If you’ve never tried a game like this, it truly is an experience unlike any other racing game. Vehicles hover inches above the ground, and travel at blazing speeds. The lack of traction demands a deft hand to more or less aim these vehicles around the track as opposed to driving them, utilizing your steering, air brakes and something unthinkable in most racing games, letting go of the throttle, to avoid careening right into a wall.

"Matching your polarity to the wide variety of boost pads, jumps and checkpoints can make the difference between first and fifth."

Fast RMX continues this tradition of being easy to understand, but requiring skill to master. Both in the visual aesthetic and how the vehicles handle the game is most reminiscent of the Wipeout series, but without weapons the game becomes more about your own racing line than it is about eliminating the competition, and so has a skill focus more akin to F-Zero.

While clearly taking big inspiration in how the gameplay mechanics of Fast RMX work, they work a fantastic polarity system akin to infamous Treasure SHMUP Ikaruga into the game that fits surprisingly well. Interactive elements are peppered throughout each course in orange and blue varieties, with a tap of a button switching your ship between the two colours.

Matching your polarity to the wide variety of boost pads, jumps and checkpoints can make the difference between first and fifth, as failing to be the right colour at the right time will massively slow you down. It’s a simple yet engaging layer to the core racing, easy to grasp but trickier than you might think to pull off while flying down the circuit.

"When I fly off track from a poorly timed boost, that’s my bad, but when a Horizon: Zero Dawn reject trundling along happens to jump out in front of me, that feels rather cheap of the game."

These track elements are not the only way to get a leg up, there are pickups dotting the track that fill a boost meter activated with a tap. The items are usually placed near enough to the racing line to hint players to where they should go, helping subtly guide players into becoming better racers. Choosing when to boost puts another decision on the player, as going even faster isn’t always ideal.

Locales are fantastically varied, with many environments presented among the racetracks from forests, to deserts, to icecaps. Most of the tracks are very well designed and take great advantage of the polarity mechanic, weaving in tons of thrilling jumps and twists. However, more than a few have some obstacle, be it wandering mechs, rotating fans on a tube or something else, that more often than not become incredibly hard to see coming and correct for at speed. When I fly off track from a poorly timed boost, that’s my bad, but when a Horizon: Zero Dawn reject trundling along happens to jump out in front of me, that feels rather cheap of the game.

While the pace of the game and the resulting motion blur mean screenshots don’t really do the game a ton of justice, it’s really impressive just how much they were able to pull from the little Switch, the result being probably the most technically pretty game available on the platform. In single player I never noticed any drops from the 60 frames per second and while textures are simple, they’re colourful and pop off the screen. Weather effects believably react against vehicles and your screen, such as water droplets from rain.

"Time Trials are set to be patched in, but outside of the championship cup race the one option is Hero mode, which plays the same but demands perfection from the player."

While on the TV the resolution would bounce back and forth between 1080p and 900p and come across generally more blurry than standards i’ve been spoiled with on other systems, when the Switch is in handheld mode it can lock to 720p to become one of the best looking handheld games I’ve seen. The simplicity of the controls also play to the strengths of the platform, allowing single joycon play alongside any other configuration you would care to use for up to four player multiplayer.

The racing being so solid is great for the game, because currently there isn’t a lot more to it. Time Trials are set to be patched in, but outside of the championship cup race the one option is Hero mode, which plays the same but demands perfection from the player, calling on the skills and knowledge of the tracks they are expected to have learned in championship as a single crash will end your game. For either mode, the only real change to the gameplay loop is how you might manage your boost gauge in Hero mode, to be sure you have some to lose in a crash.

Despite the lack of modes, the core of the racing gameplay and the varied locations help maintain the kind of energy required for a quick race of a few extended cups. Occasionally cheap in difficulty but always exciting to play, Fast RMX is a great complement to the Switch library.

This game was reviewed on the Switch.

I wouldn’t be all too surprised if this is largely down to the consumer’s interest and how the demographic is changing as the motocross racer itself hasn’t done much to evolve and keep up within the last fifteen years or so, anyway. Players have changed, trends have come and gone, and for those who fail to keep up they will finish in last place. My thoughts towards this matter seemed rather evident prior to loading up the game.

MXGP 2 is in all shape and form a Milestone game. The game loads up, you’re given the choice of player name, nationality, vehicle and colour schemes, then as Milestone tradition would dictate there’s a loading screen for just about everything and every menu autosaves upon exit. This has been an issue with all of the studio’s previous titles. Loading takes far too long that which follows and the game chooses to save even when no changes have taken place.

"Players have changed, trends have come and gone, and for those who fail to keep up they will finish in last place."

So what does the game offer? It offers the Milestone formula. To those not familiar with the Milestone formula, what this essentially equates to is a breakdown of the following: An emulated racing career whereby you manage a team, race for money, and become the champion. Practice to your heart’s content in what’s known as Free Riding. Compete against time-based objectives within the game’s Time Session mode. And last but not least, Motocross of Nation: play as a real-life racer from your favourite given country and compete against those in simulated, annually events. There’s also an online-mode to take part in if that’s your thing.

