Archives for 2007

I picked up Forza 2 over the weekend and I have been playing it every chance I get. Instead of impressions, let me say I’m impressed. Forza Motorsports 2 is impressive.

Forza, at its core, is a game I will probably never fully appreciate. There are depths to Forza 2 that I’m not willing to plumb. Even though I can control the air pressure in my tires and tweak my suspension system in a hundred different ways, I probably never will. The level of customization available is staggering. You want options to customize the look of your car, make it a one-of-a-kind? You’ve got hundreds of layers to work with. Hundreds. I, for one, am not that comitted. Luckily, other people are, and I can still appreciate what can be done with this game.

As it’s been said before, Forza 2 is not really a game. It is a driving simulation. You can’t put the pedal to the medal and hope the guard-rails keep you on the path. They don’t. They twist you in ways you didn’t think would happen. You just can’t fly around the track, using the brakes occasionally. This is not that kind of game. Once I accepted that fact and got the hang of racing without flooring it the whole race, things got very enjoyable. In fact, I’m getting pretty good at it. Not “jump to the top of the Xbox Live Leaderboards” good, but “change the difficulty from Easy to Medium” good. They’re baby steps.

Forza 2 is also about amassing as many cars as you can. The rewards of winning races are usually in the form of a new vehicle for your garage or new relationships with car manufacturers. This works on two levels. The drive to collect ’em all is something that’s hardwired in a gamer’s brain. It’s an irrestible force. It also serves to drive the game along, as you continue to earn new cars, new tracks and races become available to you.

Of course, you don’t abandon the cars in your garage, as they are able to earn “levels” in the same manner you as the driver earns “levels.” Again, another game mechanic gamers crave. Now you can do it two different ways. It’s very addicting. Add in all the customization and upgrades you can buy, and you’ve got a full plate. There’s also the ability to post your souped up cars on the Xbox Live Auction as well as gifting cars to your buds on Live. If you can collect something, you can sell and trade it as well. Quite a tidy package.

Overall, I really don’t have any major issues with FM2. I haven’t jumped online yet to try that mode out. It’s daunting. I don’t want to be embarassed, which is the inevitable end result of my racing endeavors online. I’m sure the multiplayer modes are fun, but I’m honestly okay with playing the game by myself. So far, so good.

Elsewhere:
Matt Brett on Forza 2
Masem’s Gaming Blog
Dan at The Blog for the Sportsgamer

27% complete as of 2248 EST.

Update: A few thoughts on the beta before I pass out.

The Good: It feels like a Halo game, to a tee. The maps are very detailed and seem to be well balanced. The new weapons are a hoot. The new vehicle, the ATV is a blast to drive. Plays tight and quick.

The Bad: It feels like a Halo game. I guess I went in with expectations higher than I should have, but there didn’t seem to be anything that struck me as novel or innovative. That may have been unfair to expect from a beta, but I was hoping for something to wow me. The graphics aren’t bad but certainly could look better. I think Bungie dropped the ball here. They could have blown everyone’s socks off with some amazing visuals and left everyone wanting more. As it stands now, they look good and will probably look great in the finished product, but I was hoping for amazing.

The Ugly: Bungie and Microsoft’s preparedness. They have known for months that a lot of people would be joining the beta via their Crackdown discs. The fact that it took over half a day to figure out what the problem was and correct it was very disappointing.

Overall, Halo 3 is going to be a great game that has a long shelf life and is going to sell a lot of 360’s.

So I know I promised impressions of Pokemon Diamond, but I’ve only logged about an hour in Pokemon because I’ve been playing a bunch of Settlers of Catan, the excellent downloadable Xbox Live Arcade game. I’ve actually been putting a lot of time on the 360 in general, but most of it has been playing Settlers.

I’ve only played a couple games with real players, but both games have been a revelation. I think Joystiq hit the nail on the head last week when they mentioned the lack of renobs on Live. Maybe they’re busy playing Gears or working on some new colorful epithets. Whatever the case, the guys I’ve played with have been pleasant, if rather quiet. Not a lot of chatting going on, with some players without a headset altogether. Playing faceless opponents makes the stress of playing on the table-top non-existent. It’s a lot easier to turn a trade down when you don’t have to look the poor sucker in the eyes. No Xbox Live camera for me!

Playing against the computer is a mixed bag. Overall, it isn’t that bad, but sometimes it gets frustrating. There are times when I honestly feel like the computer is cheating with the “random” dice rolls. A game I played last night had nine (9!!) straight rolls of a four. Of course I didn’t have any settlements on a four, but the other three computer players were raking in the resources. I hope that is the exception, not the rule here. It’s also really easy to game the computer into getting what you want. I’ve offered a trade (say a wood for a brick) and then offer the trade in reverse (a brick for a wood) and the same computer opponent takes it. That breaks a bit of the feel, but playing with real players will solve that problem.

Games against the computer can be completed pretty quickly, but the online games seem to last a little longer. That’s not too much of a problem, but with no saving mechanism, you’ve got to be in it for the long haul. But I’m really enjoying Catan. If you’re online and are looking for a match, shoot me a line.

I promise I’ll get to Pokemon, as the first hour I played was positive. But with Halo 3 beta in a couple days, I’m thinking my game playing time will be consumed by that and not much else. Pokemon can wait.

(Excellent picture of the Settlers board game from n0wak’s Flickr stream)