Formula Racer 2012

Formula Racer 2012 runs on the same engine as Formula Racer, but FR2012 offers a little different experience from its Formula Racer counterpart. The sequel offers a different experience in the sense of how you get through the game. Kongregate and Turbo Nuke are back at it again with this game. The biggest difference between the two titles is that this one involves three different car classes as opposed to the one formula car you use. I will be sure to fill you in on the various details to help discuss this racing game to you all.

--- Formula Racer 2012 ---

This is your first look at the sequel of Formula Racer, "Formula Racer 2012":


^ from: sticklebackgames.com (best I could find) - Formula Racer 2012 offers three classes of racing, 12 tracks, and one high-speed thrill ride.


Formula Racer 2012 is the sequel to "Formula Racer." As such, it runs on the same engine as Formula Racer. The experience here is different because you race with and against three different classes of car in this game. You can upgrade your car to any number of offered levels. Also, you can set up each car to any number of attributes. Take advantage of these things to help make yourself the most unstoppable force on the track. Unlike "Formula Racer," "Formula Racer 2012" only has certain tracks exclusive to each class. So you will be racing certain tracks using certain cars. Each race lasts two laps and features 32 cars to a track, including your car. You can pick a certain color scheme for your car unlike in Formula Racer. Also different about this game is the fact that you can choose between dry tires and wet tires. The game will specify what whether conditions will have. Picking the wrong tires doesn't necessarily mean you are going to struggle for grip and speed. It just means you'll have to work that much harder to try to win.

Here is a brief look at each of the classes, cars, and tracks.

Formula Racer 2012: Race Class 1.

The Race Class 1 car you will race with resembles the various Caterham models. Or if you know your older cars, they resemble something like the Lotus Super 7 cars (which most Caterhams are based on to begin with). Five upgrade levels are offered for this car. Here are the three races you will be involved in:

• USA - a high-speed romp in a city environment.
• Malaysia - A very quick course in a tropical jungle setting.
• Brazil - a very fast, yet technical course.

Formula Racer 2012: Race Class 2.

Once you unlock Race Class 2, you will be racing faster cars and more difficult tracks than in Race Class 1. The Race Class 2 car, unlike the Race Class 1 car, is a more proper race car. It sort of resembles a vintage F1 car from the 1980s or so. These cars are still quite powerful and fast. There are eight upgrade levels for the Race Class 2 car. You will need those upgrades taking on the more furious competition. Prepare yourself for these four races:

• Australia - here is a tricky course in a desert-like environment.
• Canada - a lot of the corners are fairly sharp here.
• China - tough corners and little straightaways make up this course.
• France - a fairly small course in a tropical urban setting.

Formula Racer 2012: Race Class 3.

This class boasts the fastest and most capable car. It also boasts the most difficult courses. Your car in Race Class 3 can be upgraded to 12 levels. It wasn't easy getting your way from the Class 1 events to this level. With that said, you know you're going to have to really show your strength if you figure into being a champion of racing by taking on these five courses:

• Great Britain - a twisty course with a handful of left-right switchbacks.
• Germany - a few difficult corners, but otherwise quite fast.
• Spain - smooth corners transition quickly to sharp corners. Be careful!
• Turkey - many sweeping corners and switchbacks make up this course, including one VERY long sweeping corner.
• India - tricky switchbacks and undulating roads will rack your brain here.


Most of the advice I've provided in "Formula Racer" also apply to "Formula Racer 2012." The only thing I recommend is that you finish every race, even if you finish dead last. The key to success in this game is in making the money. You need every bit of coin to upgrade your car and unlock tracks and cars. Don't forget also to upgrade. If your car is fully upgraded, everything relies on racing ability. I hope you have enough so you can become champion.

It is now time I offer a review on this game.

--- Formula Racer 2012: Review ---

"Formula Racer 2012" is not much different from "Formula Racer," but it is just as fun and fast-paced as the previous game. The level of challenge is just right. This game will not frustrate you or make you feel it is impossible to beat. Decent, skillful driving should yield you great results. This is another great job by the combination of Kongregate and Turbo Nuke.

Want to Play?

If you have LOADS of time to waste, here is a sample video featuring "Formula Racer 2012":


^ "Formula Racer 2012 - Flash Game"

You can play "Formula Racer 2012" right now by following this link: Formula Racer 2012 on Kongregate. For more online games from Kongregate and Turbo Nuke visit their respective websites: www.kongregate.com and www.turbonuke.com.





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Formula Racer

Formula Racer is a Flash-based racing game published by Kongregate and developed by Turbo Nuke. You will be racing with and against the most elite of race cars in high-speed formula car battle. You will never know what kind of madness awaits you once the race starts. All you know is that you're strapped into a sophisticated and fast racing car devoid of fenders, head lights, and compromises. When the lights turn green, get ready for a race sure to get your blood pumping and your heart racing as hard as the actual racing you'll be doing. This post is a review of the Flash-based racing game "Formula Racer."

--- Formula Racer ---

Here is a little picture of the game I am set to discuss:


^ from: www.youtube.com - Formula Racer is a Flash-based racing game by Kongregate and Turbo Nuke.

Formula Racer puts you in a Formula 1-style race car and compete on eight different tracks from around the world. You need to be atop your game and race with purpose if you expect to win. "Formula Racer" also features various Achievements you can complete. The game features eight race tracks spanning the globe. There are no licensed tracks, but each venue resembles a real-world track, and not all of them are actual tracks found in that nation. For example, you start in the USA, and the USA track resembles Circuit de Catalunya in Spain. Each race is two laps long and consists of 24 drivers (including yourself) to a track. Simply finishing a race will earn you sufficient money which you can use towards unlocking more tracks and upgrading your car. You can upgrade your car to enhance its performance up to 16 levels. Your boost is with you and refills over time. Press the Space key to activate your boost. It doesn't need to be at full to be used.

Here are a few things to take note of when playing "Formula Racer." Direct contact with other cars will not destroy your car, but crashing into outside barriers and other off-track objects will explode your car. Once you crash, victory is near impossible. There is an Achievement you can get for winning a race after crashing. If you crash, all of the boost you have stocked will be dumped. There is no on-screen map of your progress. The only way to know how far you've raced is when you look at the progress bar at the top of the main window. Try to place as high as possible (3rd or better) on all of the tracks so you can unlock the "Special Car." Do not expect to win right away. Even I was a bit lucky to win the first race with a bone stock car before preparing this review.

--- Formula Racer Review ---

Here is my own review of the game you've just read about.

"Formula Racer" is a fast-paced Flash-based racing game that delivers some great action. The controls for this game are fairly sharp, and the action remains intense. The AI can be a bit twitchy and acting as if they rule the road. The game runs very smoothly and remains fast-paced all the time. It is a very cool game for you racing game fans. Go play it online if you're wanting to pass the time online playing Flash games.

Want to Play?

Here is a video preview of this game:


^ "Formula Racer - Kongregate Gameplay by Magicolo46"

If you want to play "Formula Racer," follow this link: Formula Racer on Kongregate. For more online games from Kongregate and Turbo Nuke visit their respective websites: www.kongregate.com and www.turbonuke.com.





I will be reviewing more games and talking more racing games in future posts here on "John's Race Space"- even including Flash games. I want to expand upon and live up to the mantra of "anything and everything" in all that I discuss. Make sure you're Subscribed/Followed if you love my work. I hope you enjoyed your time here. Thank you for reading!

