Ferrari Challenge (or Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli if you want its full title) is the first all Ferrari based racing game to be released this generation, with previous Ferrari based games providing a solid and enjoyable racing experience such as Ferrari F355 Challenge on the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, System 3 have had a huge task on their hands in order to create a game worthy the Ferrari name. Thankfully for us they have created one of the finest racing simulators of this generation.

Ferrari Challenge ticks the most important box in a racing simulator and provides us with a physics engine which allows all the cars to handle as you would expect rewarding and punishing players for their good and bad driving respectively. By turning off the driving aids you can really see how good the handling in this game is. The Handling system in this game is more forgiving that the ultra realistic system you find in Gran Turismo games so racing fans that are put off by the system in Gran Turismo may want to give this game a look in.

The Ai System in this game is also equally impressive, the difficulty level of this game will adjust depending on your own ability which does provide a steep difficulty curve as the first few racers are easy, however the next set of races will all of a sudden leave you really having to push your driving skills to the limit in order to finish the race in first. Another example is overtaking, if you overtake your opponents one way they remember how you did it, and next time you try to overtake them using the same technique they will try and block your path and become more aggressive to ensure that they keep their position.

Visually this game is also impressive, while it won’t wow you like Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, the textures minus one or two poor ones now and then are solid throughout and 14 of the most famous tracks from around the world including Silverstone and Monza are beautifully recreated in this game. The cars are modelled with plenty on detail and really allow you see the cars for what they are and on top of that the cars sound effects are top notch and help to create the virtual Ferrari experience. It will be a crime not to mention the rain effects in this game, they are some of the best seen this generation in a racing game and you can argue that this is when the game looks its best as you see the rain drop’s running down the windscreen and the track surface looking great in the wet.

The game also has damage implemented and while visually it does look good, it really is no more than a cosmetic inclusion, the bumpers falling off look good, however the handling of the car doesn’t really change that much as you might expect which is one of the games slight disappointments.

Like all games this game does has its downfalls however, the lack of spilt screen is a slight disappointment, however a solid but basic online system makes up for it. The way the game is structured will also provide some confusing moments for gamers, however the core game play more than makes up for this.

Like all racing simulators I recommend a force feedback steering wheel in order to get the most out of the game, however if that is not an option the dualshock 3 controller will not leave you disappointed. Ferrari fans will love the attention to detail in all the cars with the engine sounds being nearly spot on to their real life counterparts. Many will view the game as a time filler before Gran Turismo 5 is released, however Ferrari Challenge is more than worthy of the Ferrari badge and System 3 can hold their heads high knowing that they have created one of the best racers of this generation.

Final Score – 9.0 out of 10

Right i will start off by saying that i have avoided spoliers to the plot in this review, since i know theres still people who are yet to pick up this game.

The game which Fan’s have been waiting for is here, and boy it doesn’t disapoint i’ve never felt this way about a game since Final Fantasy VII, all your emotions will get a run for their money, the way the great gameplay mixed with the fantastic story line will keep you hooked and will make you play it back again. However these are mere words along with the review which follows, no review will ever justify this game enough, only by experiencing it for yourself will you see what a masterpiece this is.

Gameplay

The gameplay is much improved than ever before. You really can choose how you want to play this game, whenever you play it using the First Person mode and as more of a shooter in places, or you can sneak around and try not to get spotted at all costs. The latter is recomended as it really shows what this series has been about over the last couple of decades. The octocamo allows you to blend into your surroundings, and great map design ensures that you can find many paths to achieve your missions.

Theres also plenty of guns (around 80 for those looking for a figure) which are all customisable, most guns can be brought using the dreblin Points obtainted from collecting guns on the battlefield. A target range can be loaded up allowing you to practice using these weapons agaisnt targets.

Being true to the series the game also features some great boss fights while i wouldn’t say they reach the level of the ‘The End’ boss fight, (which i reguard as the best boss fight in any game ever)  all are unique in there own little ways and none will leave you disapointed.

The controls have been refined, the menu system works great and is easily accessable using the R2,L2 triggers.

Presentation

The Presentation in this game is simply unbelievable, you can see the effort put into this game from the start. The game supplies us with some of the best visuals avaible this generation, and provides a new standard for what we have come to expect from a cutscene in a game, this game will send all you emotions flowing freely. The voice acting and sound effects in a game are good enough to rival hollywood movie’s and that statement applies to how well the cutscenes have been directed as well.

