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Jonathan
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- Review count5
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- First reviewAugust 15, 2007
- Last reviewJanuary 3, 2012
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- Average rating4.2
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Jonathan's Reviews
Your hands tremble as they hover over the steering wheel. You relax your arms and let your hands fall instinctively into place. Your foot is aching with the anticipation of pushing the pedal to the floor. Your eyes are trained on the track as you mentally prepare for every twist and turn. You look left, then right. Your opponents are focused and silent. You see the flag being carried out. Any minute now. Adrenaline begins to pump through your body, and you tighten your grip on the wheel. This is it. You're about to go speeding forward into the world of Forza Motorsport.Rev your engine and prepare for a racing experience like never before when controller-based racing meets the freedom and interactive power of the Kinect. Get into gear with Forza Motorsport 4, the newest game to the Forza Motorsport franchise, featuring content from leading brands like Top Gear and many others. Use the Profile Import feature to automatically add gift cars to your garage based on your player level and cars in your garage in Forza Motorsport 3. Don't worry that all the hours of your hard work will go to waste ~ import the detailed layers and liveries you created in the Forza Motorsport 3 Livery Editor. With a history of top thrills and high ratings, Forza Motorsport 4 is sure to offer a realistic experience from tires to engine blocks.
Posted by: Jonathan
from Lawrence, Kansas
Forza has always been a step above in realistic handling physics, and Forza 4 is no exception. I race cars myself and have won karting and sports car championships, have done driving instruction for racing schools and SCCA, and worked professionally in the sport for a long time, so I have a lot to compare a game like this to on a "how close to real is it" stand point. I race a VW Rabbit in SCCA right now, and have used the Rabbit in the game to test setups, and the results on a macro level have been pretty close to correct. The one area where Forza 4 gets it as wrong as any game ever has is in longitudinal tire grip. Apparently, a Rabbit, acording to Forza, has enough power to roast the tires off the starting line for 50 yards and 2 gears. Um, no. I did a "burnout" in my Rabit after I won the title in 2010 and my black marks were all of 4 feet long. With sticky racing tires, there is no way that any of these cars are doing big burnouts like in the game. This problem transfers to trying to accelerate out of corners, and to braking. I don't know why programers think that a game isn't "real" if the brakes don't lock up instantly as soon as you touch the pedal, but it's just not accurate. I am very hard on my brakes, and with non-racing tires I can get some initial lockup, but then can release just a hint of pressure and get them back. In the game, once you've driven in deep and jumped on the brakes, if you get lockup you might as well just press the rewind button because you are going off the track. Being a good racecar driver means being great on the brakes, and this game doesn't give you the opportunity to do it, so until they can get that fixed, this is really an incomplete game. The feel of racing tires is like stretching a rubber band--it's all about stretching it to right before it breaks, but you can feel it tighten up and start to stretch the fibers just before the fail point. On corner exit and acceleration, you feather the throttle on to either push the front tires so they are breaking traction right to the edge of the track but not off, or that the rear tires are just on the edge between pushing forward or bringing the car around. And under braking, you are balancing right on the edge of lockup with the ability to cross over and bring it back at will, and easing off the brake at the moment necesary to start turning in for the corner, sometimes even trail-braking to keep load on the front tires. You might miss your line by 2 or 3 feet, but not by 50 like in the game. For all of the work they do to mke a racing sim, they are short of their goal until they can get longitudinal grip right. The new Pirelli tire modeling numbers they used has you affraid to touch the throttle even in fourth gear at 80 mph in a car with 600 HP, which with sticky racing tires just isn't a problem in real life. It also throws the handling physics into a fit if the car gets sideways with wheel spin--in real life you can feather the throttle under wheel spin and keep the rear end underneath you, but in the game the car will just start tank-slapping until the car and the physics settle into a "normal" condition. Now to the good, which is litterally everything else about the game. Adding more real race tracks and getting rid of fake and boring tracks like New York is the step they need to continue to keep moving the game to the next level. The track modeling with bumps and pavement charachteristics is very accurate. It realy turns more in to a true sim with every new release. The best of the additions is the head tracking, which is the game changer for all racing games to come. I turn the sensitivity to the max, and my natural head lean is picked up and allows me to look through the corner for the exit line like no other game has ever captured. This is key when trying to find the point to accelerate, because the moment you start accelerating, the car is going to start moving towards the outside of the track. If you can't see the outside of the track at exit, you are just guessing. Now, with head tracking, coming out of (what used to be) the last turn at Silverstone, you can look to the right and find the outside curb to see exactly when you can pick up the throttle. Just awesome, and it makes my other favorite racing games seem lacking without it. Despite my complaints, I highly recommend this game, and with the wheel controller and assists turned off, nothing will get you closer to being on track and perfeting your reflexes and feel. Congrats, Forza, on a great edition of the game. Now back to work to get better for the next one.
