I would've preferred a Burnout approach to spectacular crashes.
There's no denying that NFS:HP is really fun to play. It looks amazing, with its varying weather, day and night cycle and detailed environments, the textures are really sharp. It plays fast and flows stable at 30fps, though sadly not 60fps like Burnout Paradise. Accompanied by an awesome list of music tracks, EA always deliver cool soundtracks to their titles, you'll indeed have the need for speed playing it!
There are many types of races to choose from too. Hot pursuit which is racers vs. cops, time trail, ordinary races, duels and test drives. The hot pursuit mode clearly being the best. This mode works well online too, apparently EA's DICE wrote the online code, and you’ll be wasting hours playing against friends or randoms.
Yes, it has a large free-roaming map like Burnout Paradise, and yes, the driving mechanics are quite similar. You throw your car at any speed into corners, hit the brake shortly after and set the whole machine into a wild, Ridge Racer-like, power slide. It’s easy to drive, it’s fun and it’s action packed.
However, the map is sadly underutilised in a free-roaming or exploring fashion. You're simply sent from point-to-point race after the other. Should you want to explore, you have to choose a free-roaming mode, which doesn't allow you to do anything other than drive around without any events. Why even have the open world?!
The main campaign is divided into two parts: one where you play as a street racer and the other as a cop. Each part has its own level ladder and race modes. As you progress through the game you access new gadgets to use in races. Successfully using a gadget over repeatedly, will automatically upgrade them.
The main campaign is divided into two parts: one where you play as a street racer and the other as a cop. Each part has its own level ladder and race modes. As you progress through the game you access new gadgets to use in races. Successfully using a gadget over repeatedly, will automatically upgrade them.
For gadgets, the street racers have a jamming device, EMP, spike traps and boost. The cops, on the other hand, have the same devices except that boost is replaced by police helicopter support and the jamming device is replaced by a roadblock.
The races where the gadgets are available for use are, without doubt, the most entertaining. You’ll literally be laughing and smiling each time you either take out a police car, cut through a roadblock or smash a racer off the road in a horrible accident. The downside is that the crash physics are a little strange. It seems to be scripted, like you need to hit the cars at certain spots. I would've preferred a Burnout approach to spectacular crashes.
There's no denying that NFS:HP is really fun to play. It looks amazing, with its varying weather, day and night cycle and detailed environments, the textures are really sharp. It plays fast and flows stable at 30fps, though sadly not 60fps like Burnout Paradise. Accompanied by an awesome list of music tracks, EA always deliver cool soundtracks to their titles, you'll indeed have the need for speed playing it!
There are many types of races to choose from too. Hot pursuit which is racers vs. cops, time trail, ordinary races, duels and test drives. The hot pursuit mode clearly being the best. This mode works well online too, apparently EA's DICE wrote the online code, and you’ll be wasting hours playing against friends or randoms.
The car list is very impressive, with all the newest super cars at your disposal. I wonder how they got all these licenses when you consider you're allowed to really smash these cars into anything and avoid cops?!
At the end of the day, I’m excited playing and at the same time disappointed over it. I would've preferred it to feel more like Burnout Paradise and have had a similar layout. A Burnout Paradise 2, only with the NFS premise, 60fps graphics, wild crashing and goal behind the open world would've been amazing! I feel the developers have played it too safe and making it suit everyone.
Hot Pursuit delivers what the NFS series is supposed to, but little else. You'll have a lot of hours of entertainment from buying this, just don’t expect it being anything revolutionary.
I'll be back with a look at Mafia II soon!
At the end of the day, I’m excited playing and at the same time disappointed over it. I would've preferred it to feel more like Burnout Paradise and have had a similar layout. A Burnout Paradise 2, only with the NFS premise, 60fps graphics, wild crashing and goal behind the open world would've been amazing! I feel the developers have played it too safe and making it suit everyone.
Hot Pursuit delivers what the NFS series is supposed to, but little else. You'll have a lot of hours of entertainment from buying this, just don’t expect it being anything revolutionary.
I'll be back with a look at Mafia II soon!