Battle For Supremacy

We are now 2 years into the "Next Gen" console war and it doesn't seem like there is a clear winner in sight. In one of my first articles I did a anticipatory piece between the XBox 360 and Playstation 3. Back then, the Nintendo Wii wasn't even on my radar of systems to really watch out for. Boy was I proven wrong. With all 3 consoles alive and kicking, we see a much more interesting picture forming in the console war.


Nintendo Wii

First we have the Nintendo Wii. Before it came out I wasn't very impressed by the prototype that Nintendo was then calling "Nintendo Revolution". It was small, not nearly as powerful as the XBox 360 or PS3, and if the games available on the Game Cube were any indication, it was once again going to be geared primarily toward a younger audience. My friend picked one up on the day it came out, and before I knew it, I had a controller in my hand and we were all bowling against each other. Plain and simple, it was FUN! I was immediately impressed as to the way the games were actually played and how interactive it was. It turns out, Nintendo decided to put processing and graphical power aside for a more interactive, entertaining system that has proved to cross generations. Yes, even grandpa can occasionally be found playing the Wii. People young and old, gamers and non-gamers are all finding interest and having fun with the Wii. Doctors are even using it for physical therapy. This in my opinion was truly unexpected. I know that once I got my hands on one and got to play it, I wanted one. Of course, in California, it turned out to be quite a challenge to even find one. But one fateful day, I happened to call the correct Best Buy store and was told to check out another because they just got a bunch in. Turns out the Best Buy I ended up getting it at received 12 just a little bit before I called. Needless to say, I was there and back in about an hour with my new Wii.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

Games: So far a plethora of really entertaining and all around GOOD games have come out for the Wii. A few that have stood out for me so far are:

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Simply amazing game. I know it came out on the Game Cube too, but the use of the Wii remote was smooth and intuitive, not to mention that the story, game play and all around fun factor were at the top of the charts

Super Paper Mario - Simple, really fun, and lots to explore. While we were all waiting for "Galaxy", this whet our thirst for a Mario game for the Wii. Again, really fun, simple controls, and a lot to explore.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - This was the first of the series I ever played, but WOW! AMAZING!!! Nuff said.

Super Mario: Galaxy - I can't say enough about how cool this game is. I haven't had too many opportunities to play any 3D Mario games since Mario 64, but this one took the cake. Absolutely beautiful game. The Eye Candy that it provides throughout the whole game, and the plain ingenuity that the game provides is unlike anything I have ever played before. A definite MUST for anyone that owns a Wii.

That brief list is just the tip of the iceberg. Also, you can't forget the Virtual Console and various "Channels" available on the Wii. the Virtual Console lets you download some of your favorite games from: NES, SNES, N64, Turbo Grafix 16, Sega Genesis, and Neo Geo. They're all reasonably priced, and the nostalgia factor really helps since they release a lot of the most beloved games for each system.

As a result of coming out first, and having the lowest price point, the Wii took a very early lead in the "Next Gen" console war. But the other 2 competitors weren't very far behind.


XBOX 360

Before the XBox 360 came out, there were whispers of people saying "XBox 360 = Dreamcast 360". Since then, those people could not be more wrong. At first, I was very hesitant to give it much of a chance. But the more opportunities I've had to play it and to see its many offerings, I began to change my mind and give the 360 another shot.

First off, the 360 actually has some great graphical capabilities. The screen shots and games that I have had a chance to witness have been very nice. Especially when you get to play them in HD. One of the best features happens to be the online features of the 360. The new Xbox Live service has been re-vamped and is now a media monster. XBox Arcade allows you to download various types of games for a nominal fee, TV shows (i think) have been added to the lineup as downloadable content and I'm pretty sure that movies are on the way.

Suffice it to say, my experience with the different games has been minimal due to not owning one (Mainly because of the $399 price point). However, the titles that have been coming out are very promising, especially compared to the titles that came out on the original XBox. The one draw back I see is that XBox 360 required an additional purchase/upgrade for HD-DVDs. You could of course also shell out extra cash for the system that includes the HD-DVD drive on it.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

The 360 definitely has lots of promise and seems to be doing very well. Microsoft did a great job in creating a system to follow up the XBox and in a much stronger way than was anticipated. I may be partial to the actual games that are going to be available on the PS3, the 360 is definitely living up to the hype of being a strong system to very aggressively rival Nintendo and Sony.


PLAYSTATION 3

Last but certainly not least is the Playstation 3. Before it came out, I had anticipated it to be THE system to get. The demos that were shown and the screen shots that were coming out were absolutely breathtaking. However, the killer was the $599 price tag for the "Good" system and $499 for the stripped down version (Which just wasn't worth it). Thankfully they dropped the price $100 for both systems, but the stripped down version still isn't as worth getting. This aside, the PS3 managed to be a very impressive system. Of course, it was also the last and slowest out of the gate in this generation of consoles. But immediately it was making an impact. First of all, Sony had a very briliant idea of going w/ the Blu-Ray technology. It may be personal preference, but over all the Blu-ray disc (BD) is a much better format for the future of gaming and movies. It holds a greater capacity and might actually be able to support a higher resolution (This has yet to be proven/disproven but I'm willing to be corrected). Additionally, like the XBox 360 the online content is pretty solid. Games are available to download as well as movie trailers, game demos, themes, and add-ons to various games. For the first time, Playstation finally has a fairly solid online presence.