Story

This is by far the greatest achivement of this game, its told in such a way that all loose ends are explained and fan’s of the series will be thankfull of this, however the second half of the game does give the story priority and this means less gameplay that the first few act’s (however the gameplay which is in the second half of the game is some of the best which i have ever played) so newcomers may feel a little Miffed, but those who have been loyal to the series over the years won’t moan one bit.

Metal Gear Online is also included with the game, however i will review that after i’ve spent more hours on it.

Conclusion

This really is a game which every gamer needs to experience at some point or another, its really that good. Not only is it one of the best games ever created, its also one of the best films created as well, with a stunning Story and extremly well directed cutscenes. Its a game which is pushing gaming as a medium and a work of art at that. Its a game which is unlike no other, and is a game which i can’t see being topped for a long long time.  Snake Old Friend, you’ve given me some of the best game experiences of my life and now its time for you to enjoy you rest.

Final Score – 10/10 – If i could go higher than 10 i would.

After picking up my copy of HAZE which is actually a solid shooter, and will tide any Ps3 owner over until Resistance 2 hits in November despite what our friends at IGN seem to believe.

Anyway i’ve just noticed this on the back of the case [Please note this is the UK PAL version of the game, there are some reports that the US version doesn't state free downloadable content]

As you can see, it seems there will be some free downloadable content coming in the future, most likey will be maps and maybe weapons for the multiplayer modes, but it is refreshing to see a developer not charging over the top prices for a few extra maps (call of Duty 4 and Gears of War suffered badly from this).

Here i was at play.com LIVE today enjoying playing Halo 3 in the over 18 section when this happened.

Make of that what you will

Here are some more images from Play.com LIVE

Excuse the light, but that is SC4

Yep The Motorstorm 2 teaser trailer made an apperance today as well.

Due to high demand here’s my second go on HAZE.

I decided to take more time on the second demo today and really concentrate on the gameplay elements. I also changed the difficulty settings to hard to get a true idea of what the AI is capable of, and also can now confirm that you can customise the controls to however you like and the sensitivity, so the control problems i found yesterday are a thing of the past.

At the start of the demo you start in area, getting attacked from various directions were you have to take out several of your enemy’s, now the Ai is impressive here they were flanking, and when you shoot at them or go towards them they will dive out of the way and into cover. Once you have taken care of them you and your 3 friendly’s jump into a car and you have to reach the other base camp. On your journey you will encounter your enemy who are throwing bombs at you as you drive past, and they have also placed explosives in the mountain side which if you go to close they explode. Once you get past that you get to a gate and you need to get out and find the lever to open it. (which if your interested is in the shed next to it), once through the gate you get into there base camp. Now if you make the mistake i made and get off the car, just before the enemy from a shed come full pelt in a car and try to ram you down while shooting at you. This is where the Ai really did shine, as i was trying to run away and shoot the car at the same time, it trys to cicrle you while others on the car are shooting at the same time. I did manage to get past it by taking out one at a time and having a bit of luck. I will say one thing for the visuals on this one, while the cars etc where well textured the landscape was a bit bland but saying that you are in a sort of desert environment so its not to surprising. Once you get past that you drive ahead and get to large shed where you find more enemy’s shooting at you, the best thing to do i found was to simply try and run them over, which is alot harder than it seems. In the end getting out and shooting worked well enough, however it came at the cost of 2 of my men and that about sums up the second demo. The 2nd time i played it today i focused on seeing how the necture add’s to the gameplay. The first thing i noticed was that the drug makes you move a bit faster and the enemy’s stand out more, this is very useful and i suspect will be vital for completing the first half of the game where you are a mantel trooper. There is a downside to using necter however. Firstly if you take to much at once, (which is known as an overdose) the screen will begin to blur making it harder to see your enemy’s, but not only that but it does it a little harder to notice who your own men our and i one point i ended up shooting my own allies by accident, so you need to make sure you don’t overdose. The other thing i noticed is that the play dead feature comes into place. Your enemys will click that you using necter and will play dead, now this is annoying as a side effect of necter is that you can’t see any dead bodies and while using necter you can walk through what you think is a safe area then all of a sudden people will appear and start shooting you. So thats another thing you need to be careful of.

Just one more thing i was asked by someone if HAZE would support mod’s and the answer i got today was its unlikey however they wouldn’t rule it out completey let.

