Gamerscore Blog Road Tour in Toronto
Last night the guys over at Gamerscore blog continued their Road Tour, this time making their sole stop north of the boarder. While the event was mostly aimed at getting to meet both the Gamerscore folks, as well as other community members from the local area, they were showing of a few games as well.
While the night started off with Forza 2, Shadowrun, Halo2 PC, Guitar Hero II and Project Sylpheed, it wasn't too long before most of the 360s got switched to XBLA titles. Of the four XBLA titles they were showing, the only one I didn't get a chance to play was Carcassonne which really you need more time than was available to give it a thorough try. Here are some thoughts of the games I did try:
Mad Tracks
I've tried the PC version of this a couple of times, so I knew basically what to expect. The game has certainly made the jump to the 360 with grace. Playing a four player split screen race is certainly going to be worth the 800 points alone. Add the fact that this game will support multiplayer over Xbox Live, and it becomes a must get title. If you don't have this on your day one purchase list, stop reading this right now and get yourself a pen.
An interesting thing to note is that I was able to give this game a go with the Microsoft Wheel. While it does work with it, and provide some resistance to turns, there is no feedback provided when slamming into walls. While some people there had issues with how sensitive the control with the wheel is, with a little practice you should be fine.
Undertow
Going in, I was expecting to be blown away by this title. Unfortunately, I was not. That is not to say that Undertow isn't a good game, but rather it just seems to miss the target in a couple of areas. The first thing that you are going to notice when you start up the game is just how fantastic it looks, you can really see the difference that a completed version of the UE3 engine makes compared to the in development version that Roboblitz used. While graphics are one of Undertow's strong points, it also leads to one of it's downfalls. The backgrounds look so good, that it's hard to tell what's part of the background, and what's an opening that you are supposed to be going through.
A couple things that have to be remembered though are two of the big selling points of the game weren't available. The Live integration obviously wasn't available. Also due to the setting, it was somewhat hard to hear the fantastic audio.
Track and Field
Before you skip over this part thinking that this is just another retro title, know this: This title was probably played more last night than any other. Track and Field is exactly what you remember, franticly mashing buttons sitting around with three of your friends. While the enhancements are pretty standard, one funny thing I noticed is the dust cloud effect used when landing in the long jump, the effect alone looks pretty good, but when mixed with the retro graphics, it looks pretty silly.
All in all it was a great event, and I loved being able to meet up with people who I've only ever been in contact with through e-mail. Meeting other Canadian community members was also fantastic, well...except for Big Slanky Jerk, who obviously cheats at Mad Tracks!! :)
Comments
Hexxagonal
23061
Mad Tracks and Undertow... you lucky dog Tomacco. How was project sylpheed? What did you think about Shadowrun also... I can't see that playing well in that sort of setting. You REALLY need to go through the tutorial to know what you're doing as it's really like being thrown into a flight sim without being given the flight manual if you haven't.
Keadin
48341
I got a chance to play Forza 2, Shadowrun, and Halo 2 PC at the event. All three games looked beautiful, but Forza took the cake in that department. When you adjust the camera to first-person view it's hard to tell it's a video game (cliche, ugh). Halo 2 looks signifigantly better using the DirectX 10 libraries and the high-res polish up. Shadowrun looks great as well, but is the runt of the three.
Although I'm a very bad racing gamer and can't control a C-class car for my life I would like to say that although the game was incredibly difficult for me to start (using the controller, not the wheel) I did start getting the hang of it and had alot of fun the whole time. The cars are hyper-realistic and very unforgiving, if you're a novice like myself it may take a while before you get the hang of this game.
Shadowrun was my favourite game of the night, very detailed combat when things start heating up. The Magic and Tech really work well to enhance the game. You find yourself start developing strategies around the abilities you can purchase and the weapons you can afford. I found a neat little combination of the enhanced reflexes (gives you a quick jolt across the map at lightning speeds), smoke (turns you transparent and invulnerable, but you can't fight), and a nice shotgun (it's a boomstick, no explanation needed). Combining the three I was able to sprint up close and blast an enemy before they could react. After I turn to smoke and disappear before teammates can get revenge. Very fun and there was no difference playing between 360 or PC.
Halo 2 played like it always has, but the controls were well placed and the Games for Windows guide (activated by the Home button on the keyboard) looked really cool. All the features you're used to as a 360 gamer are there and will integrate with your account seamlessly.
The event was a blast and it was great meeting everyone. Hope they do it again.
ImmortalWeapon7
10938
I remember some time back, Mad Tracks was originally not supposed to have online play. I guess having 8-player online is what caused the delay (and it seems to be worth it, because I had no original intention of getting it without online).
On the subject of Undertow - I'm honestly not suprised you weren't blown away by it. I'm an XBLA whore (I will hype just about EVERYTHING, as long as it's not super-retro or something), but I honestly don't get why there was this explosion of excitement for this game when it was first announced. I get it, it's under 50 mb, has full UE3 in place, 16 player MP online...I get it. It's pushing technical limits and stuff. It's got the pretty jiggabits, or whatever.
However, I haven't played it yet, so I really can't say much from personal experience on whether if the game is fun or not; but I'm simply not nearly as hyped for this title like all the other XBLA fanboys I know of seem to be. I'll be willing to try this out like all the other games I do, but when I do, I'll either feel the same, or put my foot in my mouth and enjoy (hopefully the latter).
And I'll be passing on Track & Field. I'm against buying Coin-Op Classics generally, unless they're given a major overhaul or not put in major collections. (Like Jetpac and TMNT) I figure I can buy the Konami and Namco collections for my DS, and get more games for less money. Simple put, I'd rather see more from the likes of NinjaBee and Klei than Namco or Midway or Konami, or any of them.
Tomacco
22869
Yup, Mad Tracks was all but done and was expected to be released mid-Sept. 2006, when they decided to hold it up in order to get the Online part going.
With Undertow, I'll admit that I was (and still am to a certain extent) one of the people hyping the game. I still think that when it's all said and done that a "Geometry Wars" style game underwater that includes online co-op, will be one of the best games out for the system.
Track and Field will be worth the expected $5 even if you only play the game when you've got a couple of friends over and a case of beer.
Xebec Prime
79485