Game Reviews!

[Jack The Bear]

MotorStorm is a game I recieved for my birthday years ago, and loved it. I've gone back to play it for a review, and noticed I do have problems with the game. So lets go down my short bullet list, and see how MotorStorm can stack up!

Controls: Controls are essential in a driving or racing game. MotorStorm is a game anyone can get into, but is very difficult towards the end of the career. Every vehicle except for the Motorcycle and Monster Truck, have horrendous understeer. Forcing you to use the E-brake and boost options to get you around most corner at speed. The steering can also be affected greatly by the fact that your vehicle is bouncing around whatever your driving on the majority of the time, making steering a real chore in a serious race!

Don't get me wrong however, I do enjoy the game. They did some great things with the physics in this game, including mud, water and fire. Mud will make you slide around, water will slow down most vehicles but cool the boost meter, and fire is instant death, and heats up your boost meter. Forcing you to choose your paths much more carefully.

Another thing about this game is its not one path, there are usually 3 or 4 choices of paths to get you around the track, some are meant for certain vehicles, some are more universal. Picking the right path for your vehicle is crucial to being a good MotorStormer!

I also need to point out that the different vehicles are cosmetic. All Rally Cars will drive the same, just look different ect. ect. The difference comes from the vehicle class.

Graphics: The graphics, especially for an older game, are quite nice. The vehicle models are nothing special, but nothing under par either, but the real star is the track. Everything from the glistening mud to the waterfalls and foilage truly make this game beautiful, and tough.

Another thing to point out, the cars look the best as you drive and crash around the track. The damage model is very impressive and the dirt eventually will cover your vehicle giving you an authentic feeling of off-road racing.

Audio: While nothing special, it gets the job done. The audio is solid, the cars sound good, but the worst part is the boost. When wearing headphones, I would get so annoyed by the boost being so loud, and it only gets louder the more you use it!

Replay: Like most racing games, if you enjoy the basic concept, you will play it alot. I played MotorStorm for years, and have only retired it for a new racing game. If you enjoy crashing cars, mud racing, big jumps, exciting large races, MotorStorm Pacific Rift may be for you!

All in All, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift gets a...

8.5 out of 10!

Pros:
Fun Racing, Arcade Style
Epic Crashes
Easy To Play
Cons:
Small Online Community
Most Vehicles Have Understeer
Lack of Customization

[Jack The Bear]

GRID 2

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GRID 2 is a recent game by CODEMASTERS, Known for such gems as Racing Driver: GRID and Dirt. This game initially excited me, and I have to say.. It delivers. Go on, Check the bullet list, You know you want to.

• -Graphics-9.5 The overall look of this game is very great, the models are smooth and very well made. The tracks as well show off a great deal of love and attention to detail. The best example of this would be the night races. Lights flashing from the crowd, Sparks ejecting from the car as it slams into a wall. In the distance as a firework explodes.
  
  These are things you could easily miss in GRID 2. They cars are very well done, from top to bottom. Even going so far as to make the tire textures look phenomenal. The overall illusion can sometimes be shattered however, if you look to closely to the crowd models. They are rather horrendous!
  
  
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• -Audio-10 The first thing I noticed when I jumped into a race was the roar of the engines. The shifting of the gears and the screeching of the tires. As you fly by the crowd you can even hear them shouting out words of enjoyment, although however you could actually hear them, is beyond me. The audio quality is very nice on all of this, going so far as to convince my roomate I was watching a race instead of playing a game!
  
  
• -Gameplay-9.5 GRID 2 is a hard game to pin down. It's not arcade, yet it's not simulation. With the brand new TrueFeel technology, they have essentially created the unique feeling of each car, without the simulation. This has put off some people, and strung others in. For me, its hooked me. The cars drift very easily around each corner, thats not the hard part. The hard part is controlling the car once the drift has begun.
  
  Each car has its own feeling, meaning one car might drift hard, and oversteer aggresivley. The next might understeer hard and force you to break different, or sooner, or later. These are the variables that make GRID 2 a very fun experience. Grip cars on the other hand drive completley different, although you can still drift them if your good enough.
  
  I will admit, nothing feels quite as awesome as coming off of a straight section, into a hard snake hairpin at 100+MPH, only to start a drift, and let it turn itself into a inertia drift on the second+ corner. The game also features a very well done damage system. Although i've noticed some of the damage can look strange at times, it is still well done, with full damage on you can even total your car.
  
  Hit a wall to hard? You will mess up your suspension, damage your radiator, pop a tire, ect. ect. ect. The end result is a very hard race to finish. This really shows off in LiveRoute Endurance races. GRID 2 sports many game modes. Race, Drift, Touge, Endurance, Time Attack, Checkpoint and Faceoff.
  
  Race is your standard first across the finish line. Drift is purposefully losing traction and controlling the car as it slides around the corner, point based. Touge is a 1v1 showdown, if your chasing and you pass the lead car? You can win. If you lead and keep your first place, you win. The twist is if you fall behind your opponent you can lose the whole thing before the race even gets started! The last catch? You can't hit your partner. Crash him, you are Disqualified!
  
  Endurance is a very fun online mode, they can be up to 40 minutes and really show off the LiveRoutes system. Endurance is a race to see who can get the farthest, it seems a bit trivial and pointless at first. Ofcourse whoever is in first will win as always. However, Turn on full damage and LiveRoutes and you have yourself the recipe for an amazing time with friends and foes alike.
  
