Archive for 2005

Next generation physics. Next generation graphics. Next generation storage and connectivity. The PS3 will be quite a machine. What will this mean when you boot up the next F1 game? Or the next Gran Turismo? How will all this new power give you a better racing experience?

My favourite racing games are currently Project Gotham Racing 2, EA’s Formula 1, Need for Speed, and Burnout 3. What do I expect to see in PS3 versions of games like these? (Yes, I realize PGR is an Xbox thing.)

The obvious first answer is the graphics. When my wife walks into the room, I hope she can’t tell I’m playing the game instead of watching an F1 race. I expect awesome looking cars and spectacular scenery. The cars will have realistic looking damage, exhaust, smoke from tires, and the like. Take a look at the MotorStorm trailer and imagine the possibilities.

More interestingly, I hope to see better physics. Cars should corner more realistically. They’ll actually have weight to them. And collisions will look BAM! Splintering. The Forgotten with Julianne Moore was a forgettable movie, but it did have a great car accident. It was shown from inside the car, and it was totally unexpected and real. If a car hits me like that in Burnout: SMASHEM (or whatever) I want the same kind of SMASH! “What the?”. Or in Colin McRae, the bushes will crunch under your car instead of stopping it! (Gosh, they could do that now.)

Sound. Now that we have DD 5.1 on the PS3, I hope they make good use of it here. I don’t like using mirrors in racing games, so the audio could really help out. A car beside you? Behind you? Passing? You’ll be able to hear all those things. Crashes smash all around, parts fly from one end of your family room to another. Screeching, rending, skidding. Hear it all, everywhere.

And of course, all this in full four-player glory. Or online! Your choice.

Anything I missed? How else could racing games be improved? Please post a comment.