No thread for one of my favorite overlooked yet probably big-budgeted games of 2008? Mighty strange.
I thought there was no coverage at all on this game yet this was one of my favorite sequels ever. I thought the first games was good maybe great, but this was fantastic. And the fundamental mechanics are not that different. It just has a fantastic polish and possibly my favorite level/map/track design ever. And great graphics too but in my opinion it looks better in motion so I won’t waste time posting screenshots.
Yeah, I wasn’t too impressed with this one, largely because the team didn’t seem to learn the right lessons from the failures of the first game. Here’s the full review.
I played it a bit with some friends last week and I still really like the driving physics, the graphics, and the track design, as you note, nawida. Some really excellent stuff. Too bad there’s not a better racing game designed around it. :(
So I read the review and I dunno. It’s not THAT difficult for me, at least not yet. I’m sure it will be. My only complaint is the ATV is crappier than the other vehicles. Maybe a Midnight Club LA style AI patch can fix it?
This one is on my pick it up sometime list, mostly due to Shane’s and John’s glowing recommendations from the 1up show. I did like the first one, though, and the demo was fun enough. One of these days…one of these days.
I adored this game and even snapped up a budget copy of the original after extended time with it(because I just wanted more tracks and stuff).
The difficulty did drive me bonkers though. You really get to a point where it isn’t about the bump and grind drama of racing anymore(the actual fun of the game) but rather total memorization with a lot of luck. Without knowing the exact routes and boost moments, you have no hope of a win. Even then, I have ran perfect races and still barely edged into the top 5 due to the extreme brutality and unforgiveness.
So I gotta side with Tom, it does so many great things, but it’s all ruined by a lackluster racing model.
Shame too, because the concept is so exhilerating. Events that force you to beat a pack of big rigs on a motorbike? Awesome!
I’ve barely scraped the surface of Pacific Rift, but I was really surprised by how flat the colors look. Especially compared to Motorstorm, which was rich, vibrant and screamed off your TV. I thought this was a no-brainer.
I don’t know how you make a tropical island look drab, dull and muted, but they’ve managed to pull it off.
Granted I’ve only seen the first 2 or 3 tracks. Maybe it gets better.
I think this is a very good point. I recently got a PS3 and have put about the same amount of time into both versions of Motorstorm.
I think the track memorization element of game play has been ramped up in Pacific Rift much more than in the first game. You have to be so precise in the new version, and know exactly where and when to turn. In the first game, I find myself racing against other cars; in this game, I find myself racing against the track.
