Kick it into fifth gear
1
ENTERTAINMENT 20 Friday October 29 - Thursday November 25 2010 KICK IT INTO FIFTH GEAR Alistair Charlton sits down to play one of the year’s biggest gaming releases, Gran Turismo 5 AFTER FOUR years of delays, Gran Turismo 5 will finally be re- leased this Christmas to a world of racing gamers drooling uncon- trollably at the game’s very men- tion. But will it claim pole position, or be relegated to the back of the grid? The River was lucky enough to spend some time with GT5 at the Eurogamer Expo in London. Nervously, I dropped myself into the seat, prodded the start button and promptly smashed a £140,000 Mercedes into a wall. I blame getting distracted by the broken gearstick. You can laugh if you like, every- one else did. Not the best of starts, but never fear, I quickly queued up again, this time for a control pad hooked up to a fancy new 3D television. After playing for just a few min- utes I can tell you with absolute certainty that driving a Ferrari 458 around the fearsome Nurburgring circuit in Germany is terrifying, ex- citing, incredibly difficult and very rewarding all at once. GT5 certainly lives up to its ta- gline of “The Real Driving Simula- tor”. It’s hugely rewarding when you get it right and encourages a lot of practice. The graphics are stupendous, the sound is much improved since GT4, which made cars sound like vacuum cleaners. “But what about the 3D?” I hear you cry. Well, it’s certainly there but the dodgy glasses didn’t fit. The whole experience left me cold. Sure, the steering wheel looks a bit closer than the road ahead, but then the lap time and race position jump even further out of the screen for no apparent reason. Colour me disappointed. It added nothing to what will un- doubtedly be one of the best games of the year. If you’ve enjoyed the previous GT games then you’ll know the score and probably have it preor- dered already, but if you’re new to the franchise, exercise a little cau- tion. It’s difficult, will require a lot of work, but rewards you like drifting around neon-lit cities simply can’t. The series has always been cel- ebrated for it’s attention to detail but GT5 blows all it’s predecessor’s out of the water. Gran Turismo 5 is a game of immense beau- ty and it plays just as good as it looks. Gran Turismo 5 is set for release this Christmas - RRP: £39.99 Gamers’ Corner Dominic Gabriel’s guide to the latest video game releases Rock Band 3 [PS3/Wii/360/DS] (October 29) THERE COMES a time when nearly every videogame series should be put to rest and left in the hall of fantastic ideas that defined an era. Thankfully that time hasn’t come just yet with the third major installment in the Rock Band series. The biggest changes to Rock Band 3 are multi-vocal tracks, carried over from The Beatles edition and the new pro-mode which aims to replicate the songs you play note for note. Sadly, to fully take advantage of this new mode you’ll have to shell out a hefty sum for some new accessories and instruments such as the Fender Mustang pro guitar which costs a whopping £125, without the game. The pro keyboard is thankfully cheaper at £70 but it hardly softens the blow to your wal- let when you have yet to buy the game. Factor in extra microphones along with cymbal pads for the drums and the spiralling cost to fully experience all the game has to of- fer will make even the richest of students burst into tears when one of the instruments inevita- bly ends up broken after a house party. Prices range from £40 to £120 via Play.com Def Jam Rapstar [PS3/Wii/360] (November 5) HIP-HOP centric gamers rejoice, the game that defines and encapsulates the genre has finally arrived. Hip-hop has in been tried in videogames before but there have been no games worth mentioning that actually capture the musical aspect of the genre Instead they focus on the thug nature that so often comes part and parcel with modern hip-hop culture. In respect to neglected fans of street poetry, 4mm Games decided to ditch the overused combat Hip-Hop vibe and instead focus solely on the music and the bragging culture of the genre. Giving us a game that comes as much more than just an urban version of Sony’s Singstar. The soundtrack to the game deserves to be applauded for the attention to detail in getting beats and full tracks from Hip-Hop legends such as Just Blaze, 2 Pac and many more. The game will also feature downloadable content including Tinie Tempah. Simply put, this game has something for every fan of urban music and it should not be slept on under any circumstances. £39.99 [with microphone] via Play.com tel: 020 8547 1547 Hardback Book Binding & Printing For Your Thesis & Dissertation 22 Eden Street, Kingston, KT1 1DN email: [email protected] Student discount available- ask in store for details The in-game graphics are near photo-realistic Re
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Game review, publish in The River on 29 October 2010
Transcript of Kick it into fifth gear
ENTERTAINMENT20 Friday October 29 - Thursday November 25 2010
KICK IT INTO FIFTH GEARAlistair Charlton sits down to play one of the year’s biggest gaming releases, Gran Turismo 5AFTER FOUR years of delays, Gran Turismo 5 will finally be re-leased this Christmas to a world of racing gamers drooling uncon-trollably at the game’s very men-tion.
