Have you ever looked at a cellphone game and said to yourself “I’d really like to play this on a big screen”. Plenty of cellphone games are popular for their pickup and play style. Well Fruit Ninja Kinect is definitely one of those games but at what price are you willing to pay for it? They think 800 Microsoft points ($10) but what did we think is the better question.
Fruit Ninja Kinect’s offerings include an Arcade mode and Party mode. The first will let you play the arcade mode, unlocking new blade colors and backgrounds with certain highscores and challenges met. The second will let you play two-players co-operatively or competitively with a friend.
With the Xbox 306’s controller-less Kinect camera the game essentially is a no brainer to make for it. Instead of swiping your fingers on a tiny device or screen, you are now making full karate motions with your body. Everything from the original title works perfectly here and can be done in many new ways.
The real question is, is it fun? Yes, playing with a friend is easily entertaining and can really put a workout in depending on your efforts. The problem lies with the price tag of $10 for a game that runs you $.99 on your phone. Everything is essentially the same with the difference of flailing your arms around.
I like Fruit Ninja Kinect, hell it should have came to me sooner but it is hard to justify one of those pickup and play games that can easily get tiring after a couple of minutes for $10. Especially if the original is $.99. More features could easily make the price worth it and for those looking to get a party going with fun games this is one of them so don’t let the price be to much of a distraction because this game will create laughs.
It’s been awhile since I’ve played a game and thought it was a game changer in the industry for one reason or another. To be short Rage is a visual marvel which needs to be experienced by everyone! From the creators of Doom and Quake it has been some time since we’ve seen anything from id software and for good reason. The new id Tech 5 engine used for this game puts together some of the best visual styling and smooth gameplay I have ever seen.
Rage is a first person shooter that puts you in a post apocalyptic world hit from a asteroid. Your character was put in a cryogenic sleeping pod before the impact, only to be awoken in a world where most of everyone and everything is trying to kill you. As you progress you start to figure out why this is happening. From the start the world around you and people you encounter seem to tell it’s own story which lend to your progression. Cities are desolate, bandits are on the loose and deformed creatures are everywhere. This is the new earth.
While it is a First Person Shooter there are many more elements that benefit you along your travels. Your weapon arsenal includes multiple ammo types for different weapons, grenades, an RC car that acts as a bomb and a boomerang with blades that can be thrown to name a few. The weapons in the game feel, look and sound powerful. From the moment they gave me my first shotgun I knew that I hadn’t seen something this good in a long time. Items for various tasks can be crafted with certain ingredients that are picked up when exploring, along with different armors. Much of what you do is build a strategy surrounding your next objective.
The enemies you encounter in the game vary in difficulty and combat type. Some will try to straight attack you, while some have guns and will shoot at a distance. The AI was very clever when encountered. Shooting at some enemies will make them run scared behind cover, shooting some in certain areas on their body will make them clinch while still trying to fire at you until they eventually bleed out. Every new enemy felt fresh, also given that ammo is not easy to come by. I found myself using almost every weapon then sticking to one which I don’t do very often in a shooter. Enemies also lend to their environment, narrower spaces vs big corridors are different and they know that.
Fortunately it’s not always you against the world as there are a couple of towns while navigating that have people trying to get by with what little they have. Vendors and people needed someone to get a job done for them is what you will find, so there is no shorter of side quests. As towns and territories seem to be spread out in the open world the use of a buggy or other type of vehicles are preferred for travel. Bandits in towers and vehicles are constantly trying to intercept you so upgrading your vehicle will become essential.
Like Quake and Doom id software really knows how to create a certain fear element in their games. This game isn’t necessarily scary but the mutated creatures are done so well that they do seem frightening at times.
Car combat actually takes a large role in the game which all offer something different. Aside the 4×4 in the beginning of the game which seemed a bit robotic, all the vehicles handle well in the terrains. Missions involving your vehicle, car combat and races are all apart of the games overall package, never feeling like an attempt but more like a good break from the FPS mechanics every once and awhile.
Surprisingly your standard online components do not make the rounds and have been traded for car combat modes. Free for all is a deathmatch with vehicles, while the other two focus on you collecting objects and taking it to goal or collecting objects consecutively. They all work well with the ability to unlock higher vehicle types, weapons and models by leveling as you go. There is also a co-op mode which will let you and a friend go through mini missions mowing down enemies for points while reaching the end goal. This is done with the FPS mechanics of the game.
