Reviews by tidyspidey

FUEL (PS3) review

lets get the start out of the way; Fuel is good. Very good. It has some of the most amazingly stretched out environments and weather effects I've ever seen, and this works to the games advantage and it's detriment... It's BIG. Perhaps too big.... or that is, if they had filled it with more interesting scenery and stunt areas, it wouldn't have felt that way. It just felt large for large sake - if it had been compressed a little to shorten the journey between decent areas, this would have worked better. That said - when things get crazy and those tornadoes start flying around you, you'll thank the developer for all that room to manouver, so it's like a catch 22 for them. I personally think it was just technology limiting them... they had this huge sandbox, and then not quite enough sand to fill it. Still, they should be proud - it's a truly fun experience. The main single player experience is nice and fairly lengthy - should take you a good 10-15hours of play. Then the multiplayer should keep things lively - particularly if you have friends you actually know playing it too. This should offer a great deal of replay value for you once the single player campaign is over. Overall, Fuel gets 3 stars - would have been 3.5, but we can't give that, and I didn't see it as being a 4 star.... it's definitely a fun game and well worth at least a rent.

MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (PS3) review

This is a "more of the same" sequel, which is a good thing as the first Motorstorm was an excellent game. It's difficult for a game developer to achieve the balance of changing enough to make improvments, but not so much as to ruin the original fun experience... I'm happy to say that they have done it right with this game. The graphics look just as stunning, if not more so for the nice new setting. The animation of the vehicles cleaving their way through the dirt terrain is as smooth and as exciting as ever, and now with the blue skies and tropical setting flying by, it really is a joy to play. This is racing in one of it's most visceral and basic forms, and online multiplayer in particular really shines with this game. All this said - it isn't a big step from it's predecessor, and although personally I like that fact, I think a few others may be disappointed not to have some significant steps forward. I think that will come with the next one myself.... overall, you should definitely give this a go if you have a PS3. It's certainly better than the first Motorstorm and is well worth either renting or buying with a lot of replay value.

Pure (PS3) review

Pure, for me, is currently the best example of any MX game available. Even the mighty Motorstorm series on the PS3 can't compete with Pure, in my opinion. Pure is just one of those really surprising games.... first off, it's made by Disney(!), yes, Disney. I downloaded the demo first, and was blown away at just how much fun the game was. Borrowing a friends copy then left me in no doubt that I was playing the finest MX game I have ever played. The courses are vast, expansive and exciting to run through. HUGE jumps, sheer drops off cliff edges and close wheel-to-wheel racing always keeps the action exciting. The way the controls have been implemented to give you full control over your rider when performing the jumps is awesome, and I was soon making huge jumps and mid-air tricks with no problem at all. I found both the single player experience and the multiplayer delivered racing just as exciting as one another, so multiplayer and single player fans are both very well catered for. The graphics are perhaps where the game is lacking a little in comparison to Motorstorm, but great graphics do not a good game make - I can't knock them for the graphics because of this. They're still very good and do the job - in particular, some of the huge courses do have some impressive sense of scale to them, especially when your rider is mid-air, performing a trick. Overall, I would highly recommend this game. It provides one of the most fun MX racing experiences available today.

Racedriver: GRID (PS3) review

Race Driver : GRID is an odd sort..... on the one hand, there are lots of impressive features - most of which comes down to the excellent structure of the career mode, which is the most engaging of any racing game I have played since the first mighty Gran Turismo. Never since then, have I played a racing game where the career mode really does have you on the edge of your seat. GRID pulls this off with aplomb, and I don't think you'll find a dull moment in there. However, on the other hand, there are some problems with the game. First of all - non customisable cars. This is almost a staple of any racing game now, so when it's not there, it's VERY noticable. Add to that a rather limited selection of cars (especially when you think that Forza 3 has 400, and the next Gran Turismo is rumoured to have over 1000) and it really is noticable that you can't do much with your car once you've bought it. Some of the camera angles feel odd too - it has this odd "sway" motion behind the car which I didn't like at all. The AI of the CPU racers is also a little questionable. They have a habit of cutting you up badly as you approach, and we're not talking about defending a racing line, we're just talking about a car that looks as though it's on a set course, and no matter what is going on around it, it holds true. This can be frustrating when you know you have more speed and a human racer would yield the place, but it's not a big enough problem to really downmark the title. The graphics are quite nice, with the damage modelling on cars being very good. The actual race tracks and their surroundings are also done quite nicely - not groundbreaking but not unpleasant either. Overall, I'd give GRID a look if you like racing games in general... if you're a rare racer though, I'd go for something much better like Forza or Gran Turismo.