All of these modes are pretty much what you would find in Milestone’s other titles, give or take a few tweaks for certain specifics of the game, and all of them deliver enough motivation and enjoyment to keep the player engaged. Motocross of Nation as it stands seems to be the only game mode that’s worth anybody’s time since it’s essentially the only differing aspect about the game when looking to other racers as a whole. Had I been initially interested in the game and my feelings towards it weren’t already decided then I could easily see myself investing a substantial amount of time into the game.

Once I began my first race one thing was immediate clear and it confirmed my initial feelings towards the game before going in: This is a game for motocross enthusiasts and ten-year old boys with water pistols and rebellious attitudes. That adrenaline rush, dirt and stones spitting from the track, rock music in your ears as you rip round corners. Hate to say it but it’s dated. It’s not appealing nor is it niche, it’s just plain, old and boring. The game lacks thrill. It’s deprived of personality and it’s presenting nothing of transition that allows it to feel modern nor accessible. I mean, the gameplay is fine. As one would expect there’s an adjustable difficulty setting for vehicle handling systems; ranking from beginner to professional. Physics play greatly into each of these handling models, since all of the bikes control as they should.

"This is a game for motocross enthusiasts and ten-year old boys with water pistols and rebellious attitudes."

The problem is, it feels exactly the same as those I’ve played in the past and I have yet to witness anything gameplay wise that makes it appealing to those outside the aforementioned demographic. Playing through MXGP 2 had me thinking primarily one thing: Motorstorm: Apocalypse, that was a good game, that needs a sequel. Differing somewhat from the racing style of MXGP 2, but one can see the similarities. There’s a bike, there’s rubble, and there’s motion blur. And frankly, that’s all the average Joe needs to see when his last deciding factor between the two games is one with a five-letter syllable, and the other being a literal translation for “Racing on judgement day”.

For the motocross enthusiasts out there, it doesn’t disappoint. The game offers up a variety of vehicles ranging from 250cc up to 450cc across 40 different manufacturers, and bordering twenty different tracks and stadiums to participate in there’s enough to keep players engaged. Following the tradition that Milestone bring to their titles, players can tweak, customize, and adjust their vehicles ranging from beginner paint choices right up to the enthusiast levels of switching out exhaust systems. This actually lends the game some weight for making the it feel your own and injecting your own sense of personality into the game which it doesn’t inherently bring. It also adds to the level of depth within the game’s vehicle handling mechanics which are in themselves simple enough to get on with, yet detailed enough to appease the hardcore fans.

Since the game also provides a selection of racers to play as all of who are mechanically based on their real-life counterparts, I’m sure the game caters well to those who know exactly what they’re doing and where each of these racer’s strengths and weaknesses lie. Unfortunately, this wasn’t apparent to me during gameplay and this probably has something to do with my personal preferences towards the game itself. There’s no doubting the differences and changes that each rider and vehicle brings to the table, but since my knowledge on such vehicles is the shortest distance of a straight-line between two points, my focus on actual gameplay was tied to the expectation of an adrenaline rush as opposed to the intricate detailing of bike mechanics.

"Playing through MXGP 2 had me thinking primarily one thing: Motorstorm: Apocalypse, that was a good game, that needs a sequel."

To be fair, the game should’ve provided me with this, yet it did not. If it wasn’t obvious enough, this seems to be my primary problem with the game as it’s such a basic and staple feature. MXGP 2 should be thriving with adrenaline, personality, culture, and a “Don’t give a damn” attitude. It delivers none. This partly extends to the game’s choice of music which I didn’t feel had given enough pump or vibe if you will, in delivering sense of immersion that you as the player is actually part of this motocross world and lifestyle.

In terms of the game’s A.I., I couldn’t overlook the unnatural stiffness of the competing riders. While I don’t expect the most absolute best of the best when it comes to animation quality and natural movements outside of leaning and turning, I didn’t feel as though as I was racing with riders that were convincing enough for me to be engaged. They’re fine for the races themselves and the competition is there to keep players on their toes, but the stiffness that the riders brought frankly didn’t do it for me.

"MXGP 2 should be thriving with adrenaline, personality, culture, and a “Don’t give a damn” attitude."

So where does the game stand visually and how does it perform? Well, it’ll do. Expressing this through a filtered perspective of taking the game for what it intends to be and who it’s appealing to, the “next-gen” visuals that other racing titles have brought are pretty much baron here, and truth be told I don’t think its audience will even care. Could it run on an Xbox 360? Easily. Is it available on the Xbox 360? No. And it’s sad to say, but given my thoughts towards the game appealing to ten year old boys which I’m pretty sure that a fair majority of them are still on last-generation consoles, it seems quite strange as to why it’s not available there.

