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Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (PS3)
by SWSt
When writing reviews, there's always the temptation to be lazy. It would be all too easy, for example, to say that Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing is Mario Kart for the PS3, with Sega characters replacing Nintendo ones. Whilst it would almost certainly be true, it would also make for a very short review, so perhaps I'd better provide ... a little more detail,
In almost every respect, though, this IS Sega's answer to Mario Kart. It is based around the same concept - characters from various Sega games race around a series of tracks aiming to finish top of the leader board to take the title of champion. Along the way, various pickups can be collected which can either be used to give you a temporary advantage (such as a speed boost) or hinder your opponents. Yet, whilst it might not be the most imaginative or original game in the world, Sonic & Sega proves to be almost as entertaining as its Nintendo counterpart.
The pedigree for this game is certainly. Developed by Sumo Digital, who are no strangers to racing games (they were behind several excellent Outrun games), they have brought all their knowledge and experience to bear. The end result is a fun racing game that makes good use of licensed characters.
As with Mario Kart, Sonic offers an impressive amount of racing options. Championship mode sees you race against a series of other characters across increasingly tricky tracks. Time Trial Mode offers the chance to record best times on particular courses, using a ghost driver to beat both your own best time and that of other players across the world, whilst Mission Mode sets you a number of objectives to achieve. Multiplayer Mode, meanwhile, gives you the chance to race up to 4 other people connected to your PS3 (more on this in a moment) or online against other players throughout the world.
Whilst Sonic might not be the most difficult game in the world, this wealth of different gameplay options makes it very appealing and gives it a lot of depth and long-term appeal. Although the basic gameplay might essentially be the same between different modes (driving a kart around a track), they are different enough to ensure a decent amount of variety and longevity to the game.
Every time you race, you also gain Sega Miles. These can be used in the Sega Shop (built into the game) to an impressive range of additional characters and a number of extra tracks. These also add to the long-term appeal of the game and encourage you to keep playing long after you have mastered the default tracks.
The game is not the most difficult in the world. Whilst the various Championship levels get increasingly tricky as you progress, it's not going to take most gamers long to beat them As with Mario Kart, however, this isn't rally an issue, as Sonic is so much fun that you will keep coming back to the game determined to shave a couple of seconds off your best lap times.
It's in multiplayer mode that the game really comes to life, though. Here, you can race up to 4 other human players in split screen format (the way racing games are meant to be played!). Although four player mode can get a little cramped (each racer gets a quarter of the screen), it's still a lot of fun particularly in two player mode. Racing games are always more competitive if you are in the same room as your opponent and hearing their screams of frustration as you race past them is a great feeling! Taking them out on the finish line with a well-timed power-up that allows you to nip past them and take the winning flag is unbeatable!
It is a shame that a bit more thought wasn't put into the design of the multiplayer experience. You can only have a single race (rather than have a series of races) and, unless you return to the main menu to select a new one, you continue to race on the same track with each new game. It would have been nice to be able to have your own multiplayer tournament based around random track selection or building your own tournament based around a selection of tracks. But hey! You can't have everything.
The difficulty level is mostly well-pitched, although just occasionally it can be a little frustrating. In single player mode, opponents sometimes seem to gang up on you and you get hit by power-up after power-up, dropping several places in just a matter of seconds. Similarly in multiplayer mode, if you and your opponents are closely matched, races can often come down to who gets the right pick up at the right time, rather than necessarily who drives better.
Graphically, the game is excellent, making really good use of the Sega licensed characters. The cartoon characters are big and bold and look like they have stepped straight out of their own Sega games to take part in this one. Of course, some of the characters will be more familiar to gamers than others (even with my strong knowledge of gaming there were a few I had to wrack my brains to think what games they were from), but it doesn't really matter whether you recognise them or not. Each of the racers also drives in a slightly different way, so you can experiment to find the one which suits you best.
The tracks are well designed and pretty varied. Again, these are based around various Sega games, so they tie in well with the game's concept and add some variety. Just occasionally, I have found the colour scheme a slight problem. On some of the darker levels, for example, it can be tricky to spot bends in the track. Similarly some of the backgrounds can occasionally be very distracting. The use of very bright, vibrant, pulsing colours and animated backgrounds again means that it can be difficult to see the track properly. Certainly, there are some tracks which I find far easier to race on that others.
On the plus side, the graphics are very smooth and impressively fast. You really get the impression of travelling at breakneck speed and flying around the track - something which is a rather important part of a racing game, but is all too often overlooked.
It's a shame that the sound is a bit annoying. A variety of tunes accompany the game, but none of these are brilliant. They are loud and thumping, so perfectly suit the high octane nature of the game, but they become repetitive rather quickly. The race commentary, meanwhile, is very annoying. Some of the daft comments might be vaguely amusing the first time you hear them, but like the music, they soon start to grate.
Controls are designed to be simple, but effective. Relying on just a handful of buttons, they are easy to pick up and by the end of your first race, they feel very natural and comfortable. At the same time, they are highly responsive. Even Mrs SWSt (who is to computer games what elephants are to roller-skating) picked them up quickly and enjoyed racing around the tracks (or more accurately, trundling around the track whilst bumping into every available object).