Rage is easily one of the most impressive games I’ve ever played. While the story never gave me that element of entertainment I was looking for, it is only because everything else is so good. Great weapons, open worlds, multiplayer and car combat keeps the game going. Drop dead gorgeous graphics in 60 frames per second outside of Call of Duty this console cycle. Other multiplayer modes would have been nice as well but more for the future. Rage is a perfect way to showcase what this generation of consoles can do with a new engine and if done correctly could be a standard for games to come.
For the price of a pre-order of a game, fast food burger or even a soda out of a vending machine, the Humble Bundle team lets the people choose how much they want to pay for a game. This time around you may actually want to bundle up for this slate of Humble Bundle games.
The newest Humble Bundle is titled “Frozen Synapse” in honor of the headliner game. For the next 14 days, gamers of all age variants, and fund levels, can log on to the site and purchase the Frozen Synapse game for as low as $0.01 or as high as, well, $1,204 as did ExpiredPopsicle (that amount is not the cap, but it is currently the second highest single payment. There’s a new sheriff in town, user “notch” upped the ante to an even $2,000 making “notch” the highest amount donated.
The game, Frozen Synapse, normally retails for $25 when bought from the manufacturer site. Any purchase amount under $25 from Humble Bundle will be a deal. If the game is purchased for, currently, higher than the average of $4.54 (even one cent), an additional “Frozenbyte” bundle will be added to the purchase.
The “Frozenbyte” pack will give gamers four and a third games in addition to Frozen Synapse. Players will receive Trine, side-scrolling adventure game available in the previous bundle, Shadowgrounds: Survivor, the sequel to the original Shadowgrounds, the original Shadowgrounds, a pre-order for the full version of Splot, another sidescroller, and the demo for Jack Claw (here’s where the “third” comes in). Purchased separately, “Frozenbyte” bundle included, any given person would be spending $70.
If you don’t think you’ll like the game, even for one cent, go on to the game’s website and download the trial of the game. As a Mac user, I know how it feels like to be thrown under the bus for compatibility in games, Microsoft Flight Simulator. There should be no worries this time around as the Humble team (no pun intended, or was it?) have introduced Linux to the current compatibility list.
If you don’t know how or why Humble Bundle works like this, go ahead and read this article, it should get you up to speed.
Each time the bundle is up for purchase, it lasts for 14 days. There are 12 days and umpteen hours left to go and get this bundle, so act fast!
Also, let’s not forget the games are DRM-free, so you can download them as many times as you need to (hopefully it’s not more than once… unless your computer hits the tank).
Xerath the Magus Ascendant, and the Nine Tails Fox will be coming to the League of Legends roster. The new characters will be magic based with new and interesting moves. Unfortunately the Nine Tails Fox is still in early production so not much is known about her other than she will have fox fire magic abilities and use her nine tails in battles. As for Xerath, his lore and abilities are listed below. Lore:
In the ancient civilization of Shurima, the mage called Xerath practiced magic with undying passion. He believed that with enough magical power, he could gaze into the heart of Runeterra to know the secrets of history and the universe beyond. Such magic was beyond the limitations of a mortal body, but Xerath obsessively pursued a path to infinite power nonetheless. With every breakthrough he grew more and more powerful, yet not without consequence. Xerath’s increasing arcane abilities wrought havoc on his physical form. Desperate, he undertook a dangerous ritual to transcend his dying body. The outcome would be immortality or self-destruction. Violent magic unleashed during the ritual caused devastation throughout Shurima, but when the dust settled, Xerath emerged as an ascended being of pure arcane energy.
Free of flesh and bone, Xerath held nearly infinite power at his command. However, in the wake of his chaotic ritual, the mages of Shurima feared his careless disregard for life would bring ruin to the kingdom. After a terrible struggle they subdued Xerath, but they could not destroy his ascended form. Instead they trapped him within an enchanted sarcophagus and sealed him in an underground tomb. Eons passed, civilizations rose and fell, and Xerath’s imprisonment was lost to memory. For centuries, Xerath’s vast power tore away at the sarcophagus and weakened its spell. Finally, he willed forth a burst of magic that shattered his prison, but its core remained, containing Xerath and his power within its broken pieces. Seeking to rid himself of this burden, he was drawn to the magic of Valoran’s nexuses and found he could absorb their power. Yet the nexuses had gatekeepers: petty mages known as summoners. Xerath knew his key to true freedom from his prison lay in gaining their trust, and he offered his power to the League of Legends.
