Yep, I'm swappin' paint with the good ol' boys now. I picked this up because of the gameplay progression: start in the minor leagues and work your way up to the Cup cars. I have found the game to be very fun, and more enjoyable in some ways than Gran Tourismo (heresy!). The driving physics are good, the damage models are solid without being either too inconsequential or too punitive, and the extras like the agent calling on the phone delight the kids. There is something enriching about having someone call you and say, hey, you've done a great job, why don't you come test this other car in the next class up? Satisfaction in a job well done.
The game also works emotion into the racing. If you work with other drivers, help draft and generally behave yourselve, you will make allies. However, if you bounce other guys out of the way, you make enemies and get a bad reputation. You can use that to your advantage, as your "intimidation" powers go up (yes, there's a button for that), but I've learned the hard way that when the other guys don't like you, they will engage in some pretty anti-social behavior to keep you from succeeding. In my first Craftsman Truck race, with an underpowered racecar, I was passing for the lead when the car I was passing bumped me, sending me into the wall. I ended up finishing last, a lap down, because the whole field streamed by while I tried to back away from the barrier. I'll be looking for that guy in the future. In the same race, though, I worked carefully with another driver, drafting a little, eventually passing cleanly. After the race was over, I discovered that I had made an ally -- my first! (My villain quotient is pretty high due to ineptness with the controller in the first couple of events.)
Good clean fun, y'all.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment