Edge Issue 147 thread

[Wools]

And yet....there was definitely something missing from this one. I for one miss the intense, loneliness of the first three titles. Suffering progressively disabling injuries and becoming low on ammo, you are left to contemplate a dark, doomy existential dread.

Of course, for many the franchise needs to move along but I somehow feel that I'm probably not the only one (eh, Marcus, Rep?) who would have been quite happy to have retained the 2D backdrops and somewhat 'clunky' controls.

That was a fantastically writtern post. That for me encapsulates what makes resident evil my favourite videogame trilogy. I adore the series story and atmoshphere.

Resident evil 4 feels like a departure for the series and I hope that the fifth instalment brings back some of the atmosphere and story to the game and make it more involving.

Anywho not an exciting month and am supprised by the GT4 score. Anyone know what time extended is this month? *Hopes it's Ico or Sonic adventure*

[Pikman]

Yeah - I think a 9 for Resident Evil 4 is the right score, but for completely different reasons to those given in ntsc-uk's review.

[Nameless]

GT - 10
GT2 - 9
GT3 - 8
GT4 - 7
GT:C - 6
GT4:P - 5

I predicted the score after Prolouge because of this pattern


(The next GT will get 4)

[Ady]

Interesting.

I'm more interested in the articles than what Edge thinks certain games are worth, so any news on those would be great. What's the cover "story"? What crackpipe-fuelled nonsense do we have to suffer from Penn this month?

As for RE4, the above posts just prove how different we all are. I despised the first three games for the reasons mentioned above. I could see what they were trying to do in terms of atmosphere and the like, but I just felt it didn't work.

How anyone cannot see the leap SA was over Vice City is beyond me. Saying Vice City is the better game is like saying a milk float is faster than a sports car. Either way, both games are fairly fun but I've never felt compelled to rush out and buy either of them. Despite being decent games, the GTA series represents the very epitome of chav gaming...

As for the whole "mainsteam" thing, wasn't that just supposed to be a rumour? Either way, Edge has been decent recently, but there's something about the mag now as a whole that's not quite right. I read less and less of it every month. I can see myself losing interest in it altogether.

Did anyone else notice (going by the list in the first post) that most of the reviewed games this month are PS2 games? Have games stopped coming out for other formats or something?

[mid]

Having actually read the text of the review now, I think Edge are absolutely justified about GT4. I'll quote you the first paragraph, because they completely sum it up - it's still Gran Turismo, with everything that implies.

Do these words mean anything to you? E-Type. Wankel. Intgrale. Suzuka. Rascasse. Mille Miglia. If they don't, you can probably skip the rest of this review, because even if you love videogames, Gran Turismo 4 will most likely leave you cold. If, however, they stir the oil that runs thick in your veins and inspire lofty thoughts of automobile history and the glamour and daring of motorsport... well, you too can probably skip the rest of this review, because Gran Turismo 4's lavish hymn to the motor car will most likely consume you, irrespective of its shortcomings as a videogame. And it has to be said that those shortcomings are serious, and they are old.

All this talk about GT4, though, is ignoring what I think is probably the most controversial aspect: GTR on the PC gets an 8.

[Mayhem]

Considering RE4 is the sixth in the official series lineage, not sure where you get "trilogy" from here

(yes I know you mean RE1-3 but forgetting Zero and Code Veronica here?)

[pace]

Having actually read the text of the review now, I think Edge are absolutely justified about GT4. I'll quote you the first paragraph, because they completely sum it up - it's still Gran Turismo, with everything that implies.



All this talk about GT4, though, is ignoring what I think is probably the most controversial aspect: GTR on the PC gets an 8.

Yeah GTR looks good so in theory with both games being reviewed at the same time it should be "better". I look forward to reading the GT4 review to see what the flaws that they mentioned are.

I wonder if they played the game properly this time as I remember with the prologue review they claimed that you couldn't race against other cars but I managed to find the option on my Japanese version.

Anyway as they seem to point out on the review if you like the others gt4 will be for you.

[Atticus]

The problem I have with the GT4 score (and the reasons behind the score) is it contradicts how Edge treat other series. To me GT4 is a superb refienment of a series with better physics, better circuits (Citta Di Aria is a driver's dream IMO), better cars, even a better steering wheel in the awesome GT4 Pro wheel, etc, etc, etc. On its own merits it's possibly the greatest realistic driving game ever, in or out of an arcade. Now take the Winning Eleven series. Like the GT series it's constantly refiened but never reinvented, yet scores a consistant 9/10 in Edge.

As much as I love reading it every month it's inconsistancies like these that annoy me. Still, there's far more to like in Edge than dislike.

Good to see Resi 4 getting positive a reaction. I shall look forward to my copy dropping through the letterbox anytime soon.

[mid]

Edge's main complaints about GT4 are mainly those that they had for 3, really, i.e. that the actual competition part of the game, racing against other cars, is still broken - if at first you don't succeed, buy a bigger turbo. The text of the review goes on about how good the handling is, how nice the graphics are, etc, but at the end of the day, they review games, not sims. I'm sure they would MS Flight Sim wouldn't get more than a 7 either, if they reviewed it.

GTR is just as hardcore, but the quality of the racing means you've still got something to compete in; it's still a game, that sets a series of things for you to achieve.

[mid]

Oh, one rather interesting little thing I didn't previously know about - according to Edge, the poor PAL users will get some handy new features to compensate the wait, including the rather excellent ability to switch from A-Spec to B-Spec at a pitstop, rather than just running the whole race in one or the other. So blatting it for a few laps in order to clear the competition, then letting the AI do the next dull 40 of them can now be done.

[Team Andromeda]

Oh goody, that argument again.

I also see that Edge's traditional "Rate the first in a game series, then knock one point off each time they release a sequel" method is in effect for GT4. Should have seen that coming.

Unless of coures it's Pro Evo which even though it's just an Evolution still gets a 9 in EDGE with each game.

[Lurch]

I'm more interested in the articles than what Edge thinks certain games are worth, so any news on those would be great. What's the cover "story"? What crackpipe-fuelled nonsense do we have to suffer from Penn this month?

Not read much of them yet, but the cover story is "Shock and Gore - a close look at scare tactics" to tie in with the RE4 review, Time Extend is Skies Of Arcadia and Making Of is Little Computer People on C64, whatever that is.

[Atticus]

but at the end of the day, they review games, not sims.

Yet they gave the first one 10/10. And the second one, the closest relative to 4, 9/10. GT4 is the best yet, but scores the lowest. With Winning Eleven it's different. My problem is not with their opinion of the game as I'm okay with other opinions differing from mine, I just wish they were a little more consistent with their policies.

Either way though, it's always an enjoyable read (and occasionally controvertial ).

[Paul3704]

GT4 isn't easy to review though is it?

Yes it's the best installment, but it's essentially the same. At the same time, what more would you want in a racing simulation?

I think for the 'petrol heads' it should score higher, but for people who aren't as keen on the simulation side, the score is about right for "a racing game, which is essentially the same as before".

If it had an online mode, maybe then it should score 1 or 2 higher.

[mid]

The review text is fairly explicit about the good and bad things of GT4, like I said. Basically, I see that 7 as partly down to the fact that GT's faults (which have always been present) are less forgiveable, when so many other 'realistic' racers have fixed them now.

Frankly, a bunch would have been fixed by playing multiplayer, too, if they hadn't axed the option - the difficulty of lining up a 'fair' race and the pedestrian AI being the most obvious.

Mind you, the racing game I'm most looking forward to in the mag is Trackmania: Sunrise, though - they've used the magical phrase "Super Monkey Ball" to describe the feeling of the new puzzle levels...