Abilities: Ascended Form (Passive): Xerath feeds on arcane power, making him increasingly resilient to physical harm. He converts a percentage of his Ability Power into Armor. Arcanopulse: Fires a long-range beam of energy, dealing magic damage to all targets hit. Locus of Power: Xerath anchors himself to source of magical power, increasing the range of all spells and granting him bonus % Magic Penetration. Although he is immobilized while Locus of Power is active, his movement speed increases upon disabling the ability. Mage Chains: Deals magic damage to an enemy and marks them with Unstable Magic. The next spell Xerath strikes this enemy with stuns them. Arcane Barrage: Calls down a blast of arcane energy, dealing magic damage to all enemies in an area. May be cast up to three times before going on cooldown.
One of the most anticipated Call of Duty killer games has finally hit open beta. Battlefield 3 today hits Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC today. If you haven’t already downloaded it I would do so now. Playstation 3 owners will have to wait a little longer until after the update comes out this today.
It’s been quite some time since I’ve played Diablo, and jumping straight back into the Diablo world it felt like like I was playing Diablo 2 with a lot of upgrades. The graphics of the game have been upgraded to today’s standards and the music seems as though they took it right out of Diablo 2, polished it so it’s nice and shiny and stuck it directly into Diablo 3. Blizzard has done great job at first glance at capturing the feel and sounds of the Diablo franchise, but how does it play?
There’s many different characters to use in Diablo 3, ranging from Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Witch Doctor, Wizard, and Monk. For my first run through of the demo I decided to go with a ranged character with a bit of a darkness. The Demon Hunter seemed like a good start, relying more on weapons than mana, and seeming to have a strong offensive skill set to play around with. Character customization comes in the forms of armor and accessories you pick up within the game. Besides picking a female or male character in the game, and which class you want to play as, the character creation is really limited. Of course it can go without being said that with so much game play and story to be told in the game I really don’t mind it.
Character skills are a little different as well. Characters will have six active and three passive skills. These slots open up with new levels but start out with two actives, and gains one additional skill at 6, 12, 18, and 24. The passive skills are available at levels 10, 20, and 30. Unfortunately the demo only enabled players to go up to level 13, capping us a little under half way of the characters full potential.
Within the demo we had the experience of using the Auction House, utilize artisans, and hire companions to align against the powers of evil. The auction house runs very similar to the World of Warcraft auction house where players are able to sort through class types, weapon types, armor types, and items. Currently the auction house is gold items only, but it works for what it’s worth. The artisan that was available for testing was the blacksmith Haedrig Eamon, although he had many things to craft, unfortunately there really wasn’t much other than armor for my Demon Hunter. Within the dungeons of New Tristam I found a tome for a new dagger, and loose pages where you combine up to five to form a tomb to increase the level of your artisan. I have a feeling that the development of your different artisans will play a huge role in this game considering how much work they’ve put into Haedrig just for the demo itself. Lastly in the demo which played a pretty neat role was the companion. The companion they introduced was a templar, a holy knight that specialized in spears/polearms and shields. The templar introduced gave some increasing depth into the story. Allowing the templar to play as the tank role in the party and the Demon Hunter to assist from the outside made the game play much faster and it felt like the game was almost on autopilot. The companion also has random interactions with your character, asking different questions like how life is like as a templar, what happens to people who steal from their town, etc.
Besides all of the great things with the game there was one small problem that I encountered in the game which was lag, that only really appeared during some downtime of when Battle.net was doing some work on their servers. I’m not surprised that there was lag since it’s still a beta and the game’s servers may still be a little unstable. Besides just that the demo was fun and refreshing at the same time. Diablo 3 has been and still will be on my radar for games to pick up for PC. There have been rumors going around that it’ll hit consoles eventually, but still a classic game like Diablo 3 is definitely meant to be played on PC. If anyone is looking to pick up a PC game with tons of action and challenges Diablo 3 will be right up your ally.
If you can remember going to the Laundromat and scavenging in your parents’ belongings for quarters to play on the arcade machines, you’re not alone. The new Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection presses the nostalgia button on gamers young and old.
The collection, cleverly titled “kollection” in accordance to regular Mortal Kombat practice, allows gamers to take a shot at climbing the challenge towers of Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Each separate game allows for the challenge of a second player, no coins necessary.