What's great about it: Head tracking is a game-changer for racing games
What's not so great: Excessive wheel spin and brake lockup
I would recommend this to a friend!
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SynopsisThe glamour. The exhilaration. The intensity. The speed. With drivers cruising a smooth 200mph ~ minimum ~ and cutthroat teams carving out dynasties of speed, Formula One is the most elite racing circle in the world and the most thrilling motorsport tearing up the tracks. Every curve of the track, every control on the dashboard and every strategy in the pit lane is of utmost importance in this intensified world ~ and it's all re-created in stunning detail and officially developed precision when you take on the Grand Prix in F1 2010.F1 2010 immerses you, not just in the driver's seat, but into the driver's complete experience, in the full-throttle FIA Formula One World Championship. The progressive racing game delivers the authentic thrills of the actual 2010 Championship, with exclusive licensing from the Formula One to bring you all of the stars and all of the cars to grace this year's Grand Prix. Take on the celebrity, the persistence and the challenges of real Formula One racers as you rip through all 19 tracks of the 2010 in vivid high definition, work under pressure in the pit lane and even interact with fans and rivals off the circuit. Driven by EGO Game Technology, F1 2010 gives you unequaled handling, cutting-edge graphics and advanced physics. Do you have the right ingredients to handle Formula One?
Posted by: Jonathan
from Lawrence, Kansas
I've been a fan of Codemasters racing games since the days of TOCA 2 and 3. They've done a good job with their next-gen offerings, but have not put out a pure racing sim with real cars on all real racing circuits until F1 2010. This game is a great sim combined with a story line-style career mode where even your answers to post-race interviews determines your ability to get contracts with teams in the future. I find it addicting to play, going back over and over to try a new track and bump my career stats up another level with a hope at signing with Ferrari for next season. The game AI is very customizable to create the challenge you'd like, whether it be handing beat downs to the competition to breeze through a career, or shooting for a real-life pro challenge where you might get knocked off of pole by a last lap run by the Red Bull cars. I highly recommend this game for people looking for a true racing sim. Only shortcomings I have for the game is that the drivers-eye view has limited peripheral vision which is important for tight turns and requires me to play with the roll-hoop cam mode, as well as tire pressure is not changeable and hot pressure and temps is not readable. But choosing your own pit strategy and tire strategy is a feature I've never seen in any other racing game, so my lack of getting to adjust tire pressure and read hot temps is made up in other cool features.
What's great about it: Darn near everything
What's not so great: limited vision in cockpit camera mode
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+13points
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Learn more about Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 - Xbox 360. (Flash demo) There is one name that shines brightest on the sports landscape: Tiger Woods. Enter the world of this once-in-a-generation athlete with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09. The latest version of the popular franchise amps up the passion, performance and power to keep you immersed in thrilling golfing action. Just like the man himself, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 charges hard and always gives 100 percent. Do you have the skills and strength necessary to enter Tiger's domain?In Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09, you no longer have to build up your character from scratch. Skills are set at the beginning of your career based on your skill level, and then go up and down based on your play, just like in real golf. Tiger's brilliant coach, Hank Haney, becomes your coach as well, and you can rely on him to help you continually improve your performance as you progress through each round. Use the club tuner to tune your clubs and maximize your swing for the most impressive results. Enhanced EA Sports GamerNet functionality lets you participate in Instant Challenges that punctuate each round with additional excitement. All-new online Simultaneous Play lets you play an entire four-person round in the same amount of time as a single-player game. You'll be able to tee off with your opponents and see their ball flight in line with yours.
Posted by: Jonathan
from Lawrence, Kansas
I wrote a review for TW08 on this sight last year complaining about the franchise being too cartoon-like in the career mode with having to buy "Pop's goofy knickers" in the pro shop to get better. I asked for the career mode to include practice and coaching to get better instead of strange clothes, and I must not have been alone because that is exactly what they did this year.
In this years TW's you are teamed up with legendary golf coach Hank Haney to work on your game. Sure, you can still find some fun items to purchase in the pro shop, but most of your improved ratings comes from practicing what your coach says you need improving on. Like most first years for a new idea, this has some improvements that will need to be made. For example, when I struggle on a drill and finaly get it right the drill is over and I get my improved rating. But actualy, I would rather keep practicing that shot after getting it right to keep honing in my shot-making skills, because you are going to need it out on the course in 09!
The reason the practice is so important this year is that the new equipment modeling is outstanding. As a golfer, I am familiar with all of this equipment and how it plays on the course, and just like real life, that new-fangled driver might make your drives longer, or just longer out-of-bounds. The brands and makes of equipment mimick what they do for your game in real life remarkably well.