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Tourist Trophy Review

(UPDATED: April 6, 2012)

This post was taken from John's Blog Space and was edited specifically for this blog. Tourist Trophy- The Real Riding Simulator. Described affectionately as "Gran Turismo with bikes," Tourist Trophy gives gamers the chance to enjoy motorcycle racing in the Gran Turismo universe. Tourist Trophy utilizes the Gran Turismo 4 infrastructure. Many of the courses from Gran Turismo 4 are all back (with the exception of the off-road courses) including the debut of the Valencia road course to the GT universe. A variety of road-going and competition-spec motorcycles are available to race. This is a chance to enjoy two-wheeled racing on a variety of conditions.

--- "Tourist Trophy" at a Glance ---

If Gran Turismo 4 was "The Drive of Your Life," then Tourist Trophy is "The Ride of Your Life!"

Tourist Trophy plays significantly different from any original Gran Turismo game. You can play in Arcade or TT Mode. A variety of motorcycles are available for you to race. These include scooters, sport bikes, some motocross-style motorcycles, and more. You can set your height and customize your own riding style. You have four different options including a motard setup. You can customize the settings of any motorcycle. In addition to customizing settings for motorcycles, you can even customize riding gear featuring actually licensed motorcycle gear and some Polyphony Digital originals. Two racing suits and two streetwear suits are available for you to customize.

Unlike a GT game, however, you can't earn money towards... anything. You can earn items through racing and good progress throughout the game. These can include extra items to add to your riding gear and bonus motorcycles. The biggest way to add to your collection of motorcycles is to compete in the Challenge Mode. You can choose from bikes from many manufacturers including Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Ducati, Aprilia, BMW Motorrad, Buell, and more. In Challenge Mode, a majority of all motorcycles in the game can be earned through this mode. You are asked to compete in challenges. These challenges range from race challenges to one-lap time trials. If you go off course for too long, hit something very hard, fall off your back, or knock off another rider (especially in a Challenge race), you will be disqualified. Some bikes require you to have a license. There are four licenses for you to acquire to compete in various races and earn various bikes.

Unlike Gran Turismo 4's execution of it, Photo Mode is actually executed much better than in GT4. You can go for a ride and take your best pictures. Or after races, you can access the "Best Photo" feature, which allows you to save the best photos to your Memory Card or USB Flash Drive. Here's a picture I took for a friend of mine named Begoña:


^ from: my Facebook profile

There's also a great collection of songs for this game including "I Against a Speed," the theme song of Tourist Trophy by SUNPAULO.

--- "Tourist Trophy" Gameplay ---

You can race in any event. There are about 22 different series to race in. All of these events feature races based on kinds of motorcycles as well as races based on displacement and engine type. The first four series all involve street bikes. The remaining all require racing-spec motorcycles. The final championship, which is equivalent to the Gran Turismo World Championship, is the Tourist Trophy World Series. The best thing about Tourist Trophy (to me) is that this game doesn't keep track of your wins and losses. I feel like I have to maintain a perfect record to feel happy, because I have a bad attitude about losing.

Each bike offers three views. The instrument panel and handle bars are designed beautifully from the bike view. You actually notice digital readouts and some analog gauges. To me, this game's features were a precursor to what future GT games could be like. We're CERTAINLY seen the lovely interiors provided in Gran Turismo games since Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.

You have three different level of handling. You have the original handling, Semi-Pro, and Pro handling. The harder settings give you better control of your bikes and requires you to do much more to handle your bike. How you ride depends on things like your riding stance among other things. So pick something that's more comfortable to you. For one thing, I set my riding stance for speed. One such way to go faster on straights is to tuck down. You go faster with lower wind resistance.

A word of warning: the TZ250 Challenge will piss you off beyond recognition. Do that challenge last.

If you want to feel like you've accomplished something in this game, try winning the Championship races that allow you to earn one of five 8 Hours of Suzuka bikes. Four can be earned through different series while one can be earned by winning the Tourist Trophy World Series. These 8H Suzuka bikes are endurance-spec bikes, meaning these have lights on them for endurance racing. As of the date of this blog entry, I think I have two out of the five (maybe three of the five) 8H Suzuka motorcycles. Each of these bikes have their own riding gear that can ONLY be worn with those bikes.

--- The Racing Itself ---

There are a maximum of four bikes on a race track, which is pretty good considering GT4's graphics engine. There may not be 20 bikes to a track, but TT still gets the job done. Every race is on a Rolling Start. You can only qualify in Championship races. Depending on the race, it may be very difficult to go from 4th to a race victory. You may need to adjust your bike's settings and try to find ways to go fast in such little time. There are NO pit stops at all. Then again, pit stops are pretty rare in grand prix motorbike racing. Unless to change bikes for when there's a Dry or a Wet race.

If you hit a wall head-on, you'll face a 5 or 10-second speed penalty dropping you to about 31 mph. There is no damage to your motorcyle, but of course... you don't want to fly off by not going fast enough at speed or whatever. You can always revisit a race to try to win gold.

--- Personal Commentary on Tourist Trophy ---

Overall, this is a great motorcycle racing game. A combination of street bikes and racing bikes is an exceptional one. Every bike is shown beautifully with well-done riding physics and control. This is pick-up-and-play. Too many people thought this was just a cheap way to milk Gran Turismo 4. Not as many people enjoyed this game. But if you ask me, more people should. Okay. Maybe there are four bikes to a race track compared to 20 in the MotoGP games. Maybe people complained that since the game is called "Tourist Trophy," not including the Isle of Man TT course is a fail. Guess what? The same people complained that there were "LM Race Cars" in Gran Turismo, without including the Circuit de la Sarthe for years.

But come on now... where else are you going to get this level of motorcycle goodness where you can still enjoy a street bike as much as a racing bike? It was in this game that I've become better appreciative of Suzuki. Don't even get me started on racing the Suzuki Hayabusa in this game. I even have the racing-spec Hayabusa, and I love going on high-speed runs with that bike. In addition, this game made a BIG leap featuring both Aprilia and Ducati. This was even though people complained that Polyphony Digital couldn't secure big-name manufacturers. Fact is, every Gran Turismo featured some world-class makes. People tend to forget about THESE makes while most only care about Ferrari, Porsche, and Lamborghini. These world-class makes have been featured include (but are not limited to): Alfa Romeo, Lancia, BMW, Aston Martin, Bentley, Renault, Audi, and Volvo among many others. I even thought Bentley was the biggest pickup for GT4, even if it was just the EXP GT that won Le Mans in 2003. Again, Apilia and Ducati were major finds for Tourist Trophy. The game even had a little contest where you could win your own Ducati 999R (another motorcycle I love racing in the game). It was also the game where I had respect for Triumph's beautiful middleweight bike that I used to win a championship race with





This game is great for what it is. With very few outstanding motorcycle racing games on the market, this is a great way to get your two-wheel fix. My Amazon Store (aStore) features Tourist Trophy. Please visit it to purchase Tourist Trophy from Amazon. If you loved this blog entry and want to get Tourist Trophy, please show me your support by buying this game now. Click on the image below to purchase this game or learn more about it:



If you need hints and tips, check out this, the Tourist Trophy strategy guide:



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Gran Turismo 4 Review

(UPDATED: April 6, 2012)

John's Blog Space was where this blog post initially came from. It has since been edited specifically for this blog. Gran Turismo started strong, got bigger, downsized a great deal for a new console... so how would GT4 fare? Freaking huge, that's what. Gran Turismo 4 completely overpowers the whole scope of the Gran Turismo series. It was the debut of many things and is the ultimate Gran Turismo so far. That is, until Gran Turismo 5 comes along. If you loved the GT Force wheel, you'll love the wheel that was designed for this game called the Logitech Driving Force Pro, a lovely evolution of the previous wheel. It allowed for 900 motion and nearly impecable driving dynamics.