But will it claim pole position, or be relegated to the back of the grid?
The River was lucky enough to spend some time with GT5 at the Eurogamer Expo in London.
Nervously, I dropped myself into the seat, prodded the start button and promptly smashed a £140,000 Mercedes into a wall.
I blame getting distracted by the broken gearstick.
You can laugh if you like, every-one else did.
Not the best of starts, but never fear, I quickly queued up again, this time for a control pad hooked up to a fancy new 3D television.
After playing for just a few min-utes I can tell you with absolute certainty that driving a Ferrari 458 around the fearsome Nurburgring
circuit in Germany is terrifying, ex-citing, incredibly difficult and very rewarding all at once.
GT5 certainly lives up to its ta-gline of “The Real Driving Simula-tor”.
It’s hugely rewarding when you get it right and encourages a lot of practice.
The graphics are stupendous, the sound is much improved since GT4, which made cars sound like vacuum cleaners.
“But what about the 3D?” I hear you cry.
Well, it’s certainly there but the dodgy glasses didn’t fit.
The whole experience left me cold.
Sure, the steering wheel looks a bit closer than the road ahead, but then the lap time and race position jump even further out of the screen for no apparent reason.
Colour me disappointed.It added nothing to what will un-
doubtedly be one of the best games of the year.
If you’ve enjoyed the previous GT games then you’ll know the score and probably have it preor-dered already, but if you’re new to the franchise, exercise a little cau-tion.
It’s difficult, will require a lot of work, but rewards you like drifting around neon-lit cities simply can’t.
The series has always been cel-ebrated for it’s attention to detail but GT5 blows all it’s predecessor’s out of the water.
Gran Turismo 5 is a game of immense beau-ty and it plays just as good as it looks.Gran Turismo 5 is set for release this Christmas - RRP: £39.99
Gamers’ CornerDominic Gabriel’s guide to the latest video game releasesRock Band 3 [PS3/Wii/360/DS] (October 29)
THERE COMES a time when nearly every videogame series should be put to rest and left in the hall of fantastic ideas that defined an era.
Thankfully that time hasn’t come just yet with the third major installment in the Rock Band series.
The biggest changes to Rock Band 3 are multi-vocal tracks, carried over from The Beatles edition and the new pro-mode which aims to replicate the songs you play note for note.
Sadly, to fully take advantage of this new mode you’ll have to shell out a hefty sum for some new accessories and instruments such as the Fender Mustang pro guitar which costs a whopping £125, without the game.
The pro keyboard is thankfully cheaper at £70 but it hardly softens the blow to your wal-let when you have yet to buy the game.
Factor in extra microphones along with cymbal pads for the drums and the spiralling cost to fully experience all the game has to of-fer will make even the richest of students burst into tears when one of the instruments inevita-bly ends up broken after a house party.
Prices range from £40 to £120 via Play.com
Def Jam Rapstar [PS3/Wii/360] (November 5)
HIP-HOP centric gamers rejoice, the game that defines and encapsulates the genre has finally arrived.
Hip-hop has in been tried in videogames before but there have been no games worth mentioning that actually capture the musical aspect of the genre
Instead they focus on the thug nature that so often comes part and parcel with modern hip-hop culture.
In respect to neglected fans of street poetry, 4mm Games decided to ditch the overused combat Hip-Hop vibe and instead focus solely on the music and the bragging culture of the genre.
Giving us a game that comes as much more than just an urban version of Sony’s Singstar.
The soundtrack to the game deserves to be applauded for the attention to detail in getting beats and full tracks from Hip-Hop legends such as Just Blaze, 2 Pac and many more.
The game will also feature downloadable content including Tinie Tempah.
Simply put, this game has something for every fan of urban music and it should not be slept on under any circumstances.
£39.99 [with microphone] via Play.comtel: 020 8547 1547
Hardback Book Binding& Printing For Your
Thesis & Dissertation
22 Eden Street, Kingston, KT1 1DNemail: [email protected]
Student discount available- ask in store for details
The in-game graphics are near photo-realistic
Rex
