Need For Speed Rivals
As part of the major Need For Speed gaming franchise, Need For Speed Rivals offers a great street racing game. The game goes back to the familiar "Cop versus Racer" theme in the fictional "Redview County". You play as either a street racer or a police unit of the RCPD. Overview- The game developers were really able to make a great map, while still relating to logic and weather patterns. For example, the snowy mountains are not directly next to the beach, and there is day and night cycles. Thunderstorms and light rain also appear in Redview County. They were also able to successfully put in a police radio in every car. This helps the player better understand what is happening around him/her. Lastly, the physics in this game make sense, unlike Grand Theft Auto 4, where you can drive into a swing set and get launched 40 feet into the sky. Cops and racers free roam the map. To start a chase, simply hit the other marked vehicle. Earning in game cash in the game is also quite simple. One can be rich by simply driving fast, drifting, jumping and escaping or arresting each other. Cop- As a unit of the RCPD, you get fast, famous cars for free. From the muscular, Ford/Shelby GT500, to the record breaking Hennessy Venom GT. There are also three different variations of each police car; Undercover, which has no visible lights on the exterior, enforcer, which is the strongest car, and patrol, which is usually the fastest. To get a new car, one must complete a police mission. The missions do seem quite random. They include drifting 300 yards, arresting 10 racers, and applying different skill mods. Some missions may take a few minutes, while others can take at least an hour to complete. depending on the car and skill of the player. Racer- As a street racer, you have to build up your in game cash to buy new cars. They are not free, unlike the police cars, but are more customizable. You can paint, upgrade, and add decals to your car. Being a racer can be hard, for there will be RCPD units chasing you at any given moment. If you fail to escape them, you will lose all of the money you have earned in that gaming session. Racer missions are quite similar to the cop career. These include speeding past cars at over 150mph, escaping police 10 time in a row, and winning different races. Cars sold to racers include the BMW M3 and the brand new, breathtaking McLaren P1. What we think- Need For Speed Rivals is overall, a fantastic game. However, unlike many Need For Speed games in the past, there is no plot to the game. It seems like all your doing is performing different car stunts in different cars, and you could be wondering, "What is the point off all this?" The truth is, there is no point. Need For Speed Rivals is for people who don't play games that has different achievements for gaining different levels. The game is for people who only what to do what they want to do, when they want to do it. It's more of a care-free, laid back game with gamers who have a serious thirst for speed. And that's why we love it! Rating- 8/10 |
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
|
Due to the success of previous Midnight Club games, the newest game in its franchise offers the gamer a challenging play on the streets of Los Angeles. Like the past Midnight Club games, you can buy cars like the all American, Ford Mustang or settle for a fast, Lamborghini Gallardo. The game does a great job of integrating all types of cars from many different years. The game also includes motorcycles, something they've incorporated into their games for about 10 years now. Unlike many of the Midnight Club games in the past, the sun does actually go up, and can settle in the horizon. Rain does sometimes fall, and the waves of Santa Monica Beach do have waves that can get your car wet. However, because this game is made by Rockstar Studious, the physics are not the best. Cars almost never flip, hitting street poles will only make you drive through it, and your car sinks within driving 5 feet into the ocean. However, they've done a great job with to police that roam about the map. You can hear the police radio getting reports of a "reckless driver" or a "street racer", and yes, that does mean they are getting calls about you running a red light or doing a hit and run. The police then dispatch units to your area and look for a vehicle that they are getting descriptions of. And when they do pull you over, a police dash cam is seen and you can either take the ticket or try to flee the cops. Racing- Street racing in the game does not make too much sense. Your tuned, 450 bhp 1969 Mustang can be easily outgunned by a stock Range Rover. Why? We honestly don't know. This can make racing very hard and frustrating, as we found put when testing the game. Drifting in the game is also easy. Too easy. Since when did a 1985 Golf GTi drift so easily? And why is it that many of the engine make similar noises? The 1969 Camaro sound like a stereotypical "JDM" Honda Civic? We really don't understand that. Also, it seems too easy to hack the multiplayer stuff in the game. About 20% of players hacked the game. Either that or the physics went terribly wrong, again. What we think- Midnight Club: Los Angeles seems like a good game gone horribly wrong. They were good on the overall plot of the game, but devastated the small details. This game is meant for people who have a lot of time on their hands and do not get angry so easily. Our Rating-6/10 The Forza series have been creating track racing games for the past few years, but this time, they took a risky step towards street racing. And we're glad that they took that risk. Forza Horizon is one of the best street racing games we have ever played. We love the variety of races. There are rally races, closed street races and open street races. The game also encourages players to explore the open world. They do this by adding discount signs all over the city. They also include 'barn finds', which is a way that you can obtain classic cars for free by finding them (similar to the car wrecks in TDU2). However, despite these pros, there are also some downsides to this game. For example, in order to unlock even more cars, you have to download a lot more DLC. Also, it seems like there are less cars than the previous Forza games. There are only two Mitsubishi cars in the dealership, three Honda's, and only about five Mercedes-Benz's. So to sum it all up, the game is great, if you get all of the DLC.
Our Rating- 8/10 |