--- Overview ---

^ from: aladdinsarcade.com

Get ready to play this game for months to come... it has MANY challenges for beginner and veteran Gran Turismo racers alike.

Gran Turismo 4 is the largest and most challenging Gran Turismo to date. Arcade Mode allows you to race MANY cars on all the many courses this game has to offer. You get about 240 cars to choose from among many car companies. Your progress in Gran Turismo Mode (formerly Simulation Mode) will help you unlock more cars and tracks for Arcade Mode. A few new tuning options are available, including Nitrous, Increase Rigidity, Normal Tires, and more. Some cars can even be given original tuner car parts from the new Tuning Village. There are three different secondhand dealers. And for the first time ever, you can purchase used cars of many nationalities, more than just used Japanese cars.

The biggest aspect of this game is B-Spec. B-Spec allows you to be your own race director as you pilot a race car in an event using an AI driver. Many think that this mode is controversial because in most peoples' minds, B-Spec is the game playing itself for you. But, I like to think of this as a chance for you to win races if you aren't confident enough to win with your own abilities. Do you want to win or not?

The License Tests are back, and are now bigger and tougher. However, it doesn't take too much to clear each test. They are all easy to learn and difficult to master. Trust me. If you're a good racer, you'll easily accomplish bronze in all tests before eventually going for silver and gold in tests. You don't need to win all-Gold to win cars. Just going all bronze will earn you cars. These cars will help fill your garage that can hold about 1,000 cars.

New to Gran Turismo is Photo Mode. This gives you the chance to take pictures of your rides either from dedicated Photo Mode venues or from racing action. The many venues take you to places in Japan, the United States, and Italy. You have to set up a Photo Drive (for a fee of about three credits) to do Photo Mode action on the track. You know there's confidence in great graphics when you're able to take great pictures of your car. Photos can be stored on a Memory card, saved on USB Flash Drives, or printed directly to your printer.

Cars.

Gran Turismo 2 was the standard for multiple cars in a game. This game surpasses that with over 700 cars (though many will complain about copies of the same car). GT4 was the debut of many kinds of vehicles. It's the first Gran Turismo to put a focus on Tuner cars and drift cars. This GT even debuts open-top racing action as well as the debut of Le Mans Prototypes (LMPs). You can enjoy racing with the top down for most races. Many kinds of concept cars are available to try out. This game even debuts the old-school Grand Touring Prototypes of the past. The cars have a new driving model. And to be honest, the steering and all the handling dynamics seem absolutely heavy at times.

This game debuts the most number of nationalities of car in series history- the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the Korea Republic. Every car you earn in Gran Turismo Mode will set you up to take on a long and winding career of Gran Turismo racing without having to spend your starting 10,000 Credits.

Tracks.

Tracks are divided into four categories. The World Circuits are real-world race courses. Everything from the tricky confines of Tsukuba to the almost 13-mile long nightmare known as the Nürburgring Nordschleife are all available for you to race in World Circuits. The Original Circuits are all the original works of Polyphony Digital at mostly permanent race courses. This is where you race tracks like Grand Valley Speedway and the returning High Speed Ring. The City Courses are all the courses on city streets in a combination of real and fictional locations. Try out courses like New York, Hong Kong, and the high-speed confines of Seoul. This even includes new tarmac rally courses at Citta di Aria and Costa di Amalfi. The Dirt and Snow courses feature all the off-road courses. Try out courses like Grand Canyon or old favorites like Tahiti Maze. Also, you can race on snow and ice for the first time in series history. In all, you're looking at almost 50 courses (many more for the courses that can be run in reverse.

Also included is a drag strip on the streets of Las Vegas. No proper drag racing is included, though. It's primarily to test your car's acceleration. Picking up where Gran Turismo 3 left off, you can choose to race at any given venue. You now have to pay a small fee to use the race course. You can also choose to race a track in normal or reverse. You can have any events like these:

• Free Practice - a solo run at any track
• Track Meet - a Track Day where you race against cars tuned at your level. Use this to compare your car's tuning against similar cars on a certain track.
• Photo Mode - you're free to drive however you want, and then be able to take pictures of your best (or worst) moments.
• Family Cup - this is where you can run a simple race against opposition. You can select the level of difficulty of your opposition, allowing you to go for an easy race or a hard race. Races are two laps long with 500 Credits for a victory. No license or fee needed to compete. They do not tie into the 100% completion, so enjoy a stress-free race.

(NOTE: Not all tracks have all of these events.)

Races.

Races are bigger, longer, and tougher in GT4. Races can last as long as 1 laps on a long track to 24 straight hours. The official events are in the Beginner and Professional Events. Upon completion of those races, you can then race in the Extreme Events with some of the most intense challenges to come. New to Gran Turismo are racing events specifically catered to certain Nationalities of car. You have American Events, European Events, and Japanese Events. These are races requiring you have these kinds of cars.

The 34 Driving Missions test your ability to succeed in pressure-packed situations. Driving Mission events range from passing a car within a given amount of track all the way to the epic One-Lap Magic battles, where you must pass all five cars (that get serious head starts) in one lap. Also, there are better regulations, mostly towards kinds of tires and limiting Production Cars from racing. The assumption is that Standard/Sports tires means it's only for street cars and not tuner cars or racing cars.

The One-Make Races take many forms, from Single Races to Championship Series. It is an evolution of Gran Turismo 2's method, only that you race on multiple courses and even a few championship series. With no Racing Modification, there aren't any racing-specific events in the One-Make races.

An important change from GT3 to GT4 is that you can exit championships to take care of your car and go back to work when you're ready. Quickly change your oil before going back to racing.

Photo Mode.

It won't help you win the Gran Turismo World Championship. It won't help you go faster. It won't help you complete the game. However, if you love showing off your rides, the best way to do it without diamond grills in your teeth and your shorts hanging off of your booty is to go do some Photo Mode pictures. You can choose from many dedicated Photo Mode locations, or do some free running on a race track and take pictures after your run. You have many options to tilt and adjust the view. You can adjust the focus of your images as well. This is your chance to be a shutterbug. Saved pictures can be saved on your Memory Card, but I highly recommend you save them onto a USB Flash Drive to share your pictures to the world.

--- Online Play Controversy ---

You can do multiplayer racing, but only on a LAN setup. Gran Turismo 4 was touted as being the first Gran Turismo game to feature online racing. But when this game decided to do away with online gaming for Gran Turismo 4, it left many fans disappointed (and even angry) that this game didn't have online play. Does it take away from the experience? Absolutely not. The game still remains classic.

--- Why Should You Get This Game? ---

The biggest Gran Turismo. The fastest Gran Turismo. The hardest Gran Turismo. Convinced?

--- Negatives to this Game ---

The biggest negative to me is that you cannot load your game whenever you like. This is likely a measure to prevent cheating. I know that when I've done terribly that I want to quickly load my last game and try again. You WILL lose your first race (unless you're very good). There's no true online play, which is a major deterrent for most gamers. I'm not an online gamer, so I wasn't really bothered by this.





