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Top 5 on PSP: Racing
There are plenty of new PSPs in gamer's houses since the holidays and I figured some new PSP owners may not be up to speed on what great games the system has to offer. With that in mind, every day this week we'll feature a new genre and list the top 5 games (according to metareviews), so no matter what you're into, you'll have some idea of what games you should own. Day 2 kicks off with a very competitive genre on PSP: Racing. Top 5 Racing games on PSP (tie) Ridge Racer/WipEout Pure Burnout Legends TOCA Race Driver 2 Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast Twisted Metal: Head-On I'm not a giant racing fan, so I only own Burnout Legends and Twisted Metal: Head-On (I dig the carnage factor). I did enjoy them both quite a bit though. But what I think doesn't really matter. What do you think about these 5 games? What racing games aren't on this list that you think every PSP owner should have? If you missed it, you can check out our previous top 5 game lists: Action [Data Via Metacritic]
Cleaned off DIRT to reveal Colin McRae Box Art
While we haven't seen new screens in a while for Colin McRae: DIRT, we do have box art, or the "Hake Jacket" as babelfish fumbles on the french translation over at Xboxygen. In any case, it definitely lives up to its namesake, with plumes of dirt trailing the Toyota in the shot. It kind of reminds us of a reversed angle of the Burnout Revenge cover art. Then again, we've been sort of hit and miss with the whole comparing to Burnout thing. At least we're not saying the gameplay will be similar. Are you looking forward to playing this at the tail end of June? Super high resolution version available by clicking the box art that is available after the break.
Stuntman Ignition on PS3 & Xbox 360 in summer 2007
THQ has announced that the follow-up to Atari's 2002 Stuntman will arrive this summer for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Dubbed Stuntman Ignition, the sequel is being developed by the publisher's internal studio Paradigm Entertainment (formerly of Atari). The original Stuntman was developed by another former Atari studio, now with Ubisoft, Reflections. Ignition will continue the tradition of insane(-ly frustrating) stunts, as players desperately fight to maintain a variety of careening-prone vehicles, including exotic sports cars, motorcycles, and (ever-impossible to control) hovercraft. Thankfully, an online mode will let you design the torturous routes, and then invite others to suffer the trial and error.
Diddy Kong Racing zooms into Europe this April
April 20 is the big day for European DS gamers, at least when it comes to reliving a Rare experience. Nintendo announced today that Diddy Kong Racing DS is set to hit shelves only two months after its release in the U.S., which is certainly an improvement over some of the gaps we've seen between releases in different areas of the world. Racing not your thing? No problem -- the week before, Final Fantasy V Advance ships. Looks like April is a good time to be a gamer.
Gran Turismo added to list of 'killer games'
UK newspaper The Times has added Gran Turismo to its short list of "killer games." Sony's racing sim joins Manhunt, Carmaggedon, and Canis Canem [Edit] (but not oft-targeted series Grand Theft Auto -- or Pac-Man). GT landed on the list following the trial of two boy racers whose reckless driving led to a fatal car crash, killing 79-year-old Phylis Williams. Both men were cleared of "causing death by dangerous driving"; instead fined relatively small amounts (£1,000 and £750), in addition to having points deducted from their licenses.Immediately preceding the crash, one of the "bloody chavs," 19-year-old Christopher Hayden, had been playing Gran Turismo (on an in-car LCD monitor) while parked alongside a road. The court seemed convinced that playing the game encouraged Hayden to engage in the impromptu race; The Times took it a step further, placing GT in the company of "killers." *Sigh* ... another game catching the blame for senseless tragedy... [Via Guardian Unlimited]
Global launch for Forza 2 (excludes Japan?)
Turn 10 and Microsoft today revealed plans to launch Forza Motorsport 2 "on a global level simultaneously," indicating that the European version would arrive in May alongside its previously confirmed US counterpart -- no mention of a Japanese release was made. The news was joined by a list of the game's European exotics and several new screens to boot. Sooo ... Gran Turismo 5 or Forza 2?[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]%Gallery-1658%
Calling All Cars missing from PS3 car combat arrivals
When Sony sent word of "Car Combat Coming to the PlayStation Store" we assumed it was final confirmation that David Jaffe's Calling All Cars would arrive in February, as planned. Instead, we're today offered the PlayStation 3 Full Auto 2 demo and Destruction Derby, another yawn-inducing (we hear they're contagious) PS1 oldie for PSP. Look, we like the thematic mix, but this half-baked cake is missing the icing. Just a little more time in the oven and Sony could have delivered with PlayStation Store's first great triumph. Maybe next time.
