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Top Gear: Downforce announced for DS
Tantalus (you may remember them for Spongebob Squarepants: Yellow Avenger) and Kemco (you may remember them for, um, Batman: Dark Tomorrow) sent me a politely worded press release informing me of their intention to release Top Gear: Downforce for the Nintendo DS. Following the original Top Gear (N64) and the rally-themed GBA sequel (which was rather good), the game is set for release late in 2006 and will presumably involve fast cars going around a track. In other words, something completely different!"This time around we’re attempting something completely different," says Tantalus CEO Tom Crago. "We want to create a racing game that feels perfectly at home on the DS platform, something built from the ground up to exploit the cool features of the hardware." One of the features touted for this top-down, 3D racer is the ability to lay down road hazards via the touch screen, sure to annoy the people you're wirelessly playing against. The press release doesn't say anything about Nintendo Wi-Fi, but we'd expect no less from something exploiting the cool features of the hardware. The DS could definitely use some more racing games in its online garage.
Putting virtual driving skills to the test
Jeremy Clarkson from the BBC's Top Gear programme recently put his hard-won Gran Turismo 4 driving skills to the test in California on "the most fearsome track in North America", Laguna Seca. Driving the same car in-game and for real -- a Honda NSX -- Jeremy tried to match his GT4 time on the real raceway, with surprising results.This video clip catalogues his adventures, and is sobering viewing for anyone who thinks that excelling at PGR3 or GT makes you a top-notch race driver. The Top Gear episode is repeated on BBC2 at 7pm on New Year's Day for UK viewers.Choice quote: "That's not a corner on the PlayStation!" [Thanks, dutchhenk]