Update – i have had alot of requests to mention the current framerate. I’m unaware of the actual framerate (however i believe its 30FPS), however whatever it wasit doesn’t matter as the demo’s i played where smooth and solid and did not notice any dips during gameplay at all. In my personal opinion its only when a framerate drops during gameplay that we have a problem

Here are some of the photos’ i took from todays Play.com LIVE event

Here is my preview which can also be seen here – http://www.pslegion.com/news/playstation-legion-haze-hands-impressions

At Play.com LIVE 2 demos of the upcoming PlayStation 3 exclusive HAZE were in playable form and i spent a while trying out this new FPS for the PS3.

I will Start by saying that the clerk at the event i was speaking to stated that these are playable builds from a few months ago, he also went on to state that Friday 23rd May is the target release date for HAZE in the UK and also that Rumble will be used in HAZE, however i’m unable to comment on that, since the stands used Sixaxis controllers.

Both Demo’s which i played had you placed as a Mantel Trooper. In the first demo had you set in a forest, the environments were lush with sharp visuals in most areas (however the clerk assured me that the not so sharp areas will be touched up by the time is released), which are a large improvement of previous screens of the game we have seen and have no doubt that the new screens recently released are in-game and can be achieved by Free Radical. I will also add that both demo’s i played had a solid framerate throughout which will come as great news to most. Now onto the gameplay, this short 7/8minute demo was more than enough time to leave me feeling that this game will be successful and could easily become a solid franchise for Free Radical and Ubisoft. While the controls do take a few minutes to get the hang of (those who have played a lot of COD4 like i have to find it hard to adjust to begin with) they do work successfully with L2 being used to give yourself a nectar boost and Circle being used to crouch. The Pace of the demo varied throughout at some point you will be just walking, enjoying the views whereas 5 Seconds later you will have bullets being fired at you from left, right and centre. The health system works similar to the likes of Call of Duty 4 and Gears Of War were the screen go’s red as you are getting hurt. The short but sweet cutscenes really help the storyline, but also helps you get pumped up as well, one scene sees you hearing out one of you fellow mantel troopers speaking during his last moments, i won’t say what he said but it really did help me to really get into the demo and was disappointed when it ended.

The second demo had a completely different approach to gameplay with you driving while your friendly Ai take out your rivals. You drive by using R1 & L1 plus the analogue sticks which takes a lot of getting used to, if you are used to the likes of Motorstorm where you use R2 & L2 instead. I did find that the Ai of your targets was impressive during this demo and weren’t that easy to take out. I’m afraid that’s all i had time for for this demo due to time constraints. However the short time i played it left me with a positive feeling about the game.

Overall however i can now safely say that this will be a solid title for the PlayStation 3 and will feel the gap nicely between this and Killzone 2 and could and should be a sleeper hit. There are a few complaints however, i found the analogue sticks to be that little bit too loose and could do with some tweaking. I also found that the friendly Ai really wasn’t that great, but saying that i was unaware on what difficulty i was playing it on which may have had an effect, plus also Free Radical are focusing on Co-op so i’m sure this game will benefit you completing it with mates rather than by yourself. Also take into account that the Ai will be improved before its released.

My final comment will be is that i enjoyed the short time i’ve spent on the game and judging on reactions of others playing around me, they did as well. I for one will be getting this game on day 1 and suggest all FPS fans at least consider it, that is providing something doesn’t go wrong between now and May.

Andrew Jeffery

Here are a couple of pictures from the HAZE displays

Now once in a while one of the games which complety redefines a genre is released. Such a title was Motorstorm for the PS3, since then all off-road racers have been below standard. Below is the new teaser trailer for Motorstorm 2. So now being set in a tropical island with monster trucks this really is a game for people to pick up later this year when its released.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/31749.html

This weekend is taken up by two events this weekend, Play.com LIVE at wembley Stadium and the start of the New F1 Season.

Play.com LIVE will take place this weekend at wembley stadium and will provide visitors with great entertainment, not only by showing the latest games such as HAZE and SCIV. Check back to the blog to see my views on the event this weekend.

Now for the big one. The start of new F1 season and it now the sport really has got worth watching again, with Lewis Hamilton providing a genuine hope for a british driver to come away with the championship and has all ready come out and said

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“I’m feeling very, very optimistic about the 2008 season,” “To come to the first test and see how the car has evolved, and how good it is, gives me a great boost of confidence.

All i can say is bring on Australia