Right then, I picked up the special edition first thing this morning, and have had a solid few hours to get stuck into DriveClub. And my first impression is it?s a hugely mixed bag. It does some things exceptionally well, whilst other basic features (or lack thereof) let it down.
i thought it might be best to just break it down into good and bad, as it really does seem to be a game of two extremes.
the good
The most obvious good point is the visuals. I?ve had a few Wow moments so far, mostly as a result of the lighting and weather. The car models aren?t actually great, but some parts of the tracks are truly beautiful. The initial fly overs before a race are a great example.
The other main good point, and for me by far the most important, is the handling. It feels absolutely spot on. Cars feel heavy, solid, have momentum and you can really enjoy shifting the weight. And i have to say, whilst in the in-car view, the sense of speed and movement (or impact if you crash) is absolutely incredible. Your avatar rocks about in the seat, your view changes accordingly, and it?s incredibly immersive. Thankfully it?s also very easy to go from race to race, as the loading times are almost non existent. Not sure how Evolution have done this, and i suspect theres some smoke and mirrors loading going on in the background, but it feels lightning fast.
Finally, the challenges in each race are really great fun. It?s extremely satisfying when you beat a challenge, and see your score wipe it off the screen to right.
the bad:
You really are just thrown into this game. There?s a quick opening promo video at the start, which was released a few weeks ago, but nothing to set the scene. This leaves you with no idea what you?re doing, or how you?re supposed to progress. And all of a sudden you start unlocking cars with random points?but have no real ideal why, where they are stored, or how to access them. When you get to the familiar tiled event grid, you at least feel slightly at home.
Menu system is pretty basic, and the in-race UI is quite bewildering at first, with lots going on. Playing on a 50? screen, and even on there it feels quite intrusive to begin with. You eventually get used to the pop up challenges and targets however.
The in game music is shockingly bad, which seems to consist of around 3 generic DnB tracks, which are not mentioned anywhere?no artist, track name, etc. Clearly an after thought that Evolution are extremely keen to hide away, as music is bizarrely switched off by default when you start.
Annoyingly, the menu music is actually very good, but I?ll be playing this with music off, and most likely some sensational Eurobeat mix for music.
In fact, the audio side of things in this entire game is pretty bad, with seemingly one standard sound for tire screech, one for impact, one for driving on gravel etc.
Speaking of atrocious parts of this game, the custom paint jobs are shocking. Very Computer Arts circa 1995. Quite why you?d want to use any of these is beyond me.
MSR 2
Feel free to declare me insane, but I personally feel DriveClub has a very strong MSR vibe to it?it?s clearly not finished or fleshed out, it?s beautiful but only wafer thin, different short tracks based on larger areas, no meaningful customising, its kudos and driver levelling, even its handling feels familiar and equally fun. But alas, MSR was released in 2000?and therefore the shallow nature of DC feels almost subconsciously dated, and anything but cutting edge.
I think the easiest way to describe DriveClub, is that it feels like an additional mode in another game, rather than a full title in its own right. For example, imagine Gran Turismo had a ?Club Mode?. DC is exactly what it would be. But as a full game, it feels hugely lacking.
There?s fun to be had here, and it?s handling is absolutely fantastic. But you can?t help but wonder what could have been.
BordersDown Club
For anyone planning on buying this, MoFo2 was legendary enough to set up a BD club. Just search for 'bordersdown' in the club menu to find it.
i thought it might be best to just break it down into good and bad, as it really does seem to be a game of two extremes.
the good
The most obvious good point is the visuals. I?ve had a few Wow moments so far, mostly as a result of the lighting and weather. The car models aren?t actually great, but some parts of the tracks are truly beautiful. The initial fly overs before a race are a great example.
The other main good point, and for me by far the most important, is the handling. It feels absolutely spot on. Cars feel heavy, solid, have momentum and you can really enjoy shifting the weight. And i have to say, whilst in the in-car view, the sense of speed and movement (or impact if you crash) is absolutely incredible. Your avatar rocks about in the seat, your view changes accordingly, and it?s incredibly immersive. Thankfully it?s also very easy to go from race to race, as the loading times are almost non existent. Not sure how Evolution have done this, and i suspect theres some smoke and mirrors loading going on in the background, but it feels lightning fast.
Finally, the challenges in each race are really great fun. It?s extremely satisfying when you beat a challenge, and see your score wipe it off the screen to right.
the bad:
You really are just thrown into this game. There?s a quick opening promo video at the start, which was released a few weeks ago, but nothing to set the scene. This leaves you with no idea what you?re doing, or how you?re supposed to progress. And all of a sudden you start unlocking cars with random points?but have no real ideal why, where they are stored, or how to access them. When you get to the familiar tiled event grid, you at least feel slightly at home.
Menu system is pretty basic, and the in-race UI is quite bewildering at first, with lots going on. Playing on a 50? screen, and even on there it feels quite intrusive to begin with. You eventually get used to the pop up challenges and targets however.
The in game music is shockingly bad, which seems to consist of around 3 generic DnB tracks, which are not mentioned anywhere?no artist, track name, etc. Clearly an after thought that Evolution are extremely keen to hide away, as music is bizarrely switched off by default when you start.
Annoyingly, the menu music is actually very good, but I?ll be playing this with music off, and most likely some sensational Eurobeat mix for music.
In fact, the audio side of things in this entire game is pretty bad, with seemingly one standard sound for tire screech, one for impact, one for driving on gravel etc.
Speaking of atrocious parts of this game, the custom paint jobs are shocking. Very Computer Arts circa 1995. Quite why you?d want to use any of these is beyond me.
MSR 2
Feel free to declare me insane, but I personally feel DriveClub has a very strong MSR vibe to it?it?s clearly not finished or fleshed out, it?s beautiful but only wafer thin, different short tracks based on larger areas, no meaningful customising, its kudos and driver levelling, even its handling feels familiar and equally fun. But alas, MSR was released in 2000?and therefore the shallow nature of DC feels almost subconsciously dated, and anything but cutting edge.
I think the easiest way to describe DriveClub, is that it feels like an additional mode in another game, rather than a full title in its own right. For example, imagine Gran Turismo had a ?Club Mode?. DC is exactly what it would be. But as a full game, it feels hugely lacking.
There?s fun to be had here, and it?s handling is absolutely fantastic. But you can?t help but wonder what could have been.
BordersDown Club
For anyone planning on buying this, MoFo2 was legendary enough to set up a BD club. Just search for 'bordersdown' in the club menu to find it.
Comment