So, at the risk of being lazy, Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing is Sega's answer to Mario Kart. Whilst it's not quite as much fun as Nintendo's effort, it's the closest you're going to get on your PS3 and is a fun racing title in its own right. You can now pick it up for under a tenner which, for a game that offers so much fun and long term playability is a real bargain.
© Copyright SWSt 2012
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Test Drive Unlimited 2 (PS3)
by JJ2010JAYJAY
I purchased this game about 3 weeks ago for £17. I think this is a very reasonable price for the game. When I got it, I was very surprised at how amazing this game was. It is much better than I thought it would be. The thing I like most about this game is that although it is focused on cars, you can buy houses, buy clothes, buy ... furniture, get haircuts, and even have cosmetic surgery! So it kinda makes it more realistic.
Gameplay
There are lots of different things to do on this game. You can buy lots of different cars and take part in championship races. But what makes it different from other games is the fact that you can drive about the island (Ibiza) normally without having to race. Also, can do jobs. Some of the jobs you can do are giving people lifts to places, taking peoples cars to certain locations, and driving quickly so that your passengers can have fun. You also can roam around the island to find 'wrecks.' These are basically old cars that have been dumped somewhere, and once you have found them all, you get a car. There are also 20 locations that you have to take pictures of. The story line of this is that the person taking pictures hadn't focused the camera and they are blurry. So you have to work out where the locations are from the blurry photos and get paid to take pictures. All of these are great ways to make money and ways to gain points too. You can also go to racing school and get licenses for off-roading,normal racing, and classic car racing. You have to do these if you want to take part in races.
Points/Levels System
The game consists of 63 levels. It's a bit of a random number but there you go. There are four different categories; Social, Discovery, Competition, and Collection. There are 15 levels in each, except discovery which has 18, and this adds up to your overall level. Each competition or job you do earns you points which go towards you level. Once you reach level 10, you get to go to the airport to Hawaii, where you do similar things to what you do in Ibiza.
Social
To earn social levels, you need to have PlayStation Network. You can challenge people on-line to races and get points for winning. I do not play on-line very often so I am not fully aware of everything you can do for the social levels.
Discovery
To earn discovery levels, you can do a few different things. Finding wrecks is one way, finding the photo locations is another, and driving on all of the roads. Let me explain, if you have already driven on a road, you can warp there without having to drive. So the more roads you drive on, the more discovery points you get. Also, whilst you are driving, you may find shops such as clothes shops, car dealerships, real estates and so on.
Competition
This is quite self explanatory really. To earn competition points, you have to take parts in competitions. You also have to obtain your licenses, and take part in the jobs where you give people lifts and take their cars to locations.
Collection
To earn collection points, you have to buy things. You get more collection points if you buy cars, buy houses, have surgery, buy clothes, and get haircuts.
In General
The graphics of this game are very good and realistic. They are even better if you can play in HD. The sounds are realistic and the cars look like they do in real life. They have added in little features such as being able to put the windows down, or putting on the indicators. If you have a convertible car, you can put the roof up and down. What I like about the game is that you can have a cockpit view. I feel that this makes the game even more realistic.
Overall
Overall, I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who enjoys driving games. I find it very fun and I have been playing it nearly every day since I got it.
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Shift 2 - Unleashed (PS3)
by TRGTspecialist
The second Need For Speed title made by Slightly Mad Studios, Shift 2 seeks to improve upon the already impressive foundation introduced in Shift 1 - and it duly delivers. As an overall package, Shift 2 works beautifully - everything comes together so well, and it's a lot of fun as a result.
Shift 2's content is easily its ... strongest point - there is about 150 cars, which, in comparison to Forza and Gran Turismo is low, but then again, only the most desirable cars are in this game, all of them speed machines that you'll really want to drive. The track list is very, very impressive - over 35 tracks, most of which have multiple layouts, with real world classics such as Road America, Bathurst, the Nordschliefe, Spa Franco-champs.............the list goes on and on. This is all put into a lengthy career mode, where you rise from racing small hatchbacks to becoming a GT1 champion. There is a lot of freedom in the career - earning XP allows you to increase your driver level, which allows you to enter higher league races - and you earn XP very quickly in this game, so you're able to very quickly rise up through the ranks, and choose the events you want to compete in.
Visually and aurally, the game is fantastic. This game captures the sense of speed in motorsport better than any other racing game I've played. At times it can be absolutely terrifying - take the (somewhat exaggerated) motion blur, the bone-shattering sound, the new helmet cam (which constantly shakes and moves about, looking to apexes like a real racing driver), and night racing, put them all together, and you have an experience like no other.
There is only two real complaints I have with Shift 2 - first, the handling of the cars takes some getting used to. It's quite floaty, but nervous at the same time - it's not bad by any means, but it is very tricky at first. Once you do get used to it though, it doesn't detract from the fun at all. The second complaint is the collision detection, which is far too sensitive. The AI are quite aggressive in this game, which means banging wheels with them can be common - but even slight contact can send your car flying off into the nearest barrier. This can be very frustrating after a while.
Apart from those two issues though, I have to say I love this game, and if you're a sucker for speed, I fully recommend it.
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