Gameplay
The gameplay is not what you’d expect if you played the most recent Mortal Kombat game for the next-gen consoles. The younger generation won’t be hit with the nostalgia as much, but with this game, they can see what Mortal Kombat has evolved from.
One of the great feelings is being able to choose your character and hear the deep voice in the background say the name of the character in your preparation to fight. Mortal Kombat allows you to choose any of 10 characters. You heard me correct, 10 characters. This is how it all started and sometimes it feels good to go back and not feel overwhelmed with options.
Mortal Kombat II comes in and allows the player to choose from 12 characters..
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 allows for the use of more characters, but I’ll leave the screenshot out because some of them could be spoilers (they have to be unlocked).
Once the game is started, the controls don’t seem to be clear. The game makes use of the entire Xbox 360 controller, but that’s unknown to a person who just wants to pick up the game and play. Pressing the “back” button accesses the game’s menu to which “Help & Options” can be selected and from there, the game’s controls are found. Unbeknownst to myself, holding left (when on the left side of the screen) on the directional pad is not the block button. The game makes use of the right trigger in order for the character to block. Each face button has a different use ranging from directional kicks to punches. Yelling the phrase “Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater” is about the cleanest phrase I’ve yelled out while playing.
While playing, you get reminded of how difficult the game actually is. Like any other cheate—I mean, lover of simplicity, would say, using the move list is extremely helpful. Though, as I found out on Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, playing on Easy and trying to access the move list cannot be done.
I still think Jade is a cheater (she almost got a perfection while I played…on easy).
Mortal Kombat fans will be enthused to know that insane uppercuts in Mortal Kombat II and in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 will yield to the appearance of Dan Forden who is still in the game with his coined “Toasty!” or whatever it is you believe he says.
Still in the game, as if Mortal Kombat could be Mortal Kombat without it, are the fatalities. There’s nothing better than beating your ridiculously difficult AI opponent and having the ability to perform a fatality on him. A quick press of the back button and search on the moves list will get you the perfect combo for a fatality, babality, fergality, or even a friendship…friendship? (see what I did there?)
Sounds
The sounds of the game aren’t crisp and clear, but that’s done purposely. To give it the arcade effect, the sounds of the game remain muffled-sounding and retain the feel for an arcade machine. The deep voiceover is still there, as previously mentioned, and players hits go hand-in-hand with grunts and other various noises you’d regularly hear during tennis matches. The downfalls to the sounds, however, are that sometimes after trying to do a combo or finishing one, you still hear grunts. This is all after your character has finished attacking and is standing still. I can never get over the good ol’ classic, “Get over here!” so I think Scorpion is going to be a hot choice for me.
Also, it should be noted that if the game is left on idle for a while and you forget the game is running, the soundtrack started to resemble that of Sonic the Hedgehog…interesting.
Online
The online gameplay was a good idea on the part of Midway, if that’s what they’re even referred to as anymore, but it seems as though it could use work. Some online games lag, much like others, but with a fighting game, timing is important. Being able to press buttons in certain combinations, uninterrupted, is key to winning matches. Some online matches are funny. There may not be communication via Xbox Live headsets, fortunately, but in-game motions are enough to show player frustration. I found myself in one match where both of our characters kept blocking because we didn’t want to attack first.
Another issue with the online play is the ranking system. The way people rank is through basic win/loss of games, but it doesn’t get more specific than that. Switching between the games doesn’t seem to change your rank. In the sense that if you have a score of 2014 while playing Mortal Kombat II and you switch to Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, your score shall remain at 2014. There’s no real telling who is best at any game.
Overall Thoughts
The game brings a lot to the table in terms of nostalgia and gameplay, but it lacks in other aspects. It would have been great to see a revamped version of the game as opposed to a complete port from the arcade classics. No, it isn’t a bad thing that the game was a direct port, but it would have been interesting to see the difference between the arcade game and a polished version. If they had more time to complete the game, it would have been interesting to have an option like the new Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition has, one button graphics change.
The game is fun if you’re playing alone or with others. Alone, of course, you’ll be dealing with the trials and tribulations of difficult AI whereas against other people you have a better chance of winning. If you have 800 Microsoft Points just lying in your account, might as well take to picking the game up. Quite frankly I would wait till the game is on sale, even at $7.99 it would be a good steal. For someone who is going from the new Mortal Kombat to this won’t feel like it was worth the money. Fans who have been with the game from the beginning, you won’t be disappointed, frustration and all.
