Forza Motorsport 4 (Xbox)
Price: $59.99
What’s it about?
Forza! It’s an Italian word that translates as force, strength, power, spirit or muscle and the first time you start the engine of any of the supercars in the game, that’s exactly the feeling you get. The fourth entry into the Forza series updates the game’s physics, adds a ton of new cars and tracks, and takes the graphic and peripheral might of the Xbox 360 to a new level.
How does it look?
Freakin’ sweet. Not only do the cars and tracks shine in a light rarely, if ever, seen elsewhere, the way you interact with them is a triumph in innovation for the Racing Sim genre. Kinect integration can be seen throughout the game, putting an emphasis not just on how the game looks to you but how you look at the game. So when you’re in the game’s showroom, walking around the car is as easy as walking around your coffee table. During races, the Kinect integration will track your head movement and change camera angles naturally, so you don’t just see where you’re going but get a better sense of your peripherals. Putting someone into a wall has never been easier (or more satisfying).
Is it any good?
When it comes to racing sims, you don’t get better than Forza on the Xbox 360. This is the premiere entry into the genre and Microsoft doesn’t screw around when they’re making their own exclusive games (except for Fuzion Frenzy 2, WTF was that about?). 80 car manufacturers are represented, so there’s no shortage of ponies to choose to make your own. High levels of customization keep your ride competitive while adding a new level to the game’s online functionality, where you can now build car clubs, race rivals, share customizations and generally put your skills up against the best drivers in the world, in the shop or on the track. The especially impressive (but not overbearing) Kinect integration was a welcome sight, though we weren’t big fans of using Kinect as a steering wheel because it took too much control away from the otherwise precise manipulation of your car in the game. That said, we were huge fans of racing with Microsoft’s new Wireless Speed Wheel, a motion-controlling accessory that compliments Forza’s gameplay the way a V12 compliments a finely tuned Ferrari.
Out of ten?
9. There just aren’t any racing games for the Xbox that can compete with this series. Microsoft threw every trick up their sleeve at this game and you’ll be hard pressed to find a game that puts their arsenal to use in a better, more streamlined way.
If I like this, what else will I like?
Gran Turismo 5, Need for Speed: The Run, knowing that Fast and Furious 6 will be hitting theaters in 2013.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon
Price: $59.99
What’s it about?
African insurgents in 2015 need a little smackdown, and the only way to put them down is by gunning them from thousands of feet above. You’ll take control of the Warwolfs, an international spattering of flyboys that will battle the insurgency in planes and choppers (fuck you, trains and automobiles) in a campaign that focuses on dog fighting, but has Chopper battles and on-rails gunning peppered in.
How does it look?
We were pleasantly surprised with how good the game environments looked, especially as we buzzed by them at Mach 5. Transitional cut scenes aren’t on the same levels as any of the newest realistic FPSers with which they share their military style, but that’s not where the bulk of the game is taking place anyway, so it gets a pass. Beyond the typical customizations to your plane and its weapons, we were big fans of the variety of missions that helped make us forget the fact that the bulk of this game is about chasing triangles around in a plane.
Is it any good?
Assault Horizon brings a new dynamic into the Ace Combat series with the addition of Dog Fight Mode, which basically brings the combat up close and personal so that you’re not always just chasing bogeys around the screen. Some enemies actually can’t be taken out unless you sight them in this way, and the emphasis on maneuverability as well as aim is a nice departure from the norms of a Jet Fighter game. While we liked the idea, we felt disappointed by confused controls that’ll level your plane when you actually want to enter into close combat, leaving you course correcting instead of locking on. The emphasis on chopper combat and on-rails shooting are high points, though, giving Assault Horizon a diversity that keeps the gameplay fresh.
Out of ten?
8.5. This is one of the best representations of jet fighting from the Ace Combat series, but some control issues were drawbacks to an otherwise very good game.
If I like this, what else will I like?
HAWX 2, Breitling Reno Air Races, beach volleyball...just like any good fighter pilot.
Dead Rising 2: Off The Record
Price: $39.99
What’s it about?
A reinterpretation of the Fortune City outbreak through the eyes of Frank West, the photog we got to know so well in the original Dead Rising. Off the Record isn’t so much a sequel as it is a re-imagining of Dead Rising 2, with Frank at the helm. What it boils down to is that everyone hates adding a character who is only there to be “edgier”, so hopefully Chuck Greene and his motor crossing went back to their home planet with Poochie, because Frank West is here to stay.
How does it look?
Really, it looks very similar to Dead Rising 2, but that’s not unexpected. The game does add some new combo weapons and new missions that are specific to Frank’s return but, for the most part, this is a game that’s being released out of the developer’s love for fans, and we love that sentiment. We were especially fond of the new Uranus Zone and the way it lets you turn rollercoasters and other rides into death traps for Zombies. Off the Record is a tonal change from Chuck Greene’s outing, and the Uranus Zone is a good indication of the entire game.
Is it any good?
Off the Record is the game that many fans of Dead Rising wanted, and now they have it. We never understood the character shift either, and having Frank back is like having a lost puppy return home (only there’s a shitload more zombie carnage and we’re all for that, too. Mental note: Pitch zombie puppy game to Capcom). The addition of new areas, new missions and new weapons are definitely bonuses beyond our expectations, especially when they’re all put to good use in the new Sandbox mode, where you’ll have to survive waves of incoming brain eaters for high scores on an online leader board.
Out of ten?
8.5. Off the Record takes the best of both Dead Rising 1 and 2 and bundles it up into a wild ride of zombie mania. It’s really Capcom Vancouver’s love letter to its fans and after playing it, the feeling is very much mutual.
If I like this, what else will I like?
Dead Rising 2, Dead Island, The Grateful Dead