| |
|
Having spent what's probably best described as a "significant" amount of time on Disgaea, I'm in need of something bite-sized. Disgaea is absolutely essential, though - I've finished the main story mode once, but got the normal bad ending, so need to go through it again. Then a few more times for all the other endings. It saves all your characters' levels and items when you finish, and allows you to keep upping the enemy difficulty (with corresponding upgrades to the rewards you receive), so it never gets dull.
And the Item World truly is an endless game. In my top three PS2 titles, without a doubt. Possibly takes the top spot.
But yeah, bite-sized gaming now. I'm a little burned out on strategy and need something more direct. So I've dug out a few older Xbox racing titles.
Rally Fusion is much better than I remember it being. It's nearer to Sega Rally than Colin McRae as far as rally games go - a proper arcade experience. The handling's a bit too stiff for comfort, but the structure of the game keeps you coming back. You're constantly opening new races up - time trials, circuit races, driving tests, hill climbs.., Excellent knockabout fun (and dirt cheap on a lot of websites now).
The other racing title that I've been spending time with is Sega GT. Surprised that none of the other Panzer Dragoon players here have mentioned this yet, seeing as it comes on the same disc (well, if you got the right console bundle). It's effectively a Gran Tourismo rip off, but is really a much better game than that in a lot of ways. For a start, it's beautiful. The only slightly odd thing about its looks is the colour choice - everything seems a bit too washed out. I'm presuming that it's an attempt to make the environments look more realistic, but the truth is that if you place it next to GT3, the Sony game comes out of the comparison better off. Unfortunate, because the level of detail and the solidity of the tracks in SGT is much more impressive. Shows what a difference the choice of colour scheme can make.
The handling is far superior to GT3, too. Analogue braking/acceleration is something that every driving title should have. Would have, presumably, if Sony's joypad wasn't so cheap. The same goes for the steering - the sticks on the Dual Shock controller are flimsy and horrible, especially compared to Microsoft's Controller S. But the point where the handling really becomes so much more impressive in Sega's game is when you notice the rumble. I'm convinced that it's the best use of joypad rumble yet - you feel everything going on inside the car. GT3 lets you know when you've hit something or gone over a rumble strip, but SGT gives you feedback on engine revs, tyre grip, loss of tyre grip, collisions, gravity, the lot. It's amazing.
And the way that car damage is handled is clever, too. Tyres need replacing, engines need work, cash needs to be spent if you hit anything during a race. It's a smart way of getting around the fact that car manufacturers won't allow visible damage in these games.
It's just a shame that the races are so much easier than those in GT3. Along with the fact that there just aren't as many of them, that's one of the only areas where GT3 beats it. |
|
|
