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July 13, 2009

E309: Forza Motorsport III impressions

In a nutshell:
Take one of the most exciting sim-style racers, fix what few problems it had, and add in even more goodies.

What I played:
A short two-lap race around a mountain track in a Lotus Evora. I also played it in the super-deluxe cockpit with triple-screen panorama, new Fanatec Porsche force feedback wheel, 5.1 audio, and motion base. The motion base is custom and does not utilize the already consumer-adopted D-Box motion code. It is uncertain if it will be an option in the final game, but it obviously received a lot of interest and attention.

Like:
Graphics overhaul: FM2 was very disappointing to me because it looks like an up-res’d Xbox 1 game. It ran smooth, but the textures and lighting were a bit muddy. Now everything is absolutely crisp and easily rivals the high bar Sony has set with its photo-realistic Gran Turismo series.

Aggression: Despite being a sim, the other AI racers don’t necessarily act like gentlemen all the time. They’re just as hungry to win as you and aren’t afraid of a little bump ‘n grind.

Unlimited rewind: At any point in the game, you’re able to hold down the Back button to rewind your race up to five seconds at a time. And unlike Grid with its tokens system, you’re allowed to use this feature as many times as you want. Considering that some later races last upwards of six minutes, this allows you to strive for a perfect run without throwing away half of your play time. However, I think this “instant gratification” system could hinder the less-dedicated drivers’ abilities to learn the track.

Dislike:
Loading: Again, this is an early build, and maybe there were some additional complications introduced by running on a triple-console/triple-screen, motion-base setup, but I was twiddling my thumbs for what felt like a quarter to half the time I actually spent on the racetrack. The results were well worth it, though, and the new rewind feature will drastically cut down on any need to completely reload the current race.

Carl @ 8:03 pm
Filed under: Games — Tags: , , , , , ,

April 7, 2009

Carl’s Movie Mini-Review: Fast & Furious

Fast & Furious

First, a little background.  With the notable exception of Tokyo Drift, I’d never seen any of the previous movie in whole.  I caught bits and pieces of them on TV or on flights, but I never got pulled in.  This past weekend, in anticipation of catching director Justin Lin’s second go at the franchise and the original’s direct sequel, I watched my DVD of the first movie.  I bought the DVD long ago as part of a promotional two-pack of the first two movies that also included a preview DVD and ticket for Tokyo Drift.  The “acting” of the first movie was painful, the production value and lighting awful, and plot plodding.

The article-free sequel is a noticable improvement on all fronts.  Everything and everyone is much prettier, the line delivery adequate, and pacing brisk.  Tons of exciting car (and foot) chases, fights, and explosions.  It does, however, assume previous knowledge of the procedings of the first movie (and does have a tie to Tokyo Drift) and squandered some perfect opportunities to slip in a non-hokey introduction dialogue to explain certain initially vague and confusing pre-existing character relationships (that does get cleared up for any confused viewers in the second act).

There isn’t really more to say other than it delivers the fun.  Hey, it even has the “rambo lambo,” the Lamborghini LM002.  Also, if you actually watch the end titles, you’ll see it’s actually a continuation of the final scene and not just random computer effects.

Carl @ 2:11 am
Filed under: Film, Reviews — Tags: , , , ,