But this is the PlayStation 4 version however, and given that it’s not impressive yet at the same time looks just fine, that’s all that can really be said about it. More crowds? sure. More dust physics? Go ahead. In terms of the graphical obsession we’ve all come to know and love in how many blades of grass can be rendered on the screen, I guess it could be improved. My concern however is frame-rate. Long story short, it’s a racer and it’s not sixty. Nor is it even stable. It’s not game-breaking and the die-hards won’t care, but if this is a concern for those who considered it, now you know.

"The graphical obsession we’ve all come to know and love of how many blades of grass can be rendered on the screen, I guess it could be improved. My concern however is frame-rate."

A great deal of what’s been said about the game may have one thinking I would’ve much preferred it to have been aborted mid-way through development. Not at all. The game is enjoyable, it provides enough replay value within its game modes to keep people entertained, and it plays remarkably well if you take it for what it is. What it doesn’t do unfortunately is deliver enough excitement or motivation for playing it if you’re not familiar with the genre, but are curious in getting your feet wet. Fans will play it and play it, over and over again. But truth be told, there’s no competing game on the market whereby players have a deciding factor to begin with.

Am I going to play this again? This genre thrived during the PlayStation 2 era and hung in there just long enough to entice the release of MX vs ATV: Alive and MX vs ATV: Reflex. Guess we should be thankful that we saw the release of MUD not to mention Fuel for the Xbox 360. So, no. The game is good and fans will take to it but the genre in itself needs some kind of drastic improvement or overhaul if it wishes to remain relevant.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

MotoGP15 is a similar case on both accounts. Taking notes from its predecessor while delivering a more authentic and solid experience that the series excels upon and does so well with, MotoGP 15 didn’t have to do much to impress me, it just had to fix what was wrong. Being the only studio that actually puts out games of this genre, Milestone S.r.l. doesn’t have any competition to be wary off. And while this may seem like a positive aspect for the studio, it also presents many challenges for them. Competition drives innovation, and innovation leads to new experiences.

" Competition drives innovation, and innovation leads to new experiences."

But if there’s no competition, slacking becomes prominent. Milestone S.r.l. is in competition with themselves. Which means I expect consistency while being delivered a new experience given their expertise in this area. MotoGP15 does attempt to achieve this and while it succeeds in certain aspects, primarily in the form of new game modes, it doesn’t provide a valid reason for those who have never been interested in the series to do so now.

MotoGP 15 has its audience but there’s nothing new that the game provides that will attract outsiders. The game brings back past game modes and those most common to racing games such as Championship, Grand Prix, Career, and Time Attack. All of which can be raced upon from a selection of over 20 bike models across 3 different classes, including those from all previous games in the series.

And while some of these traditional modes have undergone slight iterations with various online integration, the new additions come in the form of Real Events mode and Beat the Time. Real Events allows the player to relive past races from actual riders, while completing objectives and taking on challenges as they where actually performed by the appropriate rider. This is great news for hardcore fans of the game as well as motorcycle enthusiasts.

"Which means I expect consistency while being delivered a new experience given their expertise in this area."

While I didn’t fair so well taking on the challenges myself, the fact that it’s challenging encourages the player to continue and become better at the overall game. Beat the Time expands on this aspect of challenge as it requires the player to beat a specific time on a specific track with a specific bike.

While this somewhat diverts the players focus when aiming to master a specific bike in other game modes, it is enjoyable and it provides something else for the player to take part in. Where the soul of the game resides is within its Career mode. Creating a custom character consisting of gear, racing style, name, nationality, and gender, allows the player to have presence within the game and participate as a professional rider.

As the player works their way up by completing races, signing with teams, and participating in sponsor based contracts, they’ll earn reputation points in the form of money and fans. Rather than implementing a complicated menu system coupled by tabs and tables, the game seeks to immerse the player directly in to the game through the use of the riders cabin. Within this space the player can check their calendar for upcoming races, enter their bedroom to change their riders gear, and check their PC for emails from teams and contracts.

"Where the soul of the game resides is within its Career mode."

This is a unique touch and it goes a long a way in making the player feel immersed within the game’s world. While the additional game modes are great to see and is clearly something that enthusiasts will certainly be excited for, controls and gameplay mechanics is most likely where this specific audience is hoping to see changes and improvements.

MotoGP 15 is all about authenticity and realistic handling, and while this is tailorable for a more casual experience, the game encourages the player to progress with their skills so that they’re able to race on the top-end on the scale. Since the experience is configurable, players are given many choices in terms of racing aids, level of A.I., racing lines, brake assistance, vehicle damage, and physics simulation.

Although this works well in practice it can cause some issues when the player chooses to take part in a race which requires a different class of vehicle, or should they choose to customize or upgrade their custom bike. But this is all down to the learning aspects of the game as it means you’re required to adopt to new situations, something which will become very apparent with the games various weather conditions, when fitting incorrect tire types.

As mentioned previously, the A.I. of the competition varies depending on the player’s choosing of set difficulty, and while the it seems to fair well during the default difficulty setting, how it fares on easier and harder levels is where things can feel a tad bit random. Adjusting the game for an easier ride can cause the game’s A.I. to not pay attention in the existence of other racers on the track.

"This is a unique touch and it goes a long a way in making the player feel immersed within the game's world."