This is the latest major Gran Turismo title. Play this game if you haven't already. It'll keep you company, unless you have a PlayStation 3 and enjoying Gran Turismo 5: Prologue or the latest Gran Turismo 5 demo.



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Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec Review

(UPDATED: April 6, 2012)

This review was originally from John's Blog Space, and was edited specifically for this blog. The only Gran Turismo game with a subtitle is "Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec." This was Polyphony Digital's first foray with the PlayStation 2. GT3 A-Spec features lovely graphics and enhanced gameplay. Though this game has about the same number of cars as in Gran Turismo 1, many of the same manufacturers returned along with a few new additions.

--- Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec Review ---

^ from: jogaste.com.br
Gran Turismo debuted on the PlayStation 2 with the arrival of this title.

Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec features a lot of the same tracks you've grown to love. All courses have been given next-gen life with many new touches. New touches like oil changes became a factor for cars. New tire compound options were available to you as well, but the Simulation Tire from GT2 is gone. All circuits have open pits. You'll need to make an occasional pit stop to keep your car fresh. So the element of pit stops is not relegated to just endurances. You now can win bonus cars for clearing entire event series as well as completing various percentages of the game in Simulation Mode.

A brand-new (at the time) steering wheel was developed just for this game. It was the Logitech GT Force (or Driving Force).

Cars.

As I mentioned in the introduction, many of the car companies from GT2 have returned, but there are much fewer total cars to choose from. Despite this, two new nationalities of car debuted in this game- Belgium (Gillet) and Australia (Tickford). Companies such as Acura, Panoz, and Pagani debuted in this game. A new element to cars was added- oil changes. Change your car's oil every so often to remain in tip-top shape. There are no more "Special Model" cars, as street cars and race cars are all in one showroom.

Tracks.

Most past tracks from Gran Turismo 1 and 2 return for GT3. There are different weather conditions for tracks in GT3 depending on which direction you're racing a track. For example, you race Deep Forest in the afternoon (as opposed to sunset in the past two GTs) in the Normal direction, but race it in the evening when in reverse. The track used for the Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco debuted in this game. A new city makes its debut- Tokyo. Special Stage Route 11 has a different route as opposed to GT1's layout. The insane Complex String is the ultimate proving ground for you to test your car's (and your) limits. The most special aspect to this game is that this was the first GT to feature wet tracks. You can race Special Stage Route 5 in wet conditions. You have no wet tires, so make sure to drive carefully on the slick roads!

Races.

Regular races, rally races, and endurances all return for GT3. New to GT3 races was a spec sheet of all the regulations of a racing event as well as if your car qualifies. Check out previews for all races to see what kinds of cars you'll need to bring if you want to win. The regular races are all scattered across multiple difficulty levels. This was the first GT to feature the Gran Turismo World Championship in multiple levels. The Beginner Events mostly have races lasting two or three laps and features some of the weakest cars. Step your game up for the Advanced Races, as most of these races last about three to five laps with some of the faster cars. You'll need to be ready for the long haul in the Professional Races. Most races last five to ten laps, but there are some races and championships that last well past 10 (or even 15) laps. If you get your Super License, there is one style of racing that made its debut for the first-time ever in GT history. I'll leave it up to you to find out when you acquire your Super License!

Rally races are now one-on-one as opposed to the time trial format. Don't worry about pit stops here. Just use whatever means possible to cross the line as the winner before the other car does.

There are ten endurances in this game. Various requirements must be met to enter certain races, as well as keeping some cars completely normal. This was the first Gran Turismo to feature an endurance race for oval racing at Super Speedway.

An important and helpful feature to Gran Turismo is that you can now save your progress in a championship and go right back to racing when you're ready. However, you will be unable to go away from the championship until it's complete or until you retire from the championship.

--- Why Should You Get This Game? ---

Even with much less cars, this game features lovely graphics and even more intense racing. The game runs smooth just about all the time. No worries about slowdown or lag. The music selection is pretty good and doesn't really get old.

--- Negatives of This Game ---

I sometimes like to think of this as a prettier GT2. This game lacks a lot of things compared to past GTs, but makes up for them with great racing action and a seemingly endless amount of fun in racing. Now that I look back on this game, this game could have been much better with a lot more added to it. But for what it was when it was released, it's a great title. Again, no damage of any kind and no Racing Modifications either. The title seemed a bit rushed, but still remains a wonderful game. Lots to love if you're a Gran Turismo fan.





Gran Turismo 3 is a game to savor and enjoy for a long time. Severely outdated? Sure. Enjoyable (even today)? Absolutely. So go get this game and enjoy some great racing. Get this game by clicking on the image below:



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Gran Turismo 2 Review

(UPDATED: April 6, 2012)

This is the same review from John's Blog Space, but edited specifically for this blog. One of the toughest challenges in multiple iterations of anything is to have a proven sequel. The final Gran Turismo of the 20th century and the old millennium was Gran Turismo 2. In history, Gran Turismo 2 is the ONLY Gran Turismo to come on more than one disc. Gran Turismo 2 took everything about Gran Turismo 1 and tried to expand and make the game as in-depth as possible with many more cars, tracks, racing events, and more.

--- Gran Turismo 2 Overview ---

^ from: skymac.org
Over 30 manufacturers and some 600 cars await you in Gran Turismo 2 along with a host of tracks worldwide.

Gran Turismo 2 comes on two discs. Arcade Mode gives you a tour of the entire landscape of Gran Turismo 2 using bone stock cars. The Simulation disc is where you build your career as a racer in the Gran Turismo universe. You are able to compete in Arcade Mode with cars you've bought/won in Simulation Mode. You can race almost every track either in forward or in reverse in Arcade Mode. Simulation Mode is the first to include a new option- wheels. Purchase a new set of wheels to dress up your car. With so many cars, the cars are all divided up into cities. You still have to earn your licenses to have a chance to compete. Learn new driving techniques as you try and acquire your licenses. There are five regular licenses. Get all-gold in any set of licenses, and you win bonus cars. It was the debut of rally racing. Rally racing in GT2 was simply a one-lap time trial on mostly rallycross-style courses. However, you do get to race up Pikes Peak (albeit abbreviated). More money is available for you to get to purchase some of the better cars. It was the debut of high-end GT cars and a few prototypes (namely the Toyota GT-One). So many things debuted for this title, all to provide an experience that will blow you away if you're a veteran of Gran Turismo 1.

Cars.

Gran Turismo 2 took the count of about 170 cars in the first GT and bumped it up to a ridiculous 600 or so cars. Many more cars from many more manufacturers debuted. It was the debut of nationalities of cars from Germany, Italy, and France. To help you be better able to sort them out, cars are divided up into cities.

• East City features Japanese cars. This is the ONLY place where you can get used cars.
• West City features Italian and French cars.
• North City features British and German cars.
• South City features American cars.

The American car scene gives you plenty of muscle cars for you to enjoy. This game debuted lots of Kei cars from Japan as well as a few small cars from Europe. The most important aspect of this game is its look at history. You can drive many cars across various decades of automobiles. It was the first Gran Turismo to have a focus on modern AND classic cars. Unlike in Gran Turismo 1, not every car has Racing Modifications. On the other hand, some cars give you many more Racing Modification options than the two different color choices in Gran Turismo 1. Some even feature different kinds of paintschemes. Want an example? Purchase any of the Volkswagen Golf models in GT2 in Simulation Mode, then select "Change Type" to see multiple color styles.

