By Kermath Davies
The racing games at this year's E3 may not have appeared as spectacular as the last, but they've definitely gained tack from the frenzy of new players that have come to see what all the fuss is about on the power of the next-gen consoles.
Forza, The Crew and Driveclub have each added a spit and shine to their nice new games to be released soon.
Forza Horizon 2
Over the last year, the Forza team spent their time collating data from not how players have been playing, but where they've been going.
They've advanced the Drivatar technology to observe the shortcuts that player's friends would use that would be totally different from another group.
Forza has also once again teamed up with Playground Games.
Their early involvement with Forza Horizon in 2012 lead to innovative and pioneering ideas for the racing genre, compiled from a team that leant a hand in the creation of classics like Burnout and Driver.
They've been successful in igniting the car passion within gamers and gaming passion in car lovers, and with Horizon 2 they hope to do it again. Their focus on how light bounces and moves around objects is just as breathtaking as the picturesque locations.
Playground will be heading the Xbox One version that will run at a locked 30 frames-per-second and 1080p. Forza 5 did run at 60fps, however Horizon 2 is an open-world title and according to the developers, setting the game to a solid 30fps would allow them to focus on improving the world without worrying about the technical challenges.
Sumo Digital is looking after the Xbox 360 version and Turn 10 will again provide support to the primary developers.
I had a go at the Xbox One version, and it's as emotional as it is fun. Even if you don't have the slightest interest in racing games, you won't be able to stop yourself from being mesmerized by the all the pretty things on screen.
Some great new features in Horizon 2 include day-and-night driving, a fully dynamic weather system and the 'Bucket List'.
Similar to the 1000 Club in Forza Horizon, the Bucket List is a group of challenges for the player to complete. There are two separate lists; one for France and one for Italy.
The developers were also very proud to say these lists will be continuously added to, and new challenges will pop up over time.
Car Meets are also a new addition that will allow players to meet up online, similar to 'Forzavista' in Forza Motorsport 5.
You'll be able to have a chat, interact with each other and share tuning setups and liveries.
The game world of Horizon 2 is almost three times the size of the first, and the realism is remarkable. One of the last things the developers said to me just as I was turning off into a cornfield to take a shortcut was "if you can do it in Horizon 2, you can do it in real-life".
Horizon 2 is due for release September 30 of this year.
The Crew
This is a sensational mash-up, a MMO-meets-RPG race game.
Since The Crew's announcement at last year's E3, developer Ivory Tower and publisher Ubisoft have opened their doors to hardcore fanatics to collect suggestions from all over the world.
The result is a finely tuned balance between player and virtual machine that feels seamless when picking up the controller.
The Crew provides a persistent open-world racer that lets you explore the greater United States. The scale of the game is ridiculous; it'll take you two hours in real-time to drive from New York to Los Angeles coast-to-coast, and the single-player campaign is at a staggering 20 hours long.
The game's multiplayer is asynchronous to the single-player, allowing your friends to play against your ghost records.
For each mission, each crew member will need to choose a spec before starting. These include the perf, dirt, circuit and raid spec.
The first thing I noticed was how much the visuals have improved since last year, although Ubisoft told me they'll be setting the resolution at 1080p and a also set at 30 fps across both PS4 and Xbox One, as the developers aim for parity across all versions.
The terrain and weather have seen significant face-lifts, and the behavioural change of the vehicles in different weather conditions adds to the realism and makes the game really fun to roam in.
The Crew is essentially a free-driving persistent world where you can go wherever you want, and race whomever you want.
This is by far the largest map on a racing game I've ever seen, and probably the most player-friendly for those who despise anything to do with car games.
Beta testing will begin July 23 on PC and anyone can register at thecrewgame.com.
Driveclub
The competition within the racing game genre is tough.
No other genre faces the same demand from graphics and seamlessness as much as the racing category; and for me, Driveclub took the cup as the best-looking game at this years E3.
It's the best thing I've ever seen on the PS4 and the developers at Evolution Studios aren't afraid to say that they're just getting started.
Compared to Horizon 2 and The Crew, the weather system Drive Club has added an extra touch of realistic transitions and sky lighting to the already beautiful game that has truly taken this game over the top.
At first, I was extremely skeptical at how 'spectacular' this weather system was, eager to dust off and apply my extensive knowledge of storms that I'd gained from a geography degree that I had lying in waste; nothing could prepare me for what was about to take place.
The weather system was so new that the demo had to be live-streamed from the art director's computer to a PS4 development kit. Evolution started by opening the game in a rocky valley in the early hours of the morning.
There was everything you'd usually expect from looking out your car window towards the mountains, including haze and a thick, cloudy sky. A warm light defused by the dense clouds filled the world and then began the rain simulation.
Demonstrating the transition from a bit of drizzle to a full downpour brought the heavily researched weather system to life; actually, so true-to-life that it looked like any real rainstorm taking form I've ever seen. I couldn't keep up with the different stages because the entire thing was so seamless.
As the moisture picked up, the lighting through the clouds began to change and large drops began to spatter against the windscreen as the car continued down the track. As the rain became heavier, trials of water were coming off the hood and around the sides, and tire marks were cutting into fresh road wetness.
The team then paused the demo to show what the track looked like around the car right in the middle of the storm. It looked like a scene straight out of a film.
Raindrops falling into puddles on the side of the road showed rippling, water sat naturally around rocks and surface water spraying up from the other cars upfront sat in suspension.
The team then switched the game to night and the rain took other forms. Through the headlights, I could see the pressure, angle and weight of the drops changing in relation to the speed and direction of the car. It looked as though each drop was unique and took on individual reflections depending on how it travelled and where it landed; barriers and roadsigns also became glossy and more reflective during rainfall.
Evolution says they've invested heavily in the weather system in an effort to encourage players to replay each track in different settings.
You're also able to pick the speed of the progression of the day that you drive in, where one real-time minute could represent, 1, 30 or 60 game minutes, allowing you to experience a full day cycle in just 24 minutes.
The wait on a years delay for Driveclub looks to be worth it, and we can expect a release in New Zealand on October 8.
3 News
source: newshub archive