This is common to a fair number of racing games and it results in a simple manner of trying to finish the race as opposed to riding professionally. The lack of awareness is begging for a pun here, but I’ll willing to leave things be. Harder difficulties can result in a more challenging and enjoyable experience for those familiar with the series as well as those who are willing to put in the work and raise their skill level. This is where player A.I. becomes a bit more interesting as it deliver on the intended experience that the game wishes to deliver.

Something which becomes very obvious from the start of the game is the emphasis on motorcycling history. Throughout the games many loading screens and introductory videos, MotoGP 15 prides itself on presenting information on historical events, tips on racing with specific vehicles, and how to make the most of tuning your bike before heading out on to the track.

All of which proves to be helpful and aims to make the player a better rider. Graphical quality is where the game falls short, sadly. While it’s a step-up from its predecessor, it isn’t without its faults. Vehicle and character models are superb, there’s no doubt about it. Combined with cinematic camera angles and depth-of-field to top it off, the entrance to every race can be truly immersive.

Where this all seems to fall apart however, resides in the presentation of the race overall. Stadiums and tracks are appealing at first but it’s doesn’t take too long before you realize just how bland and lifeless these locations actually are. Ever since the release of Codemasters’ GRID 2 back in 2013, I’ve held it as the visual standard for every racing game that has come and gone since.

"This isn't done as a measurement of gameplay, authenticity, or graphical quality, but in terms of its visual presentation and the factor of immersion. "

This isn’t done as a measurement of gameplay, authenticity, or graphical quality, but in terms of its visual presentation and the factor of immersion. It has unique wow factor that a great number of racers seem to lack and it’s something that I wish more games would take note from.

MotoGP 15 is without a doubt a solid racer, unfortunately, it’s gasping for life. Cheering crowds, balloons in the air, helicopters flying above the stadium, smoke and particle effects. I could easily go on but it’s these small details specifically that made GRID 2 so appealing and so distinct from it’s competitors.

It had life, it thrived on immersion, and it breathed excitement. MotoGP 15 is bland. There’s no sense whatsoever that any of the environments the game presents to the player could be actual real-world locations. Almost everything within its environments resemble a movie prop. It’s quite painful to say this too, since the gameplay itself is truly amazing. Other aspects in the games visual department also fall short, primarily within its textures.

"Other aspects in the games visual department also fall short, primarily within its textures. "

As far as I can tell, anisotropic filtering looks to be rated at around 4X, it could be slightly higher but it’s not pleasing regardless. To put this in layman’s terms, everything outside the immediate vicinity of the rider isn’t too attractive to look at. Performance on the other hand seems to be fairly stable, something of which is much more important to the overall experience of the game.

Milestone S.r.l. has created a superb game, there’s plenty to do and there’s a reason to progress within all of its many game modes. While I’m pleased to see how much it’s improved from its predecessor, what I would like to see going forward with the series is a rise in visual quality. Authentic experiences are key to games of this nature but if they can only do this in the way of gameplay mechanics, they would’ve been better off by applying an update to the game that came before.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox One.

While I’m not the biggest fan of simulation based racing and I did find some entertainment from the game, I’d rather opt for MotorStorm as opposed to something along the lines of Forza or Gran Turismo, so it’s fair to say I gave it a chance. My thoughts and taste on the genre hasn’t changed since it’s initial installation.

During the run up to the launch of Milestone S.r.l’s newest title, my attraction to the genre begun to kick-in. Shiny surfaces, reflective helmets, impeccable lighting, and depth-of-field to die for, screenshots can tell a thousand words. Enter Ride, following a similar formula to the MotoGP series, Ride is all about fast bikes, tight corners, tucking and leaning, and competing in world tournaments.

" Shiny surfaces, reflective helmets, impeccable lighting, and depth-of-field to die for, screenshots can tell a thousand words. "

Upon entering the game the player is required to create and kit-out their rider,which will become their avatar for entering tournaments and competing in events. While My initial thoughts to this to this section of game seemed utterly pointless since I’ll be spending a fair amount of time concentrating on the intensity of races, while my rider is dressed head-to-toe in racing gear, rendering her actual appearance completely invisible. I did find some value in this section of the game and strangely enough I managed to embody my rider. Congrats Milestone.

Given fairly bland choices to decide from consisting of nationality, hair colour, gender, facial features, and body size, with all the terribly poor iterations of RPG mechanics being shoved in to every game that doesn’t seem to make an ounce of sense, I felt quite relieved. The only issue I came across within the customisation system was the non-existent choice in skin colour, given the vast amount of nationalities to pick from.

I wasn’t sure if this was simply a glitch or the developers forgot. Heck, maybe they ran out of space on the 25GB+ BLU RAY DISC. After gearing up my rider and selecting between one of three starter bikes, the game presents the player to the main menu, whereby a friendly narrator explains each of the game’s modes as well as the rules and regulations.

