Home / Posts tagged 'XBOX'

• Harlem Shake, Forza Motorsport 4 Style [Video]

  In Fast Forward / By Tom Anderson / 4 March 2013

  

  In case you haven’t been in contact with the outside world for the last, oh, month or so, welcome back! We’ve missed you. Listen, before you start catching up on your emails, bills or even the posts on this site, there’s something you should know about. It’s a little something called the Harlem Shake and, in case you don’t want to read about all the gory details, basically it’s spawned a YouTube craze comprised of innumerable parodies. Basically, it’s this season’s Gangnam Style…except it isn’t.

  Anyway, this multimedia fad has spread to such a degree that even the online racing community has embraced it. This example, which comes to us courtesy of Xboxista domesticmango and friends, uses Forza Motorsport 4, the Top Gear Test Track, and a whole gaggle of customized vehicles, including a fairly convincing replica of Ken Block’s 2013 Ford Fiesta. And what’s up with that ending? All we can say is thank Nolan Bushnell for video games. As for the Harlem Shake, we say stand down, haters; it’ll peter out soon enough.

  CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >>

   

• The Top 10 Pro Driver Endorsed Racing Games of All Time [w/ Videos]

  In Video Games / By Tom Anderson / 30 April 2012

  

  One of the best ways to sell a racing video game (aside from taut controls, gorgeous graphics and a great selection of vehicles and tracks) is to get a professional racing driver to attach his or her name to the game’s title, if not be involved in the actual development process. In the late 1980s, this trend really started taking off, as some of the best and brightest from IndyCar, NASCAR, Formula 1 and elsewhere lent their monikers and likenesses to numerous arcade and console games.

   

  Of course, some of you might be too young to remember some of these games, as well as the drivers behind them. Well, this is your lucky day, young ‘uns, because we’ve put together the following list of ten classic racing games with pro drivers’ stamps of approval. And as an added bonus, each one is accompanied by a gameplay clip, so you can see these titles in action.

   

  CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >>

   

• Forza Motorsport 4’s April Car Pack Brings a Little of Everything [w/ Video]

  In Video Games / By Tom Anderson / 4 April 2012

  

  On top of the vast tuning and customization options, stout physics engine and comprehensive online play, Forza Motorsport 4 has a fascinating variety of vehicles from which to choose. Whether your proclivities lean toward mammoth SUVs, fire-breathing supercars, snappy hot hatches or out-and-out race cars, the latest installment of the Xbox 360’s flagship racing title has something for you.

  This is not to say, however, that the folks at Turn 10 included as many vehicles as they could have on the disc. To remedy this, the company has been releasing downloadable 10-car add-on packs for the last six months. Each one has added variety and depth to the already eclectic car roster, and the one for this month – the April Alpinestars Pack, which dropped yesterday – is no different.

  CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >>

   

• GAME REVIEW: Forza Motorsport 4 for Xbox 360

  In Video Games / By Tom Anderson / 13 October 2011

  

  The underlying mission statement of Forza Motorsport 4 – the latest iteration of Microsoft’s flagship racing sim franchise – is spelled out almost as soon as the game loads. A surgically-clean white building interior appears as none other than Jeremy Clarkson launches into a lament on the decline of gearhead-dom. He bemoans how the car enthusiast fringe is being pushed to the margins by the masses who either couldn’t care less about cars, or want to see cars become androgynous, self-guided, unicorn fart-powered transportation pods incapable of offending even the most hypersensitive people. Eventually, though, he says there is a place where people can let their car geek flags fly without fear of being ridiculed or shunned, and that “place” is Forza Motorsport 4.

  Of course, there are lots of other video games that make car buffs feel at home, and were made by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts. The one that’s probably likely to spring to mind first is Gran Turismo, the series that started before Forza and is its closest analogue (Both let you buy, customize and race hundreds of licensed cars, both are developed by studios controlled by their respective console-makers, and both are published by their respective console-makers.). But instead of making this article a straight-up comparison (and possibly igniting the Playstation fanboy/Xbox fanboy equivalent of the Crusades), we’ll take the high road and concentrate on telling you what Forza 4 has and let it stand on its own merits…though we might point out a few areas where one has a leg up on the other.

  CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >>

   

• E3 Expo 2011: Forza Motorsport 4 Raises the Console Racing Sim Stakes [w/ Video]

  In Video Games / By Tom Anderson / 8 June 2011

  

  Since Gran Turismo 5 has been on store shelves for about half a year now, you had to know that sooner or later that info on the next installment in the Forza Motorsport franchise would drop. We got a taste of what to expect at last year’s E3 in the form of a tech demo utilizing the Kinect motion controller, but not much news after that.

  Fast forward to this year’s E3, though, and Forza developer Turn 10 has spilled a whole can’s worth of beans on Forza Motorsport 4. And it turns out there’s a lot more to it than being able to drive without a controller.

  CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >>

   

• E3 Expo 2010: Need for Speed – Hot Pursuit Takes Franchise Back to Its Roots [w/Video]

  In Video Games / By Tom Anderson / 21 June 2010

  

  If we had to name one racing game franchise that has lost the plot of late, it would have to be Electronic Arts’ erstwhile genre-leader, the Need for Speed series. All was well in the beginning, when the focus of the titles in the main canon was on a variety of supercars going fast and, with the exception of Need for Speed II and Need for Speed II: SE, running from the Man. (There were occasional deviations from the formula like the V-Rally games and Porsche Unleashed.)

  But gradually, the creators attempted to reinvent the series, increasing the focus on tuner cars, drifting and other fads, pushing the simple-but-effective cops vs. racers in high end cars formula aside in pursuit of being more things to more people. By and large, this strategy has backfired, with more and more longtime players pining for a return to the tried-and-true philosophy. Well, at this year’s E3 show in L.A., those diehards learned their salvation was at hand.

  CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >>

   

• E3 Expo 2010: XBOX Forza Motorsport 3 VIP Preview Event Featuring Kinect

  In Video Games / By Ari Cox / 18 June 2010

  

  The ID Agency held a special VIP party for Microsoft XBOX and Forza Motorsport 3 on Wednesday to give folks a chance to try out the new Kinect system without standing in a line for 2 hours or battling through the hordes. Turn 10 Studios has been working with the magic of the new “Kinect” technology, combined with the power of the Forza Motorsport series, to explore how players can race and interact with their dream cars in the most immersive and realistic automotive experiences ever imagined. After 5 years of console racing excellence, Turn 10 has raised the bar once again. So now users are able to hop inside their dream cars and get closer to the racing action than ever before – without the use of a controller.

  While the Kinect system is not perfect, and is still in preliminary stages, the potential for games like Forza Motorsport 3 is outstanding. With Kinect, you are able to drive and race by simply by putting your hands in front of you at 10 and 2. You can move your head to look around the interior. You can even look into the corners as you turn. As you’d expect, this experience is running in beautiful HD at a seamless 60 fps.

  CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >>

   

• E3 Expo 2010: Microsoft Debuts a Kinect-ed Version of Forza Motorsport 3 [w/Video]

  In Video Games / By Tom Anderson / 17 June 2010

  

  If there’s one thing Forza Motorsport 3 does really well (aside from racing action, car customization, online play…) , it’s presenting the gorgeous car models in gorgeous fashion. The painstakingly-rendered machines feature gobsmackingly-realistic detailing everywhere you look, be it the lights, the interior or, on some of the old race cars, the rivets on the body. But while you can rotate and zoom in on the cars while in the garage, you can’t really recreate the sensation of walking around them, looking at them up close and, most of all, opening the doors and hopping in.

  However, with the advent of the Xbox360’s new motion-based control system, Kinect (nee “Project Natal”), Microsoft’s flagship racing franchise has loads of new avenues for innovation open and ready to be taken.  As you’ll see in the video after the jump, you’ll be able to walk around cars, explore their features, and even “sit inside” them and look around. But that’s not all…

  CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >>

   

• Forza Motorsport 3 Demo Drops Sept. 24th on XBOX LIVE With Five Cars (w/Video)

  In Video Games / By Ari Cox / 12 September 2009

  

  I know we’ve all been chomping at the bit to get our hands on the new edition of Forza Motorsport 3. The deluge of teaser images and videos have only served to fuel the fire even more. For those of you who can no longer function with anticipation, Turn 10 Studios is set to drop a demo version which will be available on the XBOX LIVE Marketplace on September 24th. This introduction will allow gamers to experience first hand the vastly improved graphics and more advanced game play while rocking these five cars:

  2007 Porsche #80 Flying Lizard 911 GT3 RSR
  2010 Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro
  2009 Ferrari California
  2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR
  2009 Mini John Cooper Works

  CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >>