FatCobra wrote:Although this is a forum where we talk about a genre that values old school Japanese gameplay above everything else, I'm curious to know if any of you are playing any games not crafted in the land of the rising sun. It seems lately that the Japanese developers are stumbling over themselves (except when they make a shmup), while American and European developers are making some stellar titles. True, no matter who makes them videogames are videogames, and anyone can make a stinker. But the tables seem to have turned...
Anyway, I rented Midnight Club 3 and was blown away by it. I liked it so much that today I ran out and bought it at full retail price. I know I have been stingy in the past and bitching about how most games today aren't worth 50 bucks, but this is a solid well made racing game, seeing as I haven't played the other entries in the series.
Strangely enough, this racer feels kinda shmuppy. No, your car doesn't blow up when you barely touch a wall or another racer, but there's alot of shmup elements I can see in this game. For starters, you have a ranking system of sorts. Powering up your car will make the other racers harder as well. It's a great feeling when my tricked out Lancer Evo VIII destroys the more expensive cars like the Lamborginis. The racers will try their best to win, and the traffic really seems out to get you. I think soccer moms in their minivans have something against street racers, because whenever I cross an intersection, a minivan comes out of nowhere and slams into my ride, unless I hit the zone power, which brings me to the special moves. If you've played Strikers 1945 II, Strikers 1999, or any shmup with charge shots, then these moves work in a similar way. You have the Zone power, which slows time down and makes your car or bike super manuverable, so you can dodge that semi Fast and Furious style or line yourself up for that jump. The tuners, sport bikes, and excotics have this. Then there's Roar, where you rev your engine so loud that it releases a shockwave and knocks any fool dumb enough to be in front of you. Muscle cars and choppers have this power. Last, but not least, is Argo, which basically like invincibality. Traffic and racers alike get tossed around like rag dogs and you keep going at full speed without flinching. The Trucks/SUVs and Luxury sedans have this. All vechiles have Nitrous, which is pretty obvious what that does, and you get a limited supply, just like bombs.
The racing is all twitch-based, you have to act on instinct. Knowing the layout beforehand helps, but many things can happen, espeically if you're racing online, which rocks by the way. Even just crusing around with other players is fun because you can check out each others' rides and just screw around. I like jumping the aircraft carrier in San Deigo and screaming "Turbo Boost!" Knight Rider fans will also like the fact that you can emulate KITT and suddenly drive up on two wheels. The customization doesn't hurt either.
Not bad for an American-made game. So what non-Japanese games have you all been playing?
I understand what your saying, but please don't say a racing game is "Shmup-like". I also find it very annoying when people claim that certain games have RPG's elements when they clearly don't.
ALso, "Roar" is actually almost a real thing!!!
For example, I've read at an automotive website that certain newer cars, namely Evo's suffer from loud pipes from bikes and muscle cars. It actually has something to do with an electronic sensor that detects vibrations, and some Mitsu's are known to actually stall out from this phenomnon.
Its also true that if I rev my Chevelle up enough, I can set off some sensitive car alarms! (in real life)
Fallout 2 in particular gave Morrowind a run for its money, and was in some ways worse (car trunk!).