The game carries a fairly simplistic nature to everything the player will come across. I found this pleasing and friendly to get on board with as it makes the barrier of entry to newcomers quite welcoming and enticing. Browsing through each of the menus, right off the bat it’s clear, the heart, soul, and meat of the game resides within it’s world tour events.

"The only issue I came across within the customisation system was the non-existent choice in skin colour, given the vast amount of nationalities to pick from."

While a Quick Mode is available for players to dabble within, consisting of Single Race, Time Attack, and Practice, as one would expect given the standards of what a quick mode entails, I seeked no interest whatsoever with what this section had to offer. My Rider, Dealership, Teammates, Customise Bike, Online, and Elite Trophies are the only topics of noteworthy discussion here, with World Ranking and Options finalizing the menu.

Taking part in the game’s World Tour events works on a simple formula, the more the player rides, the more credits they earn, which in-turn leads to more bikes being available for the player to purchase so that they may take part in other events, where specific models and types are positioned as the requirement of entry. Dividing the system further and doing so in a manner that remains simple and uncluttered, the knowledge and understanding of vehicles that would present quite a steep barrier of entry to similar franchises, are thrown out the window.

For instance, events that consist of “Naked Bikes Under 700cc” and “Naked Bikes Over 700cc”, doesn’t have the player browsing through a convoluted menu dealership system, resulting in players scrolling through a checklist of specifications. It’s simple, use the bike provided at the start of the game, earn credits, choose an event, and purchase a bike that’s provided by the menu that follows. This isn’t to say that the game fails to provide any real depth for the racing enthusiasts, it nails down what’s important and drops anything that doesn’t provide anything of significant value.

"It's simple, use the bike provided at the start of the game, earn credits, choose an event, and purchase a bike that's provided by the menu that follows."

Aside from the choices available within the Naked Bike events, almost every other class and group varying from Middleweight, Superbikes, Supersports and so on are there for the player to take part in so long as the player has the credit to afford the necessary bike.

Extending to races catered for the enthusiasts which delivers on historical bikes, International Events, Drag Racing, Track Day, and Championship, the breath of content available delivers something that’s quite deep, also quite pleasing that encourages the player to participate.

Before heading into a race, the choice to change the rider’s gear, purchase new bikes, and buy new parts are present as expected. While the rider gear section offers enough garments and equipment for the player to differentiate their avatar from other riders in the game as well as online competitors, vehicle modification is unfortunately quite limiting. While my appreciation for this was at an all time high, given my fairly limited knowledge on the effects of air filters, cylinder head porting, exhausts, transmissions and brakes.

I do sense some disappointment for the enthusiasts who desire something that’s more in-depth. Tuning the actual bike in terms of how it fits the player’s own style and preference of shifting gears, leaning, suspension adjustment and so on, is available to play with before entering the actual race. Along with these options players will also find settings relating to difficulty, riding assists, physics, and A.I.

"Before heading in to a race the choice to change rider gear, purchase new bikes, and buy new parts for the bike are present as expected. "

It’s best to think of this section as the garage for each of the player’s bikes which can be adjusted differently for various factors involving the turns, length, and surfaces of the various racing tracks. As previously stated my own preference to games of this genre, border a severe lack of interest and motivation for actually inserting the disc.

With that being said however, the functioning and feature set as provided by the game’s simple yet detailed menu encouraged me to press on. Further increasing my interest for the game after heading onto the track, I was surprised to learn how easily I had passed three hours in the game, and had no intention of turning off the system.

Fair to say I was convinced and I had no shame in speaking off the game to my peers, as well as watching playthroughs of the game by others. During my time on the track of the many events I took part in, I found the gameplay itself to be quite intuitive. The way in which the difficulty settings and bike assists function in reference to the player’s own level of skill, presents itself in a fairly tailorable manner, with different methods of adjusting the system that aids in both the encouragement of players wishing to become better, as well as aiding them in becoming familiar with the physics of handling the bike.

Being encouraged to play on and become better with my current bike while attempting to purchase different types and test the ropes with how they function, is something to appreciate. At no point whatsoever did I feel the need to place blame on the game when falling, crashing, or cutting the corners of a track incorrectly. I simply practised, became better, and reaped the rewards as indicated by the amount of credits, reputation points, and awards being given to me upon the completion of an event.

"Being encouraged to play on and become better with my current bike while attempting to purchase different types and test the ropes with how they function, is something to appreciate. "

Something which does well to accelerate this feeling of progression is the number of different locations and types of events to take part in, further eliminating a sense of boredom and lack of variety. Each new track and location that’s presented to the player feels new and refreshing to race on, even when replaying events.

How Milestone S.r.l. succeeded in swaying me over to this genre of racing games has proven to be something of magic. Gameplay is solid, customisation is pleasing, and there’s enough variety to keep the player entertained further extending to online play whereby players can compete and team up with one another, delivering a new experience with each mode of play.

While the game has a hefty number of positives in it’s favour proving to be an enjoyable and satisfying ride, with plenty of content from the get-go, the game does have it’s flaws, some of which should have been cleared up before its release. Preference of audio will forever remain personal preference, however, there’s something of critical importance that has to be said when the game’s menu music is far more appealing than what’s actually being played during actual gameplay.

"How Milestone S.r.l. succeeded in swaying me over to this genre of racing games has proven to be something of magic."

Reminiscent of a poorly-received 90s rock group, consisting of runaway teenagers under the denial of musical talent, in-game music is abysmal. Nothing of the game’s soundtrack was attracting nor did it place me in a mindset of wanting to get on a bike, and that says a lot for it’s terrific gameplay.

Playing on the Xbox One, Ride is by no means a bad-looking game, the problem however is that it’s only good-looking so long as you keep your eyes peeled on what’s in front of you, and don’t look off in to the distance. Almost everything outside of the game’s actual tracks appear to be lifeless, crowd density is lacking, trees and vegetation are static, buildings and architecture mimic cardboards cut-outs, and texture filtering is limited to the four-feet of ground that’s in front of the rider.

The game does make some decent use of lighting and reflections when looking towards the rider’s helmets and the body work of vehicles, textures are fairly acceptable. Outside of the immediate view of the player’s rider, the bike and the surrounding geometry, Ride lacks visual flare.

"Outside of the immediate view of the player's rider, the bike and the surrounding geometry, Ride lacks visual flare./span>

Ride is about as visually on par with Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, way back from 2007. With instances of frame rate juddering and a few minor texture pop-ins, there are a few performance issues with the game.

The biggest problem however is in the game’s loading times. Having to witness a loading screen for every single menu change with autosaves for no apparent reason is something of a curse. Loading screens attempt to appease the player in providing reading content based on the engineering and history of the bikes and it’s culture, but in reality, it’s a nuisance.

Outside of the game’s few minor problems, something of which can easily be fixed with a patch, as most games are now subject to, Ride is a phenomenal racing experience that’s well worth the time. It’s fast, entertaining, and rewarding, something of which I intend to put more time in to as I look forward to the titles that Milestone releases in the future.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox One.

According to the Q&A session that we were a part of, Evolution Studios have officially confirmed the differences between the free DriveClub PS+ Edition and the regular retail version of the game.

This is what the team from Evolution had said in regards to the differences between the two versions, “It may be missing a few assets such as cars or tracks, that will be found in the full version,” says the team. “However the online multiplayer, the asynchronous challenges and the single player campaign will all be present in the PS Plus version.”

It’s neat to know that the game will be exactly the-same at it’s primary experience with the exception of some missing cars and tracks. However, I am sure those who want to support the developers don’t mind buying the rest of the digital content. It’s nice for Sony and Evolution Studio to allow users a free game on PS+ day one anyway. Have a peek at our preview for DriveClub right here.

Let us know if you’ll be playing DriveClub on launch day of the PlayStation 4 in the comments section below.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more news, updates and our review of the game in the coming months.

Here is what Codemaster’s Senior Producer had to say in regarding this event.

“It’s an exciting challenge to bring Colin McRae Rally to iOS for the first time,” said Peter Harrison, Senior Producer. “We wanted to make tackling every turn and jump of the point-to-point courses on your smart device as satisfying as playing those classic Colin McRae Rally games on home consoles of the day. We’ve worked hard to make sure that the physics and car handling systems let you feel the wheels gripping and slipping on different surfaces like gravel and asphalt. We’ve also paid attention to improving the graphical models and textures to look super-sharp on today’s screens, along with sourcing high quality engine sounds.”

Check out the launch screenshots below

Let us know if you’ll be purchasing Colin Mcrae Rally from the App Store in the comments below.

Check back on GamingBolt for more news and updates.

Given the console exclusivity of Gran Turismo 6, it’s no surprise that the game was published by Sony computer Entertainment. The game was launched in early December of 2013 and was well received by fans and critics despite some iffy DLC marketing strategies.

• 1. Development
• 2. Tracks And Cars
• 3. Gameplay

Development

In November 2011, Kazunori Yamauchi the series creator explained in an interview that he and his team at Polyphony Digital were working on Gran Turismo 6, evidence of that came up when people were seen photographing tracks. Finally Gran Turismo 6 was announced on May 15, 2013. Gran Turismo 6 is going to be released 3 years after the release of Gran Turismo 5. Kazunori Yamauchi stated in an interview: “GT5 was really hard to develop, because the PS3 is a really complex piece of hardware, and it was the first time we built anything with an extensive online component, I think the hardest part of GT1 was to make something out of nothing, and to shape it and figure out exactly what a Gran Turismo game was going to be.

He further stated that, ” “The main difference between GT1 and GT6 is the scale of the game, it’s about 100 times bigger in scale. Initially we had 15 people working on the game and now we have 150 working on the game. But I think the one thing that hasn’t changed is that everyone working on it really enjoys the hard work”.

He explained about the new lighting engine and how the pixels will be represented more precisely in Gran Turismo 6.  “It basically means the energy expressed in each one of the pixels is going to be represented more accurately. When the focus on the camera is on a certain item, the blurring and brightness of the area around it and how lights affect the environment will be rendered with more accuracy,” [reference]

On whether if a Playstation 4 version of the game is going to be released , Yamauchi stated in an interview that.” “We actually do have a PlayStation 4 version in mind, but for this holiday season, we thought it would be best for users to release on PS3 for now. I thought the best scenario would be to have the game come out, then to have new scenarios, new DLC and other updates. Once the players have thoroughly played out the system, if the PlayStation 4 version came out naturally, as part of that process, I think that would be the best scenario.”  [reference]

He also explained that if a PlayStation 4 version of the game came out, player would “probably” be able to transfer their saved games.

Tracks And Cars

The game involves putting the players on handling cars modeled on real-life driving. As well as driving over 71 layouts of 33 tracks, and over 1200 cars to choose from. [reference]

Gameplay

Players will have a variety of tracks and cars to choose from. They will be able to manufacture their own cars as well as include custom parts along with several thousand pieces of aero parts. Gran Turismo 6 will also feature a new course maker along with online community and racing clubs. The game will also feature a new user interface which will really give players to have an edge on quick response and short load times.

With 71 different layouts available, 19 of them being new. The United Kingdom’s Silverstone Circuit is one of the location choices that players will have in Gran Turismo 6. There will also be 1200 cars at launch with all the cars from Gran Turismo 5 being included in Gran Turismo 6.

Kazunori Yamauchi stated in an interview, “It is amazing to think that it is 15 years since we first released Gran Turismo. Things have changed a lot since then and now Gran Turismo 6 is a further evolution of my dream. We’re pleased to deliver Gran Turismo 6 to PlayStation 3 as we have a very loyal community on that platform.” [reference]

The developers have developed a new physics and rendering engine. Polyphony Digital went in-depth and took a cue from various suspension companies and observed and worked on how the car’s suspension and tires will handle.

This wiki was last updated on 5th, January 2015. 

With Sony’s new hardware platform, Evolution Studios has decided to take a break from Motorstorm and create a new racing IP. DriveClub is more of a realistic game that doesn’t feature much of destruction physics or anything like that. At this year’s E3, I’ve managed to get my hands-on DriveClub. Many people have been wondering how does DriveClub feels, play and what kind of racing game is it exactly? Let’s find out.

Presentation

DriveClub presents itself as a car enthusiasts racing title, however, not to the same extent as the Gran Turismo series. The game focuses on beautifully crafted 3D models of cars that are so decorated that you can see every bit of fine detail such as bolts and fabric. In many ways, DriveClub reminded me of the Xbox’s popular racing franchise called Project Gotham Racing in terms of the game’s representation.

DriveClub has slick menus and has a very modern look to it, the cars are truly authentic and look great. However, I can’t make comments on the tracks due to the fact that I was actually paying more attention on the feel and the gameplay of the game. Overall, the game’s presentation fits the game well, its simple and not too busy, and it doesn’t need to be fancy because this is just a racing game.

Gameplay

DriveClub’s gameplay is simple but also has depth to it. The whole premise of the game is that you as a player can join a club with multiple people. When you do races online you score points for your driving style that contribute to the club that you’re participating for. The nice thing about DriveClub is that you can race, however; you want and you’re not punished if you like to cut corners, do fancy drifting action and so on. Everything that you do in the game whether you win or lose nets you a certain amount of points, which gives the player more freedom and fun when they’re racing.

Players may also accept random challenges against other club rivals in face-off events to see who’s better at either topping their speed or how good they are at drifting. The game is not actually about winning but rather playing and enjoying the experience on how you want to play due to the freedom that the game allows you to have.

Many people have been wondering how do the cars actually feel and if the game is a realistic racer in terms of simulation or arcade-style. Well, after playing around for about 30 or so minutes and having talked to the development team, I’ve came to a conclusion that DriveClub is a hybrid. It’s a simulator game in terms of the authenticy of the cars,  that is created for car-nuts in mind. However, the gameplay and handling of the cars is easy to learn as each of them is different depending on the build. The game is nowhere near the realistic level of  Gran Turismo in terms of actual racing and handling. Anyone can pick up the game, start racing and earn points.

If you’re obsessed with high-resolution detailed cars and want to have some casual fun then DriveClub would be the perfect answer. DriveClub has been created for everyone in mind and that includes, racing fans, casuals, hardcore and enthusiasts.  I really hope this answer some of your questions and concerns that many of you’ve had when it came to defining on what kind of racing game DriveClub is and who it’s aimed for.

Another big feature about DriveClub is that the game will also be updated every week with new events and content that the developers will provide post launch. During my interview and hands-on experience with the game, developers have told me that the game itself will be an enormous experience for every racing fan out there, especially with the post-launch content that will be provided.

The developers have also stated that the game has been in development for 18 months, and the game is in the polish stage. DriveClub will also try to achieve 60 FPS by the time it comes out. However, the creators have stated that they’re not 100% sure they will be able to achieve 60 FPS, although they’ll do their best to provide smoothest frame-rate possible when the game launches later this year along with the PlayStation 4.