Certain manufacturers have One-Make Races. One-Make Races only allow one make or one model range to compete in racing action. All series come with series only requiring Normal (as in cars without Racing Modification work). But many others have a One-Make Race welcoming Racing Modification models.

Tracks.

Many of your favorite tracks from Gran Turismo 1 return in Gran Turismo. GT2 even featured the courses based in real places. You can race around the streets of Seattle, Rome, and Grindelwald. You can even race in Tahiti. Tahiti was smartly featured since Tahiti is part of French Polynesia, and you race in the French Nationals here. More on the race types later in this blog entry. The first-ever real-life course was featured in this game- Laguna Seca (nowadays Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca). New original tracks include Red Rock Valley Speedway, Apricot Hill, and the first proper oval in series history- Super Speedway. I say proper oval because Test Course is more like a high-speed oval for high-speed testing rather than a proper oval. Rally courses include the two Smokey Mountain tracks, the Tahiti dirt courses, and more.

Race Types.

The race types are much more diverse for GT2 than in GT1. You can compete in official GT events, Special Events, Rally Racing, and Endurance modes. If you don't know what kind of car to bring to a racing event, you can check out a small preview (new for the series) which gave you a look at what kinds of cars will be racing in a certain series.

• Special Events takes you into races ranging on car type and even with horsepower limits. So you can't bring in super-powerful cars to compete in this series. So you need to bring in a car within spec and horsepower limits if you want to compete. Race types in Special Events range in car type (drivetrain, wagons/estate cars, NA or Turbo, etc.). Each championship has a minimum of three races across various license levels and up to a maximum of five races. Only two championship series are in the Special Events category.

• Rally races are essentially one-lap time trials. Can you beat the other car's time?

• There are seven endurances in GT2, which is four more than GT1. There are horsepower restrictions for most endurance races, and most last anywhere between an hour to almost two hours.

The really interesting mode is the Gran Turismo League. This has the most intricate GT World Championship (called the Gran Turismo World League in this game) trail. You must clear all National Level races before moving on to the Euro-Pacific races. The Euro-Pacific races make you compete against some capable cars in three-lap races. For the chosen few that survive that, it's on to the Gran Turismo World League, where the highest honor of Gran Turismo racing will be handed out in a five-race championship, each lasting five laps with some of the game's fastest cars.

--- Why Should You Get This Game? ---

This game literally provides an experience you simply don't get in GT1. This title features many more race types, many more styles of racing, and just more to enjoy overall. More to love, basically. My favorite songs... "Super Bon Bon" by Soul Coughing, "Cold Rock the Mic" from Apollo 440, "Dragula" by Rob Zombie, and "Sex Type Thing" by Stone Temple Pilots.

--- Negatives of This Game ---

As much as I've given GT2 credit, I must say that this is the Gran Turismo game I criticize most. While it's a great game, I personally think this is my least favorite GT because it lacked execution on so many levels. Rome-Night rarely gets used, and it isn't like it's a completely sacred track. There are two drag racing cars, but no dedicated drag racing course (unless you count the 0-400m and 0-1000m challenges). If you want to tune your car, you HAVE to be at some track. It gets cumbersome to go from multiple menus to eventually go to the title screen in Simulation Mode. And as a whole, the racing action seems slower than in GT1.





However, don't let my bickering tell you otherwise. I think you'll love Gran Turismo 2 if you're a racing game fan and want to relive the older days of Gran Turismo. Enjoy this game and all the manufacturers and races this deal has to offer. You can even get the Gran Turismo 2 soundtrack, featuring most of the songs from the game including a disc including some bonuses for you in GT2. Thanks for reading! Buy the game here:



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Gran Turismo 1 Review

(UPDATED: April 6, 2012)

Please note that this post was edited and taken from John's Blog Space. I've done everything I could to talk about the Gran Turismo series on John's Blog Space. But I decided (when I became serious about blogging) to cover various issues ranging from video games to life issue and more. So now is my chance to share with you Gran Turismo 1. And trust me- you will get my true, total, and complete thoughts on this game.

--- Gran Turismo 1 Overview ---

^ the main menu screen for of Gran Turismo.

Gran Turismo 1 began the phenomena known as Gran Turismo. It began what would become one of the greatest racing game series of all time. Not even Kazunori Yamauchi, the creator of Gran Turismo and president of Polyphony Digital, didn't think his game would sell. Gran Turismo can be enjoyed in Arcade Mode with straight-up racing action. But the real meat of GT is in Simulation Mode. You think you know the Gran Turismo series by simply playing the PlayStation 3 GT games? Think again.

Even for its time, Gran Turismo was one of the most beautiful racing games ever. This is where you have a chance to race some of the finest cars from Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. This game began the curiosity process of pursuing getting certain cars and modifying them to make your own pure racing machines. Before you can race, you must acquire your licenses. Many people complain that you're forced to get these licenses to compete in racing events. However, think of it like this- do you want to become Gran Turismo World Champion or not? Each game is a new experience. No excuses. If you want to beat the game, hustle and grind to get your racing licenses. Work your way up the motorsports ladder to go from weekend racer to international racing sensation.

Your car company choices include Honda/Acura, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Mazda, Toyota, Subaru, Chevrolet, Dodge, TVR, and Aston Martin. Every car (with the exception of racing models) can be taken from street car to pure race car. It's recommended you get a Used Car to go with. I recommend the 1990 Mazda RX-7 Savanna as your first ride. It's the best car for you to start off with. I also suggest you get all of your licenses before racing. At least go and get it over with so you can enter almost any race. Most races last two or three laps. The bigger races last five laps, and there are three endurances. If you don't have at least an hour to spare, you need not race these events.

There are also eleven different tracks. Counting reverse configurations, there are 21 tracks in this game. There are many courses for you to race ranging from various road courses to two street courses. And as many future games saw what GT had to offer, you start seeing more games like Sega GT featuring street courses at night. Hands down, Grand Valley Speedway is the signature race track of Gran Turismo. Absolutely nothing like this course. Grand Valley IS Gran Turismo. Other tracks include (but are not limited to) High-Speed Ring's high-speed racing action, the undulations of Deep Forest, the off-balance nature of Autumn Ring, and the always imposing Trial Mountain.

--- Why Should You Get This Game? ---

The biggest reason is to experience what the Gran Turismo series was like in its infancy before the glory days and the prestige the series has today. The character of this game is that the game doesn't feature any driving aids. No ASM or TCS like in today's GT games. So you need to handle the car properly to stand a chance. This game (especially among veterans like myself) has a certain magic to it that lasts with you as a Gran Turismo fan. So what if this game is graphically outdated? Who cares as long as you have a classic and complete racing experience like this game provides? There is no visible crash damage, but again- who cares? Most people just want to wreck cars rather than race to win. The game is still enjoyable even without a damage model. Even just get out and enjoy the Toyota Castrol Supra GT, which has somewhat been the signature race car of the Gran Turismo series.

And considering this game is more than ten years old, you don't have to pay a lot of money just to get a classic. Just look on Amazon or something! The game costs about what, one or two dollars at the cheapest. The game is about one or two dollars online, but the value in playing this game is priceless. You'd be foolish as a Gran Turismo fan to NOT play this game. So go get it and enjoy it! The music is even classic for me. My favorite song is "Lose Control" by Ash. I have other favorites like "Oxyacetylene" by Cubanate, "As Heaven is Wide" by Garbage, and a few others I can't name.