Gran Turismo 5 'Prologue' in late 2007
The downloadable prologue to Sony's "Online Car Life Simulation" will arrive in autumn, according to French gaming site Jeux-France. Meaning, we'll see a playable Gran Turismo 5 demo (what some will tease, "Gran Turismo HD 2") hit PS3's PlayStation Store later this year.Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, as Sony insists, will be followed by the actual game in the spring of 2008 (in Europe). The demo will feature several cars and circuits, and will support online play via the Gran Turismo Network. Although unspecified, given that GTHD is free, we assume that the GT5 demo will likewise be a complimentary promotion.[Via VGB]
Metareview - Diddy Kong Racing DS
As so many did, my friends and I bought into the original Diddy Kong Racing, which had been hyped as a superior blend of Super Mario 64 meets Mario Kart 64, from the same developer that had won our allegiance with GoldenEye 007 just months before. Diddy Kong Racing wasn't fun (despite mostly bloated reviews). Still, we fell into a self-perpetuating trap of lying to ourselves; reassuring each other of the game's promised greatness. Weeks passed, and Diddy Kong Racing eventually faded away -- but not for good. Rare has remade its N64 "classic" for DS. Despite Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection support, Diddy Kong Racing is still lame, further marred by poor DS-specific design choices. Thankfully, critical reception seems to be more on point this time around: IGN (71/100) - "[Any] time you're encouraged to touch the lower screen, you can pretty much assume that it wasn't in the original game and created specifically for the Nintendo DS "remake". It's these new DS-centric elements that point to the fact that this is a first-generation DS game handled by a team that's not quite familiar with the platform ... someone really needs to tell Rare that microphone blowing is so 2005. It wasn't a whole lot of fun when developers did it in the Nintendo DS' early years, and it's still not fun now ... unfortunately the development team focused a bit too much on "DS-izing" the product with completely unnecessary and frustrating touch-screen and microphone challenges that disrupt the racing design." GameSpot (67/100) - "Diddy Kong Racing DS isn't a bad kart-racing game, but its best feature, the racing, is buried underneath so much unnecessary garbage that some people will find it nearly impossible to enjoy. Had Rare stripped the island setting, toned down the tedious collecting, and tweaked some other minor issues, the game would have been better with less. Instead, it chose to add more and more content, and the game suffers for it. Some of the new additions, such as online multiplayer and the various customization features, make the game more enjoyable, but many of them, particularly the touch-screen controls, make it worse." Games Radar (60/100) - "Diddy Kong Racing wants so damn hard to be the next Mario Kart that it hurts our eyes to play it for long periods of time. The racing itself is totally fine (if a little slow), but this simple pleasure is smothered in monotonous collecting and mindless wandering ... For those who remember the Nintendo 64 version from 1997, this is mostly the same game. Back then it wanted to be the next Mario Kart 64, but obviously wasn't. Now, the only thing that's been done to bump its stature is moderate touch screen silliness."
Metareview: Diddy Kong Racing (update 1)
No doubt, Diddy Kong Racing has been in the spotlight for the last couple of months, due to some excellent features and the promise of repeating the success the game enjoyed on the N64. With custom-track creation and countless other wonderful features, we've waited long and patiently for this game and hopefully the majority of reviewers out there won't find the game as lacking as the below two have: Nintendo Power (75/100) finds that the game has some appeal, however maybe not as much as it needs: "Like its predecessor, Diddy Kong Racing DS has a Mario Kart game to compete with, but also enough unique features to make it a kart-racing contender." [Mar. 2007, p.87] GameSpot (67/100) says that the game might just have too much to do: "Diddy Kong Racing DS is a decent racer with plenty to do and some interesting new content, but the seemingly endless amount of tasks you must complete to enjoy all of it may irritate anyone who simply wants to race." IGN (71/100) tells us that the online rocks, but isn't enough to carry the game: "Diddy Kong Racing's a good product with some first-generation blues dragging it down. The fantastic online and customization focus offset some of the clunky items that made it into the design...but don't think we're going to turn a blind eye to the stupid stuff." [Update: Added another review score]
DS releases for the week of February 5th
We haven't had a lot of excitement when it comes to weekly releases lately, but this week makes up for it. Count 'em -- we've got three new titles this week that all look pretty good in their respective genres. Now the only problem is coming up with enough money to support our habit. They never talk about game-buying in those anti-drug ads, but we'll tell you ... sometimes our need for new games makes us consider knocking over the occasional convenience store. Not really. Please don't call the cops. We don't handle enclosed spaces too well. This week in the U.S. Diddy Kong Racing Lunar Knights Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 For the rest of the world, check after the jump.