After many months of waiting and anticipation, Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) finally has a release date.
BioWare and LucasArts have announced the official launch date on the game to be December 20, 2011 (just in time for Christmas or any other December holiday you celebrate). According to the SWTOR website, Ray Muzyka, co-founder of BioWare, said:
“This is an incredible moment for everyone at BioWare and our partners at LucasArts who have dedicated their lives to build this extraordinary game. We appreciate the patience from the millions of fans who have been waiting for the game’s release.”
Most people have their own personal views of pre-ordering games, but if this is one that you plan on picking up, it would be smart to do so. There are currently three different “tiers” of pre-orderable packages. The three editions are:
Star Wars: The Old Republic Collector’s Edition – The Collector’s Edition includes a host of virtual in-game and physical items for the ultimate Star Wars fan. . Physical items include a Darth Malgus Statue from Gentle Giant, the journal of Jedi Master Gnost Dural from Chronicle Books, The Music of The Old Republic soundtrack, a security key and a map of the in-game Star Wars galaxy. Virtual items include a Flare Gun, Training Droid, personal HoloDancer, HoloCam, the STAP vehicle and access to the Collector’s Store, an in-game store with new in-game items exclusively for owners of the Collector’s Edition. The Collector’s Edition will also include 30 days of game time and has an MSRP of $149.99 (USD) at participating retailers.
Star Wars: The Old Republic Digital Deluxe Edition – The Digital Deluxe Edition has an MSRP of $79.99 (USD) and includes 30 days of game time and five virtual items, including the Flare Gun, Training Droid, personal HoloDancer, HoloCam and the STAP vehicle.
Star Wars: The Old Republic Standard Edition– The base edition of the game is available at retailers and online for an MSRP of $59.99 (USD) and includes 30 days of game time.
Those who pre-order the game receive a code, presumably while supplies last, and will have the ability to enter the code onto the SWTOR website to gain early access to the game. If that’s not convincing enough to go out and pre-order the game, there might be one more thing to consider.
Instead of having to worry about what subscription package to choose, each game will come with 30 days of subscription time. When the 30 days are up, the available subscription packages are:
1 Month Subscription: $14.99 (£8.99/€12.99)
3 Month Subscription: $13.99 per month (one-time charge of $41.97/£25.17/€35.97)
6 Month Subscription: $12.99 per month (one-time charge of $77.94/£46.14/€65.94)
Be sure to go and get on the pre-order boat soon, you don’t want to miss out.
The Zombie Apocalypse seems to be all the rage these days so it’s only appropriate that we expand on it as much as possible and I feel like Dead Island does just that. The game can be looked at as a crossbreed between Fallout and Dead Rising. Does it live up to all the hype it received since its first trailer however? I think it more then does.
Set on a remote island off the coast of Papua New Guinea, you take the role of one of four characters. Each with their own backstory you wake up to find yourself amongst the living dead. Your character however does not get infected like the others so it is up to you to find out what is going on and find a way off the island. While traversing through the main game you can will span over huge open world environments. A resort, city and sewers are some of maps you will encounter. Taking on the story and tons of sidequests which will earn you money, experience points and items.
As you earn experience your character will go up levels and can use points on the three skill trees you have to work with. Each have a slightly different tree to work with but range from special abilities, weapon durability, and weapon damage bonus etc. Weapons lose their durability while hacking and slashing zombies. Workbenches can be found throughout the game that can repair, upgrade and even mod weapons. One of the big things to note is that while the game does have guns, it isn’t the main focus as melee combat is.
Dead Island has a great way of never making you feel alone and are constantly looking over your shoulder. You won’t go a couple of feet without running into a zombie and different ones at that. There are all kinds of zombies that are unique to one another. Big zombies that can knock you a couple of feet off the ground with one swing to full on sprinters. There will be no shorter of cutting off limbs and heads here.
The game looks gorgeous. Environments are crisp and zombie gore is on point! Listening to creaks and zombie grunting becomes essential for navigation.
Of course one of the games biggest features is the ability to play four player co-op with friends and or strangers. It is primarily easy to get into ones game or vis versa and your even able to join strangers in mid progress that are near you. All of this while playing smoothly on little to no lag. Nothing is better then taking on the zombie apocalypse with others.