There aren't really any negatives to this game. It's a classic for a reason. Find out why by getting Gran Turismo for the PlayStation 1. Go play it on your PS2 or PS3. Unless you get strange eye infections from playing PlayStation 1 games, there's no reason why you shouldn't own this game. So go get Gran Turismo and race your butt off!

Buy this game here:



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Racin' Force

In 1993, Konami created "Racin' Force." This arcade racing game featured four tracks as you race with GTP prototypes. This game was unique in that it used voxels to lay out the environment for each track. This gave tracks incredible depth that few racing games of its time could match or better. Konami has made quite a few racing games in its time, but this one is fairly rare to a lot of people. So allow me to shed light on this arcade title.

Since I've never played it, my opinions on this game are based on impressions. Let's begin!

--- Racin' Force ---

Racin' Force is rather rare and unknown in Konami's long history of racing games. This game was NOT Konami's first foray into sportscar racing. Many people remember may remember "WEC Le Mans 24," which has you take on the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans complete with time changes. Racin' Force, however, is simply a fairly technical racing game offering four tracks. Unique to the creation of this game was the fact the landscape was all made of voxels. In case you don't know what a voxel is, think "volumetric pixel." It is essentially a three-dimensional pixel. Having these voxel layouts made the tracks more realistic and offered a level of depth never before seen in racing games. There are still sprites used in the creation of Racin' Force. You will see pseudo-3D trees and such. The cars are all sprites also. Since the technology was so expensive, there weren't too many games that utilized such technology.

Racin' Force has you race as only one car. Your only option is Automatic or Manual/Standard transmission. Try to cross the checkpoints to extend your time. Can you win the race? The game seems to run like Virtua Racing in the sense that there is no in-game music except for when you clear checkpoints or complete the race. Racin' Force is one of the most rare racing games ever made.

Tracks.

Here are descriptions of the game's four tracks:

• Circuit Course (Beginner)
This beginner-level course is fairly simple and does not have any seriously intense corners. The track features a crossover as part of its layout, similar to the crossover at Suzuka Circuit. There are no checkpoints here- each checkpoint is basically one lap around the track. It won't take too much for you to win at Circuit Course. (Honestly... was this the best Konami came up with for a name for this track?)

• High-Speed Circuit (Beginner)
Despite the course looking so twisty, you will be able to drive at top speed for extended periods of time here. There are still some tricky corners despite the high speed nature of this course, so make sure you don't lose focus on clearing each corner effectively. There are both flat turns and banked turns here as part of this course's layout.

• Enduro Circuit (Intermediate)
This is a technical race course where the time changes as you go along. This course has you racing from day to night and back to the day. Be careful taking on some of the hairpins and other slow corners.

• Country Road (Advanced)
Unlike the other courses, Country Road is an open circuit. Based on what I saw in a YouTube video, this track essentially combines elements of this game's three other tracks and puts it all into one long track. You aren't exactly racing every portion of every track here, but you are racing on what seems to be a mash-up of elements of the other three courses in one long course. This race consists of eight checkpoints. Clear all eight checkpoints to finish the race.

Racing.

With the exception of Country Road, every race is four laps long with eight cars to a track (including yours). Clear the checkpoints to extend your time. Try to work your way through the pack as best as you can. While this is not a simulation racing game, the game has a simulation driving feel. Drive carefully and precisely to stand the best chance of winning. If time runs out, your car will slow down until it eventually comes to a complete stop.

Video Preview.

Here is a sample video of Racin' Force and what this game is all about. Take a look:


^ "RACIN' FORCE Circuit Course
"

Cross-Promotion/Other Reading.

I mentioned how rare of a game this is. If you love my blog, be sure to read this post if you haven't already:

"Little-Known or Forgotten Racing Games" (John's Race Space)
^ Learn more about racing games that are either little-known or forgotten by visiting this blog post.


That concludes another post here.





As of my initial post, I have never played this game. I wouldn't mind playing it if I were in an arcade room that had this game. Anyhow... thank you for reading! I hope you have a great day and continue to stay with my blogging work for more goodness from me. Thank you so much for visiting. Subscribe/Follow my blog(s) if you haven't already done so and if you love my blogging work. Take care and be well, everyone!

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Al Unser Jr.'s Turbo Racing

There are some family names you just don't mess with. One of those names is Unser. And in "Al Unser Jr.'s Turbo Racing" by Data East, you engage in a world tour of 16 races pushing you and your skills to the limit. Abuse your turbo boost and go incredibly fast while trying to drive your way into Victory Lane. Are you ready for the challenge? This blog post takes a look at this classic NES game.

--- Al Unser Jr.'s Turbo Racing at a Glance ---

"Al Unser Jr.'s Turbo Racing" features a variety of racing venues around the world.

Modes.

There are three modes of play for Al Unser Jr's. Turbo Racing:

• Time Trial Mode A - time trial with other cars on track.
• Time Trial Mode B - time trial without other cars on track.
• World Grand-Prix Series - compete for the World Championship.

The difference between the two Time Trial modes is that Mode A has you racing against other cars in a time trial, and you race solo in Time Trial Mode B. The meat of this game is in the World Grand Prix Series, where you engage in this world tour. Each event in the World Grand-Prix Series race features advice on how to take on each course. You can practice and qualify for each event. Afterwards, you take on a Grand Prix event to try to finish as high as you can. Get enough points to become World Champion!

The game features four songs you can choose from to listen to while racing. Or, you may opt to not have any music play. It does have a pretty good soundtrack.

Locations.

Just about all of the race tracks are real. Of course, there are no officially-licensed courses; but you know what each track resembles if you are understanding of real-world courses. Your racing takes place all over the world across 16 tracks on five continents, ranging from the streets of Long Beach to legendary Spa-Francorchamps and going to the likes of Suzuka Circuit and the streets of Adelaide. Since this game was made in 1988, one country in the game is West Germany, which features the Hockenheimring in this game. Of course, it's all Germany today now since the Berlin Wall collapse.

Racing.

As you perform your racing, be ready to battle hard. Your car has three gears. When you reach the top of your third gear, you can utilize your turbo boost for a wicked speed advantage. You can use your boost for as long as you like. Be warned, though- because while you have a lot of boost to use, you don't have unlimited boost. So use it wisely- especially in proper races. You can go ahead and use that turbo boost to get an advantage and shave seconds off your lap times. More importantly in races, you want to stock some of your turbo just so you can better overtake opposition in races or when you are in a pinch to try to make some last-minute moves. Maybe the best usage of boost can be applied during qualifying.

Final Thoughts.

I played this game before and think this is one of the most fun racing games on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The rush of speed is quite cool, and there's nothing like boosting like crazy in a balls-out race car. Enjoy this fabulous game if you have an NES.

Video Preview.

Here is a video preview of the game I've mentioned all along:


^ "Al Unser Jr.'s Turbo Racing - NES Gameplay"

I hope you enjoyed this post on this fine game.





Stay tuned to "John's Race Space" for more material of mine from the realm of racing games. Thank you for reading!

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California Speed

California. The Golden State. One game is all about burning rubber all over the state of California. That game is called California Speed, and it was released by Midway in 1998. Race a part of California (or do the state), pick a car, and go. From San Diego to Los Angeles, San Francisco to the Silicon Valley, and various points in-between... California Speed is more reason for Californians to brag about their state. But how is it at a game? That is the subject of my game review here.

--- California Speed ---

^ from: www.amazon.com - Ever wanted to race all over California? California Speed gives you that opportunity!

California Speed is a game made for the arcade as well as with a Nintendo 64 version. I've played (and almost beaten) the Nintendo 64 version. This is just a game that's all about going full speed in a number of vehicles across a number of different California locales. All of the cars are fictional, but you can sort of make out what each one basically resembles. Everything from sports cars to golf carts can be raced in this game across the many different venues. The graphical details are all enhanced by 3DFX 3D acceleration for that extra visual polish.

The cars are all fictional. Most of the action takes place on roads and highways. To make things more interesting, you take on some of these tracks in interesting settings, such as being on the deck of a Naval carrier in San Diego, a roller coaster in Santa Cruz, and even through a mall in Central Valley. Try doing all the individual stages. Or if you REALLY want to prove yourself, Do the State! This is where you race every course in the game in a tour of California.

Each race features ten cars to a track, including yours. Pass through the checkpoints to extend your run. The arcade version lets you have the next race free of charge if you win the current race. What is different about California Speed than, say... the Cruis'n series, is that there are closed circuits in addition to the open road circuits. The closed circuits are all three-lap long races.

Enjoy your romping around California already!

Final Thoughts.

Needless to say, California Speed is a very boring racing game, which is a shame considering games like the Cruis'n series and the RUSH games. The environments and settings have character and are unique. So it isn't like you are racing in locations that are boring and lifeless. However, the racing is very mundane. On the other hand, California Speed is more of a proper 3D-style game in graphics than the first two Cruis'n games. There is an actual sense of perspective when you view the various tracks and cars. Sounds are very poor, and the music is so-so. I've rented (and almost beaten) the Nintendo 64 version of this game. It is still worth playing at an arcade store or where there are arcades, but it is very boring. Want to know why this game didn't get as much hype? Good reason- it is just not good.

Video Preview.

Let me show you what California Speed is like. View this video here, or click to open in YouTube if you can't view embedded media. Thanks to the creator of this video for allowing it to be embedded (NOTE: This video is an emulation of the arcade version of California Speed):


^ "California Speed - Do the State: Playthrough Part 1 "


That concludes this post. If you have a Nintendo 64 and want to get this game, click on this item below to buy on Amazon:



Have yourself a great day/night!





If you've played this game before...

What do you think about California Speed?

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SuperTuxKart

SuperTuxKart- also known as STK- is a free, open-source kart racing game featuring Linux mascot Tux and many other characters. Karting fun can be had with this game either solo or against others. Prepare to take on a vast number of fun tracks with some high-speed thrills. As of this blog post, SuperTuxKart is a game I've downloaded before but never played until recently. I will be offering my own review of this free PC racing game.

The latest version of SuperTuxKart is Version 0.8.1, which is what I will be basing my commentary on.

--- SuperTuxKart at a Glance ---

For a look at the game I will be discussing in this blog post, please take a look at this video:


^ SuperTuxKart 0.8.1 trailer

SuperTuxKart it a kart racing game sure to please any casual racing game fan with its wild action and fun characters. Many lovely environments await gamers as they take on the many courses of SuperTuxKart. You can play as any character and race on any track. In addition to the tracks and karts offered, you can download more karts and tracks. Some of the in-game material has to be unlocked through progress in the game. There is support for both single player and multiplayer racing action. As many as 20 karts can compete on a track at once. Laps can last anywhere from 1 to 20.

SuperTuxKart: Single Race.

This game features a Story Mode and many different Single Race modes. In Single Mode, you can race any of the tracks you've unlocked or downloaded in a series of different events:

• Normal Race - an average race pitting you against the field with weapons enabled.

• Time Trial - go for the best time! Weapons disabled.

• Follow the Leader - stay with the leader, but don't pass the leader! Along the way, drivers will be eliminated after a set amount of time.

• Easter Egg Hunt - find all the eggs scattered across each track as quickly as you can.

SuperTuxKart: Story Mode.

Story Mode has you take part in a storyline. GNU has been kidnapped by the cruel Nolok, and the only way you can rescue GNU is to beat Nolok in racing. You will compete in a series of challenges spread about the land. You can enter any of the force field bubbles granted you have enough points to access each challenge. You earn points by clearing challenges. What you want to do is clear the Gold challenges to quickly earn points. But if you're just starting off or aren't as confident in getting those points, it is best to stick with the Beginner and Intermediate challenges. Clearing these challenges earns you points to access the more difficult events.

• Winning Bronze Challenges earn you 8 points.
• Winning Silver Challenges earn you 9 points.
• Winning Gold Challenges earn you the maximum- 10 points.

You can go back and take on any of the challenges again to improve your point total. Each of the challenges require you to finish in a certain position, collect a certain number of items, complete a race within a certain amount of time, etc.

SuperTuxKart: Characters and Tracks.

The various characters in SuperTuxKart are mostly Linux mascots. Of course, you can race as Mr. Linux himself- Tux. Who you want to race as is primarily your own call. There isn't really any difference or advantage as to who you actually race as. You can also play as other characters, such as Suzanne- the chimpanzee mascot of the Blender 3D modeling program. A few more karts can be unlocked through progress in the game.

Each of the tracks consist of a variety of beautifully-designed cartoon style tracks. They all have wonderfully-styled and colored venues for you to race on. Some tracks even have shortcuts for you to take advantage of. Be sure to learn each track and try to find every possible way to cut down your lap times especially when doing the harder challenges.

SuperTuxKart: Racing.

Races can include just yourself or as many as 20 opponents (including yourself). Race distances can last anywhere between one lap to 20 laps. You can configure these elements when doing Single Race or Multiplayer Race action. When racing, you pick up blue bottles and blue oil drums packed with Nitro. This Nitro is available for you to use at any time as long as you have boost available. Drive through the blue gift boxes to receive random items. You may even be able to pick up additional units of some weapons to get a little extra advantage. What you REALLY want to do, however, is avoid the bananas. Running through any of the bananas will slow your kart down and even screw around your driving temporarily.

And of course, make sure to avoid any environmental hazards as you go along.

SuperTuxKart: Modding.

Because SuperTuxKart is open source, you are able to model karts and tracks as add-ons for SuperTuxKart. You can visit SuperTuxKart's website to learn more on how to create mods for SuperTuxKart. Add-ons created for SuperTuxKart can be downloaded from the Add-Ons menu of STK. If you are a modeler, for example, you can use Blender to model karts and tracks for SuperTuxKart. Best of all... Blender can be downloaded for the absolutely low price of free.

IN CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED: To learn more about Blender 3D or to download Blender, please visit www.blender.org.


This gives you perspective on SuperTuxKart.

--- SuperTuxKart: Final Thoughts ---

This is really a fun experience. Anyone who is a fan of cartoon-style kart racing should easily find something to love about this game. The game itself is fun and has some wonderful music. Even doing the Story Mode is pretty fun. You aren't exactly tied to or indulged in the storyline, which is a good thing as far as racing games are concerned. You'll have a very fun experience playing SuperTuxKart. So if you have the PC requirements to play it, feel free to download and enjoy some fun kart racing!

For More Information...

Visit supertuxkart.sourceforge.net for more information on SuperTuxKart.





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GT Academy 2013 Demo

GT Academy 2013 offers about the first real look at the upcoming Gran Turismo 6. This is the first-ever GT Academy I've downloaded for my PlayStation 3, as I did not download the 2012 edition of GT Academy. After going through some of the disappointments of GT5, I had somewhat of an idea of what GT6 could offer and how much further ahead PD will need to go in making GT6 worlds better than GT5. This post is just a basic notebook of my thoughts on the GT Academy 2013 demo.

All of this is based on my first day of playing the GT Academy demo. This was all taken from my initial playing experience from July 20, 2013.

--- GT Academy 2013 Demo Impressions ---

Gran Turismo 6 doesn't seem like it will be a leaps-and-bounds improvement over GT5. However, you do get to enjoy racing two Nissans. The first-ever winner of GT Academy- Lucas Ordoñez offers his insights to you when you start out. You input your first and last name and then be on your way racing. Before you take on the in-game demo, you will take two laps around one of the shorter configurations of the Silverstone Circuit. If you aren't aware, Silverstone will be one of a few new circuits to be included in Gran Turismo 6 as well as the likes of the Goodwood Festival of Speed track and Bathurst. Just go and complete the run as best as you can.

After your run around Silverstone, you will then compete in two series races- both in Nissans. You should be able to clear every race successfully as long as you race cleanly and make solid overtakes. One of two Nissans you will race in GT Academy 2013 is the Nissan Leaf. Okay... maybe the Leaf is not exactly a racing beast, but you do get the chance to race one of these cars. Man- that car is super quiet! I once seen a YouTube video of a Nissan Leaf race car which is even more quiet. You will then go race a Nissan 370Z in two more races. If you manage to clear all races, you then will take on five events around Silverstone. I did not do the Silverstone events in making my initial blog post regarding the GT Academy 2013 demo.

When you start a race, you get this rather fancy introduction along with a good rock music intro. These Gran Turismo flags show up on the screen. The pre-race menu is more stylish and more informative than Gran Turismo 5's pre-race menu. It even includes time and weather information. I honestly want to imagine all or most of these courses will let you race almost any time of day with any number of weather effects. For example, racing at Autumn Ring was slated at 14:00 (2:00 PM) at 47 F temperatures. I am not very good with 24-hour times, so that's why I included the 12-hour format here.

As for the driving model, I didn't note too much difference between GT5's model and the model in this demo. What I DID notice was that I raced the Autumn Ring event in the 370Z, and I almost spun out my 370Z going through Autumn Ring's loop. Either my tires lacked traction or that I was applying a bit too much throttle in the loop. I actually adjusted my TCS settings down to 1 in my playing of the demo. Driving a car in this game remains solid while not being overly hardcore.

Final Thoughts.

The GT Academy 2013 demo offers a glimpse into what Gran Turismo 6 will offer. There is still so much to speculate and imagine at this point. It certainly leaves much to the imagination of what Gran Turismo 6 will hopefully offer. If you have a PlayStation 3, make sure to download the 1GB download and get to play the whole thing to get an idea of what GT6 could potentially offer.

Video Preview.

I tried to find as brief of a video as possible to get you interested in GT Academy 2013. Here was the best video I could find:



So jump onto PlayStation Store and download the FREE GT Academy 2013 demo!





So go ahead and download GT Academy 2013 from PlayStation Store. It is a good idea of what GT6 could possibly offer. All I can really hope for is a GT6 kiosk demo much like the vastly popular GT5 kiosk demo I reviewed in "John's Blog Space." I do want to race cars like the Audi S1 Group B rally car and that Lightweight Car Company Rocket. For now, thank you for reading!

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Slipstream

Capcom's vision of Formula 1 racing came in the form of the 1995 arcade game Slipstream. Many people only know Auto Modellista as Capcom's only racing game. Actually, there have been racing games by Capcom before even Slipstream. They just aren't many Capcom racing titles. Anyhow, Slipstream was not marketed aggressively worldwide, as you could only find Slipstream granted you live in Brazil. It was a game that featured three modes of play, eight cars, and four venues. I will introduce this game to my wonderful audience here.

I blogged about Slipstream before in my main blog, "John's Blog Space." This post you are about to read, however, is a completely original post made specifically for "John's Race Space."

--- Slipstream ---

Capcom's Slipstream was released in 1995. It ran on Sega System 32 hardware. Rich color quality and smooth racing were offered with this package. Slipstream is a Formula 1 racing game which allows for frenzied racing action by way of turbo boosts.

Modes of Play.

Three modes of play are available to gamers:

• Time Trial - compete in a one-on-one race.
• World Championship - race on all four tracks in a World Championship setting.
• Passing Contest - pass as many cars as you can through the course of one race.

The Cars.

The cars all resemble real-world Formula 1 race cars of their day. There are actually four cars in Slipstream, each with two different variants separated by color. So the total number of cars to choose from is eight. Each car is graded upon four factors:

• Handling - how well your car can take on corners.
• Acceleration - how well your car gets up to speed.
• Max Speed - the fastest your car can go.
• Rain Grip - how well your car handles in the rain.

While the cars all resemble certain real-world F1 cars (such as the Benetton B192), no actual F1 teams or drivers exist in this game.

The Tracks.

Each of the tracks are named for the nation they can be found in. Each course offers their own unique challenges.

• Germany - enjoy high-speed battle around the old Hockenheimring.
• Monaco - enter racing battle on the famed streets of Monte Carlo.
• Japan - the technical Suzuka Circuit offers rewarding driving and intense challenge.
• Australia - race the streets of Adelaide, but be wary of when rain soaks these streets.

Ready for some Slipstream?

The Racing.

The races in Slipstream all feature you against other car(s). Be sure not to overrev your engine at the start, or you'll have a terrible launch off the line. The key to racing in this game is in utilizing your turbo boosts. When you are in the draft of a leading car, a turbo will be initiated for you to try to pass that car. You can generate your own turbo boost, but you'll get automatic boosts when in a slipstream battle. You may often hear a voice say "SLIPSTREAM!" once a turbo is activated. Be careful as you use your boosts, because the other drivers may also overtake you with their own turbo boosts. By crossing the Checkpoints, your time will be extended. Try to ward off the other driver(s) and go for the win!

Video Preview.

Here is a preview of Slipstream. Click on the link below the video to view in YouTube (if you are unable to view such embedded media):


ARCADE MUSEUM - Slip Stream


Thanks to the video creator for allowing this video to be embedded.

--- Slipstream: Final Thoughts ---

It is too bad that Capcom didn't market this game outside of Brazil. Even though more people equate Capcom to fighting games, it doesn't mean that they still can't take on a racing game. Most people today may know of Auto Modellista as the only Capcom racing game ever. Some others know of Capcom offering the MotoGP games taking over from Namco (now Namco Bandai). However, Capcom made an arcade racing game back in 1988 called F-1 Dream for arcades. Just because you are not known for making games of a certain genre doesn't mean you can take on the challenge of making a game of a foreign (in the minds of purists) genre.

Having said all of this, I am actually sad Capcom probably could have marketed Slipstream a bit more elsewhere. Its rarity and its appeal make it very interesting. A willing developer could be able to take this game and maybe make it available on services like PlayStation Network or XBOX Live among others. Even though Capcom is better known as a juggernaut in fighting games, at least it's nice to know they attempted a racing game or two- and a very good one at that.


IN CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED... You can read my original post on "Slipstream" in my main blog by following this link: "Slipstream" (John's Blog Space).





That concludes another blog post here on "John's Race Space." Want more of my material? Be sure you are Subscribed and Followed to JRS as well as to my other blogs. I hope you enjoyed this post. Until next time, thank you for reading!

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