Conclusion

Overall, DriveClub is an interesting addition to the racing genre. The game’s biggest drawn is definitely the authenticity of the cars with gorgeous fine details and social online aspects that will take racing games to the next level when it comes to competition and racing challenges. I am looking forward to seeing how Evolution Studios plans to expand the game’s content post-launch and how long they will be supporting the game for.

I am really glad that this game is a hybrid and not a clone to Gran Turismo in terms of simulation racing but rather a racing game that will be accessible to everyone and will be a new and unique experience for the PlayStation fans.

GRID 2 is a well-presented racing game and it shares many similarities in terms of style from the original game. The menus are slick, cars look convincing, and the overall graphics is solid. The game’s graphical art-style gives it a perfect arcade-look to it and is consistent enough to identify itself as franchise.

The objective of the game is to gain fans and promote yourself through racing clubs and events to compete in the World Championship. Racing games don’t actually need a story, but GRID 2 tries to give you a reason to why you’re racing in the first place. While it doesn’t genuinely matter, it’s a like-able small addition that adds to the overall presentation of the game.

The gameplay in GRID 2 is a lot of fun and feels terrific once you get the hang of all of the varied events that you get to race in throughout the career mode. The career mode spans over different events such as typical Lap Races, Head-to-Head races, Speed-runs and my personal favorite Overtakes. Head-to-head races in GRID 2 are called Face-off. In this mode  you are pitted against another racer in a one-on-one match across three different rounds to score top place to win the overall Face-off event. The game also provides additional car challenges and promotional events that you can participate-in to win new cars.

Overtakes is that one mode that stands because all you do is race past regular cars to gain points, the more cars you can chain up in-between each car the more you points you earn and you’re points multiplier goes up. However, if you tend to collide with a vehicle or any environment in the race track your overtake streak resets back to 100 points.

In GRID 2,  you can choose what difficulty setting you want to play and how car damage works. For example if you collide with an object in the game or another vehicle you can turn on/off if you want the collision to affect your car’s handling. If you choose to keep it off then crashing into vehicles will not any effect on your handling, but if you choose to leave it on then get ready to drive more carefully. It’s a neat small feature that lets players play and challenge themselves.

Overall GRID 2 provides solid amount of racing variations that you’d come to expect from a racing game. I love the car handling system in GRID 2. At first, it was a bit confusing on how to drift and handle your vehicle; however, after about an hour so the handling grew on me and I started to enjoy it. The handling feels perfect and almost like a combination between a simulator racing and arcade.

If you have crashed and you’ve lost the lead you can rewind the race a few seconds back until you feel confident enough that you can safely make a sharp turn or avoid a collision. This may seem like it makes the game too easy but trust me you’ll be happy this feature exists because it’s fun, and it helps you out a lot on the higher difficulty settings. You may also only trigger it 5 times during a racing event, so use it wisely.

My only gripe with GRID 2 is the fact that the amount of race tracks is quite limited. The circuits are a bit too similar to one another, and there’s also not many to choose from either. There was a five year gap between Race Driver: GRID and GRID 2. With that being said, why does the game has a limited amount of tracks? It’s kind of questionable and disappointing at the same time.

In GRID 2 Online you can play by choosing certain playlists that consist of different type of events that can either be randomly chosen or particularly picked. The big draw of GRID 2 Online is the fact that you have a separate garage from single-player and whole different progression system that will last you a long time. Players can level up and progress to unlock new cars and better yet earn credits by participating in online events that they can spend to tune-up and upgrade their vehicles to get better performance and a higher chance of winning. I didn’t encounter any lag during my online experience, and getting from one match to another was fast and easy.

Achievements in GRID 2 are easy to obtain for the most, and the majority of them are single-player related. Just like most racing games, achievements asks you to be placed 1st place in every career event, progress through the story/career mode and complete world championship. Then there are the miscellaneous ones such as finishing all the challenges, promotional invites and so on.

The online achievements can easily be boosted and don’t require a lot of time to finish and may be completed in just a few hours. Overall a solid achievement list that doesn’t make you want to tear your hair out with non-sense grinding.

GRID 2 is an excellent racing game. If you’re looking for an enjoyable single-player and multiplayer racing,  GRID 2 will be your answer. GRID 2’s single-player provides a lot of fun thanks to the varied events and fantastic gameplay. The multiplayer is a beast with a separate garage and the ability to level up and earn credits to upgrade your cars is awesome. Overall a magnificent racing game to enjoy despite the lack variety of circuits.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

The developers have said that they’re extremely happy how the PlayStation 4 platform allows them to create the social experiences that they have been wanting to do for quite a while now.

The game is developed by Evolution Studios the masterminds behind critically-acclaimed PlayStation 3 racing franchise called Motorstorm. Evolution Studios are big believers of connectivity and social networking and because of that DriveClub will be all about providing those amazing social experiences that players will encounter with their friends and the world.

Let us know if you’re stoked to get DriveClub on launch day for PlayStation 4 in the comments below.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt for our E3 coverage and previews in the coming week.