TOCA, I mean GRID demo

Only got about an hour with it, and with the controller only—no wheel. So far it's looking REALLY nice. The damage physics are going to create a new style of gameplay: don't crash. Smack a wall with any bit of force and your car will be steering towards that side if your suspension parts were damaged. To top that off, the damage effects are speed sensitive; the amount of countersteer you need to use to offset a damaged suspension differs based on your speed. This is on top of some of the most realistic driving physics to date. It is much less "floaty" than Forza 2. My only nitpick is that the realism of the driving physics goes away when you drop a wheel off the track or even get into a tangle in a corner. I know that they are trying to create a fair game balance so that you can't just bounce off other cars to make your corners at higher-than-possible speeds or run through the grass to beat times, but the way they "punish" you for making a mistake is not realistic at all. I autocross cars, I watch racing in person and on tv a lot. Cars just don't do instant 180s when dropping a wheel off the track. Its so surprising when it happens because the on-track physics are very convincing, I just don't expect it. I had this same complaint with TOCA, but this time they have added instant-180 punishment to on-track scuffles too; physics be damned. An example: I was making a tight right-hander on the europe track when i turned my NOSE into another car, so of course is was perfectly natural for my rear end to step out the OPPOSITE direction, slide exactly 180°, and come to an abrupt stop facing directly against the track direction. Note that I had not applied the brakes AT ALL during this maneuver. Watching the replay, it was like an invisible hand had pushed the car around, almost comical how it defied physics. I'll probably end up buying the game despite this, because I really want to like it. TOCA was great fun and the best online racer before Forza. I'll just remember 2 rules: stay on the track at all times and don't touch any other cars!

Posted by dthree @ 11:24 am EDT | Permalink | 0 Comments

GTA snore

I may not be the only one in the universe that finds a certain lack of excitement for GTA4, but it sure seems like it.

Posted by dthree @ 3:55 pm EDT | Permalink | 6 Comments

Once more off into the breech...of timmies

Had to get in some COD4 online just to make sure I knew at a basic level what the hell goes on in there before I join the other curmudgeons in battle. Also wanted to level up A LITTLE, having not played it online at all yet. Team play was punishingly unfun. Not because I suck, but either teammates would just babble incessantly, or just push WAY out of the realm of trashtalking into outright meanspirited insults. For example, after getting hung up on a notched wall by a door trying to go out, I inadvertently delayed another teammates exit by 2 seconds. You would have thought my ineptness killed his dog. End of that game in the lobby, I'm the worst player on the team. Ha, big surprise there. I'm level 2! Obviously I'm bad I JUST STARTED PLAYING! Well apparently, high-level players expect everyone to be an expert out of the gate as one of them basically blames me for the team loss: "killswitch, why don't you just kill yourself?"

Another team game, some prepubscent hip-hop fan badly raps through the ENTIRE GAME. Everyone else must have had him on mute or something. I get killed twice looking through the menus for a mute function. No one else talks. 2nd game with MC timmie and he is a little more quiet until a small issue pops up. Went something like this:


MC: killswitch, stop breathing
MC: killswitch, stop breathing
MC: killswitch, stop breathing
MC: killswitch, stop breathing
(fair enough, I adjust my mic so its not triggered by breathing)
ME: OK, fixed
MC: Are you gay?
ME: What?
MC: You sound gay.
ME: You sound 12.
MC: you admit your gay?
ME: No I didn't.
MC: you sound gay.
ME: Just stfu and play.
MC: Killswitch, How old are you?
MC: Killswitch, How old are you?
MC: Killswitch, How old are you?
MC: Killswitch, How old are you?
Other player: he's old enough to be your dad.
ME: Thats right, now stfu.
Etc.
At this point, I have to get away from MC timmie and I figure I shouldn't be dragging teams down so I go into free-for-all mode. Nothing builds up confidence better than getting your ass kicked by players 40 levels above you.

Can't wait to play this with you guys instead.

Posted by dthree @ 1:19 pm EDT | Permalink | 4 Comments

Joined a Clan

Seems like such a timmie thing in essence, but you gotta love the enthusiasm of the clans here, and the names! "Pension Plan Commandos", "Low Rollers", "Coffin Dodgers", and my personal favorite "Strategic Insomniacs". How could I resist the opportunity to play with cool people like this. Knowing I have no fountainhead of free time, I had to go with the Curmudgen Grudge. Now we'll see what happens when a clan game gets in the way of my kid's R6V2 time. "Oops, son. Sorry I accidentally downgraded your account to silver. I'll fix that right away...next week."

Posted by dthree @ 11:43 pm EDT | Permalink | 0 Comments

5 Second review of the Halo 3 beta

Crackdown is actually a pretty cool game.

Posted by dthree @ 10:40 am EDT | Permalink | 0 Comments