Project Gotham Impressions
We\'ve got the final reviewable, and the text to prove it.
October 19, 2001
You\'ll have to wait until right before the system launches for our final judgments on the game, but here are our first impressions from the final version of the game
I\'ve been trying to be responsible about my time, so since Aaron\'s doing the first Halo impressions, and Anthony\'s doing Dead or Alive 3, I\'ve been forcing myself to keep with Gotham and Munch, for fear that I\'d get distracted with the other huge titles that arrived on my doorstep on my return from Tokyo. When you\'ve got something as addictive as Gotham to mess around with, it\'s easier than you\'d think.
There\'s great news about Microsoft\'s first party launch racer -- it\'s looking a lot better than when we saw it about a month ago. My gripes about the flat architecture and, at times, flat lighting schemes are still there. Buildings are still blocks with some incredibly crisp textures thrown on them, and overall everything is given a sort of TV-lighting look, so everything\'s crisp, but shadows are rarely to be found.
Car Gloss
But after giving the game some serious playtime, the cars really are astounding in their detail, especially now that they\'re really reflecting the environments in intricate fashion. The gloss and shine on your favorite Boxster is really captured with some great touches, and the definition allows you to really notice the fine details, like the driver\'s animations as he drives, and stupid things like license plates, which make geeks like me gush. You can even notice the side mirrors giving off what looks to be accurate reflections of the road as you drive. The crash effects have been drastically improved from the last time I saw the game as well. Whereas last time the crunches and scrapes seemed barely to fit in with the body shapes, now the crunches are impressive, with the Beetle\'s hood folded up realistically, or the Z3\'s side mirror broken and flopped down after slamming into a wall. Lighting off of the headlights is filled with less jaggy edges than last time, where it looked a bit clunky. The rain effects are incredible, with a realistic spray off the ground from the rain patter, and particles of rain spraying off your tires as you squeal around turns. The best effect of all comes when the sun sets, and you get a stunning reflection the sun off the road, showing off the subtle bump-mapping that you only notice when the light hits at the perfect angle, like the beautiful water in Munch.
The game is alternately stunning and remarkably similar to the Dreamcast version in vehicles, so your eyes will constantly be doing comparison tests with other next-generation racing games on the market. How does it compare to Gran Turismo A-Spec? We\'re going to save that for the final review. Besides, it\'s the gameplay that will get you addicted -- I like to call it "racing with ADD."
Attention Deficit Racing
Since the structure of Gotham is all about getting Kudos by beating the racing equivalent of min-games, it\'s much easier to get into than games like GT A-Spec, which immediately throw you into huge races with little preparation. Gotham gives you a myriad of choices at the beginning. Kudos races are a variety of races, from solo time attacks and one on one battles to circuit racing with opponents -- there\'s even an overtake challenge where you\'ll have to pass a certain amount of opponents in a certain time limit. The Arcade mode is purely about getting Kudos in a race, which you\'ll get by passing through cones at certain speeds, while doing slides, and so on. It\'s much more difficult than you expect. There\'s also the standard racing mode, for those of you that just want some fast competition, without the gimmicks. You can set the difficulty on each of the races to boost or lower your Kudos bonus, or use a Joker to double your Kudos if you win the battle. The entire game is run by Kudos, the game currency, so even when you play a simple quick race, it adds to you total. Kudos will unlock cars and levels in the game, as will completing a set of races in a different category. The game\'s set up with a myriad of small tasks to complete, so it always feels fresh. I\'ve barely scratched the surface, and I\'m astounded at just how deep the game goes. Also, I\'ve heard that later races get much larger in scope -- right now, they\'re pretty short.
I haven\'t had a chance to check out the playlist editor in any depth, just to see that you can truly pick your list song by song, using both your collection and theirs. The truth is that I\'m enjoying the songs they\'ve included in the game so much that I haven\'t felt a need to customize yet -- I\'m just sad you can\'t tell whose song is playing when you pause the game. The radio DJs are also a neat effect, playing pretend by announcing contests and request numbers right before introducing songs. The radio even goes silent when you go through a tunnel. I know I\'m geeking, but I love being surprised by a developer\'s attention to the little things.
The depth of Gotham is impressive, but it\'ll take a lot of playing before I can determine how it delivers over the long run as opposed to the first few hours of play. Look for a review of the game before launch day on November 15th.
-- Vincent Lopez
Here\'s the link.........
http://xbox.ign.com/news/39298.htmlIt sounds good I liked msr so I will PG as well. Another game I want for xbox launch. Check out the movies there pretty nice. Enjoy........:thepimp: :thepimp: :thepimp:
Topic: New impressions of a final version of PG!!!! (Read 735 times)