h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I snck at First Person Shooter (FPS) games. You know the kind: Doom, Duke Nukem, Call of Duty, Modern Warfare, Halo, et al. I don't deal well with lots of stress and the threat of death. Even if it's only a game simulation, my reflexes aren't good enough to handle the information overload, nor to make split-second life-or-death decisions.

Therefore, I opt out for driving games on my PS3, because it's a "non-threatening" environment. I've been driving IRL for about thirty-five years, so playing driving simulators is like second nature once I memorize the controller button layout. I really enjoy driving games, since they attempt to simulate the physics of a variety of different styles of vehicle. So, if you're like me—not independently wealthy (read: too cheap)—this is a great way to "get the feel of" the driving characteristics of popular cars on the market, from modified stock vehicles to exotic European racers.

How did I get involved in racing simulators? It all started with our GameCube and the Need for Speed (NFS). I've played a handful of the games in this franchise, starting with "NFS Underground" and "Underground 2." The games are predicated on driving in an "open-world environment" around a large-scale town depiction, with intricately mapped roads and shortcuts. The player has the option to engage in challenge races to boost career status and gain money, in order to add modifications to one or more vehicles in inventory, so as to be able to better the odds in successive races. There's even an option to "tune" the engine for peak performance on a Dynamometer in a garage setting. It's a common theme in most racing games to be able to "trick out your ride" so it handles better and looks sharp. Once I bought the PS3, I jumped into "NFS Carbon" and I was in heaven! It offered full-scale morphing of many of the car body parts to enhance aerodynamics, and a paint editor that truly allowed you to make one-of-a-kind vehicles. This is the one driving game I played all the way to completion of the built-in story line, and went back for recaps of certain challenges. The other two iterations of NFS that I played for only a short time were "Most Wanted" and "Undercover." The map layouts were good, but the vehicle mods were more basic and their story lines were geared toward specific race routes.

My wife was not as much enamored of the whole driving game milieu. Why? Because I was inclined to spend an inordinate amount of time playing the NSF games. After a few arguments about how I'd stayed up into the wee hours of the morning doing racing challenges, I finally got wise and started to limit my playtime. Taking a couple of hours (maximum) out of a weekend day is just as good as (or better than) going on a binge and doing without sleep. Now that I'm moderating my play time, life is sweeter; and I still get to "progress" in the games, in manageable steps.

The second driving game I tried out was Midnight Club: LA (MCLA) and its graphics are absolutely amazing. The mapped driving world is a stylized representation of the actual streets of Los Angeles, and the environment offers a gradual day/night cycle to provide a constantly changing view of the surroundings. There are a number of camera viewpoints available for watching how the car handles, from Static (from behind the vehicle) to Bumper (no view of the car, only the roadway) to Cockpit (in the driver's seat). The latter is the most amazing, because it it shows the interior, steering wheel, gauges, and the arms of the driver. As you maneuver the controls, you see the in-game character's arms turn the wheel and reach for the shifter appropriately. The challenges are tough, though not impossible, as you progress through various stages of the game and make improvements to the configuration of your vehicles. There are opportunities for you to win vehicles from rivals via "Pink Slip" races, or you can amass a fortune (and/or sell off older vehicles), then purchase a new one from those available at the Garage. The game also includes a small stable of motorcycles and they are fast! Using the Cockpit view on the bikes puts you right behind the fairing, and the viewpoint dips, bobs, and weaves as you lean the bike into the curves and turns. Not recommended for those with queasy stomachs or problems with balance. The one thing that irked me about MCLA was the original controller set-up. Using two toggle sticks (one for steering, one for the gas / brake) was counter-intuitive to my way of driving. This frustrated me to the point I nearly whipped the Sixaxis controller through our big-screen TV, so I decided to put the game aside. I recently discovered you could configure the controller to suit your driving style, and the game now has a new lease on life. I've even started to win more of the challenge races.

At the time I was getting perturbed by MCLA, I found another game that had been on the racing game scene for a while. The price for Burnout Paradise (BP) dropped to a reasonable amount and I purchased it. I'd not played any of the earlier versions, but other players told me this was the best looking and best handling version yet. I have to agree. Whereas with MCLA, if you faltered or crashed, you lost the race; in BP, the physics engine almost encourages you to crash to see the deformation of each different car's chassis, and the race criteria are less stringent. Since there are 81 cars available to drive, there's lots of mayhem to enjoy. This game is more arcade style and holds quite a few interesting features. It has stand-alone off-line play, yet it can link up to 8 players via the internet. Stand-alone single-player mode calls for you to engage in Races (requiring you to go fast to be first), Stunt Runs (testing your various driving skills to chain stunts together), Road Rages (to bash other cars off the road to past a certain tally), and Marked Man get-aways (where you are the punching bag while trying navigate from Point A to Point B). These same Freeburn Challenges are available for on-line multiplayer games, but the 50 Races available change, depending on the number of players. The one additional off-line single-player mode that's a real hoot is called Showtime. The object is to tank up your boost, hold to buttons to engage the mode, then used your vehicle to pulverize everything in your path, including vehicles, traffic signs, and anything else "not bolted down." The more you destroy, the higher your score. Talk about an outlet for your aggression! The best part about the on-line mode is being able to use a Bluetooth headset to communicate (and "trash talk") with the other drivers. Not only does the game pit all the drivers against each other in competition, it also has a large portion of the challenges designed to promote cooperative play. The marketing department also knew their stuff, because the game has more than a handful of downloadable content (DLC) purchases available. This runs the gamut of additional vehicles, a map expansion designated Big Surf Island, and a Party Mode add-on that allows you to pass the control between friends at your own PS3. Of all the driving games I've played, this one holds the best replay value.

Another one I picked up last year is Blur. It's similar to most of the "career ladder" racing games, in that you have to win races within prescribed time limits on specific track layouts, but you also have the added challenge of meeting Fan Demands for points to unlock more vehicles. The big draw for the game is what's called "powered-up racing." Each track has various "pick-up symbols" you can drive through to add to your arsenal of weaponry (up to a maximum of three), and you can unleash them on your opponents to gain an advantage. Your offensive weapons are: Bolt—three single shots of energized metal slugs to slow and damage the car ahead of you; Shunt—a homing missile designed to take out a driver farther ahead than a Bolt will reach; Barge—a close-proximity thumping sound wave to push surrounding vehicles out of your way; Mine—to drop behind you and let the tailgater swallow an explosion; and Shock—which targets the lead vehicle(s) and shorts out there electronics momentarily. Defensive pick-ups include: Nitro—to give your car a quick boost to pull ahead of the pack; Shield—to block those pesky in-coming offensive weapons; and Repair—to fully restore your car to pristine condition, even if only until you get hit again. Some offensive weapons can be used in reverse (by pushing the steering stick in the opposite direction of normal fire), so Mines can be shot ahead of you (don't run into them!) and Bolts can be shot from your tailpipe. Nitro can also be "fired forward" to quickly retard your speed so you can negotiate a tight curve. On-line play can get pretty wicked, with up to 20 drivers trying to edge one another out for the pole position!

To find out a bit more about these games, check out the links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-person_shooter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need_for_Speed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Club:_Los_Angeles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnout_Paradise
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blur_(video_game)

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