Burnout Paradise (PS3) review

I think I'm one of the few people that just couldn't get along with Burnout Paradise. Burnout 2 was the very best in the series in my opinion, before EA got their hands on criterion and added all that "crash radio" rubbish that's been infecting the games since Burnout 3. Not that the Burnout games have all been bad since then, far from it, but certainly, this latest Burnout Paradise just misses the mark for me, a lot more than the others did too. It's not that it's a bad game, there are definitely some fun elements, it's that I've seen how good Burnout can be, and I have a yearning for it to be that good again. It seems with each release of a Burnout game, we get further and further away from what I expect from a Burnout game, and that's probably my own rose tinted spectacles looking at Burnout 2 again. The first and most disappointing loss of a feature from Burnout 2 onwards, was the local leaderboards feature. Basically, on Burnout 1 and 2 (with the crash junctions in particular) if you set a high score, it would then be up to other people in your house, or your friends who played on your console, to beat that score. However, when Burnout 3 was introduced with Xbox Live features, this was removed, favouring a system of keeping track of only your own personal score. It didn't locally compare your scores, it would only compare them with other Live users, which sucked for me quite honestly. It really ruined a good thing in Burnout 2, as it really was the game to play amongst me and my friends for a long time. Paradise continues this theme, so still no local scoreboards. The crash junctions have also been severely messed around with in Paradise... I don't want bonus pick ups, I don't want to have to spin in a circle and pinball off of cars - I just want to be pointed in the right direction with a nitro, a ramp and a junction of cars and buses to smash. That's what Burnout was all about for me, and Paradise drifts further from this formula than any of the predecessors since Burnout 3. The racing is the most fun element of Paradise - you of course have takedowns, which was admittedly a great element introduced from 3 onwards, and these are as much fun as they always were... especially if the person you're taking down is either a human opponent, or a CPU racer that smashed you up earlier. It's very gratifying, and the graphics and sounds of your cars falling to smithereens are excellent. There is a lot to do in Paradise, but as a fan of the series, I can't help but compare it to my favourite series entries and wonder what could have been. It's worth giving the game a go, for sure, as you'll probably be one of the many that really do love it, unlike me who just has rose tinted spectacles for what once was....

Stuntman: Ignition (PS3) review

I loved the first Stuntman game for the PS2, so was watching this sequel with interest when I heard of it's impending release. I'm happy to report that they did a great job with it actually. The missions are all exciting and put together very well, being based on some very popular and amazing well-known movie action sequences. Graphically, this sequel doesn't make any huge leaps compared to other games on the platform, though it is undoubtedly an improvement since the last game. They seem to have tamed the missions too. The first Stuntman was a game of real trial and error and perseverence. This sequel is too, but it seems more fun and far less of a chore repeating a missions section again and again to get it right and finally pass it. There are still some frustrations there, but then I think this is just the nature of this type of game where you are trying to perfect a stunt which does take several goes anyway. For me, it works - the game is a triumph. Anyone with a PS3 and interest in action or driving games should find a lot to like here.

Colin McRae: DiRT (PS3) review

Boy, are Codemasters good at this. Rally games. Dirt is without doubt one of the best looking driving games available, particularly in the area of damage modelling which is superbly realistic. This game is worth it just to experience that rush of barrelling down a dirt track at x-hundred miles an hour and then watching in horror as you get it wrong and your ride takes flight, ending up in a crumpled heap. It's most definitely far better than the recently resurrected Sega Rally, and is a game that any driving game fan should definitely experience. The visuals, sounds and controls are all of the sharpest calibre, and I promise you, you won't regret it. Buy this or at least give it the rental it deserves. RIP Colin.

Colin McRae: DiRT (Xbox 360) review

Boy, are Codemasters good at this. Rally games. Dirt is without doubt one of the best looking driving games available, particularly in the area of damage modelling which is superbly realistic. This game is worth it just to experience that rush of barrelling down a dirt track at x-hundred miles an hour and then watching in horror as you get it wrong and your ride takes flight, ending up in a crumpled heap. It's most definitely far better than the recently resurrected Sega Rally, and is a game that any driving game fan should definitely experience. The visuals, sounds and controls are all of the sharpest calibre, and I promise you, you won't regret it. Buy this or at least give it the rental it deserves. RIP Colin.

Sega Rally (PS3) review

Oh dear!? What a missed opportunity.... Sega Rally was always one of my favourite racers back in the day, and even Sega Rally 2 on release with the Dreamcast was amazing too. This one though? It feels like a very overpriced graphically updated version of the original game. Whilst the graphics are nice, they're not even close to the amazing graphics from Dirt - one of it's clear competitors. That's about the only thing that's been updated, since the lack of any great amount of car or track selection is what makes this stand out, in a BAD way of course. Why on earth they didn't offer just a few more cars and tracks is beyond me... Overall, if you like rally games and liked the original Sega Rally, it's probably worth playing as a rental, but for goodness sake, don't buy it with real hard earned money. That would just be silly.

Sega Rally (Xbox 360) review

Oh dear!? What a missed opportunity.... Sega Rally was always one of my favourite racers back in the day, and even Sega Rally 2 on release with the Dreamcast was amazing too. This one though? It feels like a very overpriced graphically updated version of the original game. Whilst the graphics are nice, they're not even close to the amazing graphics from Dirt - one of it's clear competitors. That's about the only thing that's been updated, since the lack of any great amount of car or track selection is what makes this stand out, in a BAD way of course. Why on earth they didn't offer just a few more cars and tracks is beyond me... Overall, if you like rally games and liked the original Sega Rally, it's probably worth playing as a rental, but for goodness sake, don't buy it with real hard earned money. That would just be silly.