  Time Attack is very fun as well, usually around 5 laps, the person to set the fastest lap wins the event. One of the few you can win without being in first. Checkpoint is another event you can win without being in first. It is like Endurance, the further you go the better you do, but you have a time limit. Each checkpoint gives you time, Simple. The last is Faceoff, a 1v1 with no rules.
  
  So you have probably heard me talk about this LiveRoute feature. It's CODEMASTERS answer to tracks. It is only available in the large city tracks, but it is amazing fun. What it does, is it controls the layout of the track, all while your racing. Every turn has a variable, you could go one of 3 or more possible directions, and it changes every time. You could end up doing a circle loop for a few minutes, or race a completley different course. No mini-map on this race, all about skill and judging the corners!
  
  The AI is pretty good in this game, I must admit. Sometimes once they get ahead of you, it is all you can do it keep up! Difficulty ranges from Very Easy to Very Hard, and they all are alot of fun. Want to enjoy the race? Very Easy/Medium is for you. Want to push yourself? Hard/Very Hard!
  
  
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• -Social Aspect-9.5 The Multiplayer is great in GRID 2, in my opinion. Being the official launch of RaceNet, GRID 2 gives you many options. Unlike the Story mode of GRID 2, Multiplayer is XP and money based. You have to earn everything you drive. You can pick to do Playlist, the essential ranked mode. Pick between normal races, mixed races, or technical stuff. Custom matches also make an apperance, giving friends great times together!
  
  RaceNet is a great feature to have on a game like GRID 2. Each week, RaceNet assigns you a new rival, if they are online, join their game and dust them for extra XP and money. Global Challenge is also a feature that is very well thought out and fun. Although it has Global in the name, it seems to be nothing more than rival/friend based. I am currently leading the leaderboards on this mode and will see how it turns out.
  
  The basic idea of Global Challenge is a weekly mix up of tracks and modes. Really seeing if you can race better than your rival and friends in these competitions. You do these by yourself, but your final time/score is what goes up. When the week ends, you get large amounts of XP and Money depending on how well you did.
  
  The multiplayer can be a strange mix of fun and frustration at times, however. Sometimes your fellow racers will play fair, and try to pass with skill and patience. Other times you will get that one person who is going to crash you first chance they get so they can pass you. CODEMASTERS answered this with the Impact Rating. Ram into cars? Your IR is going to pair you with other reckless drivers. Drive clean? IR will place you with similar drivers!
  
  
• -Innovation-8 While nothing is to innovative, it does not dissapoint. The innovative feature from Race Driver: GRID returns, Flashbacks. Crash your car on a turn you think you can make? Hit your Flashback button and get a second try. You can have up to 5 Flashbacks from what I have seen so far.
  
  
• -Value-10 Being a racing fan, GRID 2 has impressed me and is easily worth the up front 60$ that was dropped for it.
  
  
• -Lasting Appeal-10 GRID 2 has about a 20/30 hour campaign. The multiplayer however has the potential to keep you hooked for a very long time for racing fans. Hopeful future DLC will keep others coming back for more racing action.
  
  
• -Polish-10 The game is very well polished, having only expierenced one strange thing, which felt odd to me. I've noticed that sometimes your front fender section, having just traded paint with something else, will sometimes slide back and force, with no real movement behind them. It looks very out of place, but is the only thing I have noticed so far in my many hour playthrough!
  
  It is also of note to point out the feeling of each race, for example, racing next to a forest, occasionally you will get the wind blowing leaves across the road. Even random critters, such as squirrels will dart across the road in front of your car.
  
  
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• -Final Score- All in all, being a racing fan, loving cars. I give GRID 2 a 9. Everything fell into place just perfectly for me, and gave me the awesome racing experience I have been looking for. I hope you all give this game a try for yourselves and enjoy it as much as I do.
  
  Pros:
  Easy to start, Hard to master.
  Each Car Drives Differently
  Many Tracks and Cars
  In Depth and Addicting Multiplayer
  
  Cons:
  RaceNet dropping for maintenence early in GRID 2's life is the only con I have right now!

[Jack The Bear]

Alright everyone, since Mal has been so damn kind to help me get started on his wonderful website, im going to be publishing all reviews over there!! http://www.reigningsun.com/the-bear-den/ Stop on by The Bear Den, You know you want to ;]

[Zabuza]

...ShimmyShimmy...

Lulz when I used to work at Lowe's Foods they use to play this 50's music track. One of the most annoying songs on it that you reminded me of....

"Shimmy Shimmy Cocoa Puff, Shimmy Shimmy Pop...." It sounded something like that I don't know the exact lyrics... anyway, back to game reviews... lulz

[Malachi]

Lulz when I used to work at Lowe's Foods they use to play this 50's music track. One of the most annoying songs on it that you reminded me of....

"Shimmy Shimmy Cocoa Puff, Shimmy Shimmy Pop...." It sounded something like that I don't know the exact lyrics... anyway, back to game reviews... lulz

That's a 50s song? This rapper from years ago sang it also then.

[Zabuza]

lmao I wish they used played music like that while I worked. Sadly no, it is part of some horrible psychological torture track.

It is Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop, it was released in 1959 or 60.

[Jack The Bear]

Someone should mix the two xD

[Commandermech]

Hey jack the bear nice reviews man signed up for notifications on your site.