You will have to refine your game before you can step up to the new equipment however, but making the perfect launch with that new driver would be very difficult without the new visual swing meeter. The meeter shows you both your back swing and your swing, and making an adjustment mid-swing may save your round, or even let you bail out on a bad back swing just like in real golf.
Overll, this is a great new direction for the Tiger Woods series, and I look forward to seeing the direction they go with in the future. My requests from EA going forward is to make practice actualy practice as well as more fun than just a chore, to open up all clothing options (at least at the completion of career mode) so that you can dress your online self in clothes that you would actualy wear instead of a bunny suit for online play, to make the pro shop more interactive (maybe an actual store you can walk around in) with help from a store clerck to help choose the right stuff for you as well as testing out the gear, an actual pairing for the PGA tour season events, and last but not least, to include some team competitions such as the Ryder Cup to create more fun playing options with the computer-generated versions of our favorite golfers we see play on Sundays. How great would it be to be teamed up with Tiger as a partner and actualy hear him say "Nice shot, kid!"
What's great about it: Feels like real golf when it's too cold/new visual swing meeter/improved equipment simulation
What's not so great: lack of actual training in training sessions
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Learn more about Assassin's Creed. (Flash demo) SynopsisYour name is Altair, and you are a deadly assassin living in the year 1191 AD. The Third Crusade is tearing the Holy Land apart, and you must take it upon yourself to become an agent of change and put a stop to the war. Your mastery of the skills, tactics and weapons of the world's most secret clan of warriors makes you the ideal person to defeat both sides of the conflict. Plan your attacks, strike without mercy and do whatever it takes to achieve your objectives.Assassin's Creed thrusts you into a living, breathing world in which your decisions and actions all have consequences. Relive the epic spectacle of the Crusades as you explore the Holy Land in the 12th century, complete with lifelike graphics loaded with subtle details and nuances. The intense action features fluid and precise animations as you do battle using a variety of medieval weapons. With an incredible blend of technology, emotion, violence and chaos, Assassin's Creed gives you the chance to shape events during a pivotal moment in human history.
Posted by: Jonathan
from Lawrence, Kansas
I basicaly just wanted to give this game a 5 star review because it would take me too long to tell you all of the things I love about it. All I can tell you is to try it and see if it's for you, because WOW I just think this is one of the top two or three games I've ever played. I've heard other people's criticism and understand, but what they didn't like I didn't notice at all. So try it, and if it's your bag you'll love it. I personaly can't wait for the sequal!
What's great about it: I love it--so different
What's not so great: none to me
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Learn more about Madden NFL 08. (Flash demo) SynopsisIn 1989, John Madden Football decleated its rivals, changing the face of football video games by being the first to offer authentic 11-on-11 action and player statistical ratings. Nineteen years later, the all-time longest-running sports franchise presents the most exciting edition to storm your living room. Madden NFL 08 is ready to fly off your screen with astounding next-generation graphics, in-depth play calling, amazing player likenesses and more that will thrust you into the world of professional football.Lead your favorite team to the Super Bowl as you manage your roster, customize your playbook and conquer a grueling schedule. Take the field as your favorite NFL superstars, and experience the rush of launching a game-winning pass or making a quarterback eat turf on fourth and goal. Relish the genuine sights and sounds of the NFL as you sprint for pay dirt in authentic stadiums. It's pain and passion; chemistry and catastrophe. It's watching your dreams go out on a stretcher and fighting for inches that feel like miles. It's the hard-hitting world of NFL football as only Madden can deliver.
Posted by: Jonathan
from Lawrence, Kansas
The last few years, Madden fans have been waiting for the gameplay to become more realistic. EA tried, and FAILED MISSERABLY with this offer. If you like left tackles that are kings of the "lookout block" (where instead of blocking the DE, you just yell "LOOKOUT" to the QB), 3 fumbles on the SAME PLAY to the point you run holding the "protect ball" button instead of sprint, and play-action passes that the defense never bites on, then by all means I hope you enjoy Madden 08. But if you long for a game that plays like REAL football, this is by far the worst offering they've had yet. The biggest attempt to make Madden 08 more realistic was smarter defensive backs--the only problem is, your recievers are as "dumb" as they've ever been. If the CBs can be smart and jump the route, a reciever should be smart enough to run the route in front of the safety and come back to the ball the way real recievers do as well. This makes the passing game so hard to execute that I expect Best Buy to sell a lot of new controllers after people throw thiers against the wall in disgust. I just honestly believe the people at EA are video game fans, and not SPORTS fans longing to make the most realistic game. If you are a "gamer" and love the challenge of a new version of Madden, you might be very well impressed with the new features and won't mind the gameplay. It has entertainment value as a video game with online play features and playing with a friend, but playing a franchise season with your favorite team will be a misserable experience.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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