FlatOut Ultimate Carnage crashing into Xbox 360
Empire Interactive has announced a second sequel in its ragdoll-flinging FlatOut racing series, currently in development for Xbox 360. Bugbear developed FlatOut Ultimate Carnage will utilize a new game engine apparently designed specifically for Xbox 360 hardware; but don't rule out future appearances on PC and PlayStation 3 (the two previous FlatOuts were multiplatform). The basics are included: five single-player modes (likely padded with more minigames) and a pair of multiplayer modes with support for Xbox Live. Only 12 vehicles to choose from, but with downloadable content confirmed, perhaps Bugbear and Empire have plans to expand the menu post-release. FlatOut Ultimate Carnage is scheduled for June. Its predecessor FlatOut 2, released just six months ago, recently surpassed one million units sold.
Fresh new DKR screens
Thanks to the folks at GameSpot, we can now get a good look at Diddy Kong Racing. We're talking up close and personal, because they've put out a truly epic flood of screens from the upcoming enhanced port ... so many, in fact, that it's almost as good as playing it ourselves. You'll notice we said almost. Nothing really compares to the fun of crushing our enemies and seeing them driven before us, but we do like a pretty picture now and again. We've included several after the jump, and there are still more over at GameSpot.
Custom track creation in Diddy Kong Racing
For all of you Diddy Kong cravers out there, an interesting video depicting custom track creation has hit You Tube and it, as expected, looks freakin' awesome. we won't hold you up any longer with pointless gibberish (see: this sentence), so just head on into the post and check out the video! Do it! Do it now! See also: Diddy Kong Racing gets put under the microscope Racing it up, Diddy Kong style [Via Aussie-Nintendo]
ESPN plans "most advanced" HD coverage for NASCAR in 2007
ESPN recently revealed its plans for broadcasting NASCAR races during the upcoming season, in what the network is calling "most technologically advanced in motorsports history". Every race will be done completely in HD, including in car cameras, pit crew, blimp and other angles. All of this goes along with the mobile studio ESPN will use to broadcast NASCAR Countdown shows from each race, and a radio room that allows ESPN to record and replay clips from any driver-pit crew transmissions. You can expect the full HD treatment on every Busch Series race this year (aired on ESPN2-HD) and the final 17 Nextel Cup races on ESPN and ABC. We've already come to expect top notch HD broadcasts from TNT, Fox and HDNet's coverage of the sport and it appears ESPN is ready to raise the bar yet again.
Today's hottest game video: Diddy Kong Racing
A GameTrailers clip of Diddy Kong Racing for the DS gets our nod for today's video pick. Will this upcoming driving game displace Mario Kart as the favorite DS racer? The trailer doesn't give us a lot of hope, with Diddy Kong seeming fairly similar to the previous game. At least DS kart fans will get more tracks and a choice between titles. Watch the video after the break.
Friday Video: Balloon touch a go-go
Hotel Dusk may have dominated most of this week, but one of the biggest videos we saw this week was dedicated to a non-adventure game. Yes, sometimes we do take breaks from pointing and clicking. So what tempts us away? Racing. Definitely racing. And Diddy Kong Racing DS is definitely going to pull us away from adventure gaming, and that's why this video is in the spotlight this week. It's not the best quality, but it works nicely with some of the other footage we've seen. Check it out after the jump.
Colin McRae to kick up DIRT in June
Developer and Publisher Codemasters announced today that their new gen Rally racing game, Colin McRae: DIRT is on schedule for release towards the end of June. Filled to the brim with off-road, point-to-point, and Rally Cross events, with your standard set of 2WD, RWD, 4WD and Classic vehicles, you'll be well equipped to sling mud in the eyes of your opponents online. Complete with European, International and Global online championships, and a fancy new damage engine, this looks to be a promising summer for gearheads. Are you looking forward to powersliding through the mud to victory this June?
Diddy Kong Racing gets put under the microscope
A rather lengthy video for the upcoming Diddy Kong Racing DS has hit the internet and showcases several different aspects of the game experience. In showing the character selection screen, map functionality and racing carnage (planes FTW), the video does a wonderful job of bringing back some fond memories of the N64 title. We're looking forward to this, who else is with us? See also: Racing it up, Diddy Kong style
Confirmed: Mario Kart 64 on the VC next Monday
My goodness yes. After an absolute absence of any N64 games since the launch title Super Mario 64, a recent press release from Nintendo has confirmed that next week will see the arrival of one of the greatest N64 games ever released: Mario Kart 64.Mario Kart DS has improved upon the series in many ways, but there's no denying that four-player split-screen charm. Don't you dare not pick this up, people. We're watching you.Closely.