Glitches have been known to be an issue in the game and was once riddled with bugs. Textures sometimes don’t load right away and have seen quite a few rag doll physics issues. A patch has been made to fix most of the issues and have not seen anything that would make me think otherwise.
Dead Island is one of those games that had me hooked from beginning to end. It was easily addicting and made me feel like I was apart of the island. Some glitches here and there and melee combat gets some getting used to but the reward is great as things can only get better from here. Four player co-op can’t be beat and should be the new standard for games like this. One of my favorite titles of the year so far and can’t wait for the future of the franchise.
I remember the first time I played Driver for the original Playstation. It might have been the first open world car game I ever played. I had never seen or experienced anything like that but times have changed and we seem to get more open world games then we know what to do with. So does Driver San Francisco bring on that type of innovation it did back then? Short answer yes and with a few other gameplay mechanics that actually surprised me.
Driver San Francisco puts you in the shoes of undercover cop Tanner which through a series of unfortunate events ends up in a coma. In his dream state he is unaware of such events and goes about the pursuit of a criminal mastermind on the loose but with one miner difference then before. He can now put himself into someone else’s shoes and drive their vehicle. The ability is called Shift and it’s the game’s biggest focus.
The Shift ability allows you to go from vehicle to vehicle within a matter of seconds. At first your able to simply get into other cars and take control but as you progress you will be able to get an overview of San Francisco, jump into any type of car and even transform it at the drop of a hat. While being able to look overhead at the map will allow you to do supporting missions and side quests that will earn you Willpower points. These points can be used to purchase vehicles, challenges and areas within the game.
The story is sort of bazaar with cutscenes that run in between gameplay but they do manage to have it all make sense .. mostly. The single player has alot of content in the open world to explore with over 120 licensed cars and 100 side quests. The single player is also very fluid running at 60 frames per second. I actually can’t remember the last racing game that ran at 60 frames that wasn’t Forza or Burnout? It is definitely a refreshing experience. Later on, side missions can get repetitive and the story might not be engaging enough, along with computer drivers behaving erratically that only slow you down can get frustrating (what car stops in the middle of an intersection in front of you while your doing 90 mph right through it?).
Surprisingly enough the multiplayer also has a ton of features and modes. 11 game modes in total which consist of regular races, shift races, cops and robbers. Alot of the game modes are unique like trailblazer which has opponents follow the gold car that leaves behind a trail which gives off points to those that stay directly behind it. Another is tag which acts as cat and mouse however those that are trying to tag the mouse can shift into other vehicles to try and capture them. Another is shift racing which will pit players in a checkpoint race but will allow anyone to shift into another car, so long as they don’t miss a checkpoint in the process. Along with these modes, qualifying rounds which differ from the game types are done before every race to determine their position. Experience points are awarded after every race depending on your stance on the podium. This will let you gain levels, give you access to more race types, more abilities and more cars. You can honestly burn alot of hours on the multiplayer alone.
There are some issues with the multiplayer which are not huge but stuff that should be worked out. Our biggest gripe with the multiplayer is that they kick it back to 30 frames per second. We wish there would have been some sort of option to tone some of the graphical elements to bring it back up to 60 or should have been optimized. Also the ability to transform your car into another vehicle all together poses problems on some game types later in levels. Getting into a checkpoint race that allows you to transform shift with someone that’s easily 5 levels or higher can pose as a problem since they will most likely turn into a car that is faster then you’ll see or get up until that point. Another issue is that some of these modes serve as teasers more then full fledge modes. Cops and Robbers seem to only allow you to shift into old cars when there are different types of cops in the game. With every open world driving game should be segmented races which would allow players to race to one end to another and the they can use the open world to get there however they see fit.
Driver also features the classic Directors Replay mode to view and record gameplay from the single player. This can be saved and even shared with others online. We only wish you didn’t have to exit the single player itself to actually start editing, in the least let you view while your playing. Would also be nice to have this option available for the multiplayer. None the less it has many options and can be quite entertaining, especially if you are a fan of racing replays like myself.
To be honest I have been pleasantly surprised with Driver San Francisco. It’s not easy to come back from semi-retirement or to make it as a racing franchise nowadays. With the Shift ability becoming its center stage innovation it will grab the attention of those that would not be fond to normal racing games. Lots of modes, single player runs in a smooth 60 fps, multiplayer has unique features and the director replays all the game alot of fun. Given the chance Driver San Francisco is not only nostalgia from the original but a well put together game which can see many improvements in future implementations.