As far as games are concerned, there have been a number of good games already available. And when you play them in HD, WOW. Playstation 3 definitely does deliver well in the graphical dept. However, since the PS3 platform is one of the more difficult to develop on, there are still going to be a good amount of kinks to work out, and as a result there have been reports of choppy game play. But so far I haven't noticed much while playing it. The titles themselves look as promising as ever. I haven't been able to play many but those i have played have been very entertaining. Before I make any final judgements on the games that will be out on the PS3, I'll have to wait and see what happens. However, if the PS2 is any indicator (and probably due to personal preference again), the PS3 is bound to have some of the best games available across all 3 consoles.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

It may be personal preference but I love the PS3. Yes it did get off to a slow start, but it's gaining ground on both the Wii and 360. It's turning out to be quite the Multimedia system and only has room to grow. The highly anticipated release of Playstation Home really looks to bring the idea of video game community to a whole new level. The graphics the PS3 has been able to deliver so far and what lies on the horizon is exciting. Even the demo of Gran Turismo HD Concept was enough to make my eyes bulge out of my head. As developers get more used to the PS3 platform, it is no doubt that quality of games being released will be nothing short of Phenomenal (We can only hope).


Closing Thoughts

Each system has its ups and downs. Nintendo can only support 720p and is not as graphically powerful as the other 2. XBox 360 makes you decide on whether or not you want HD-DVD by having to purchase an extra drive, or shell out extra money for the superior system. Of course, it also doesn't help that XBox Live costs an extra subscription fee. Playstation 3 is still on the steeper side of the price point, but is already delivering some great things. This generation of console competition is more fierce than ever. While the Wii will be able to reach a broader audience, the PS3 and Xbox 360 will be able to tap into the true gaming market and will no doubt eclipse the Wii in the near future. At this point, I still think its too early to call a clear winner. Each person has their own preference (Mine being PS3), but after being able to have experience with all 3, it's safe to say that I like them all and look forward to seeing what the future holds for the home gaming console.

You Give Blogs... A Bad Name!

Have you ever been searching for blogs about something that you actually need, like travel deals and the only thing that comes up is a bunch of blogs that just have the keywords you typed in and nothing else of any value? If you have, then you know how annoying it is.

The blogosphere has been a great place for common people, like myself, to write about what they have a passion for in hopes that others will find the information or articles useful/entertaining. I write this blog for those very reasons.

I recently ran across an article that opened my eyes and made me start to question blogs. I can't remember where I saw the article but I do remember that it had mentioned that over 75% of the blogs out there are SPAM. 50+ million blogs, and over 30 million of them are SPAM? IMO, that is completely absurd! It also gives blogs a bad name and a lot less credibility. The reasons people do this is quite simple, SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Many companies either have employees that do this, or pay people to set up these SPAM blogs. In my eyes, it's a totally dirty way of getting your name out there.

Here are a few hints you can hopefully use to figure out if you have found a SPAM blog or not.

1) Look at the name of the blog. If what you're searching for has NOTHING to do with the title of the blog. The chances are that it is SPAM.
2) Look at the name on the blog post, If it's something really out there that has no real cohesion, it might be SPAM

(A little thought came across my mind. This list is starting to feel like "You might be a Redneck if..." segment)

3) If you go to a blog, and there are more sponsored links than there is content... It's SPAM
4) If the content on there has fragmented sentences followed by "..." between random phrases. It's definitely SPAM

The reality is, you just have to use your good judgment when looking around. Most of the time it's fairly simple to tell which blogs are SPAM and which ones are not.

The bottom line is that all these spammers are giving us legit bloggers a really bad name and reputation. In fact it's going to make blogging seem like a total joke, rather than a great way to share your thoughts and ideas with everyone. The more SPAM blogs continue to emerge, the sooner Blogging will become passe.

So if you're reading this, and you're one of those SPAM blog writers, please stop. Do us all a favor and go find something better to do with your time. All you are doing is creating a big headache. I really hope that eventually these blog sites will help put an end to endless amounts of SPAM that flood the blogging world.

A Better Way to Find Travel Deals: SideStep

I've recently began to notice the ever growing popularity of online travel searching. In many ways it could be seen as the wave of the future. Everyone is already well aware of the big names in online travel like Travelocity and Expedia. But these are all travel agencies themselves and in the end, the user is getting taken advantage of with added booking fees that they find out about after they've made their order. I'm not saying anything bad about these sites because, in reality they do in many cases have the ability to get consumers great deals on flight, hotel, and car rental. However a new era of travel search has begun and that's in the sector of meta-search. A few sites have sprung up across the board that offer travel meta search. Sites like Mobissimo.com, and Kayak.com, have sprung to the scene offering a different kind of experience for searching travel. They search the travel providers themselves, instead of going through a global distribution system (GDS) like the online travel agencies.
Another site, SideStep.com, is poised as the leader of online travel meta search. Their interface is clean and smooth. They have access to well over 600 airlines, 150,000 hotel properties, and over 30,000 car rental locations around the world. From what I've seen, it's the most comprehensive list of travel providers I've ever run across.

When you load the site, you are greeted with a simple interface that allows you to begin your search for airlines. Along the the top of the page is a selection of other travel options. Along with flights, Hotels, and Car Rentals as standards, SideStep also adds the option to search for Vacation Packages, Deals, and an industry pioneer in offering an activities search. From my exploration, I found that SideStep was the first travel search company to offer an activities search. What do I mean by activities search? It's pretty straight forward. It allows you to search for Concerts, Plays, Tours etc... that are available wherever you may be traveling. Or if you just want something available in your local area SideStep can help you with that.

A recent experience that helped solidify for me that SideStep would be the first location I would check for travel in the future was when a good friend of mine recently was talking about going to London sometime in February. I recommended her taking a look at SideStep to search for flights. We were both really amazed at the price we were able to find. The round trip flight for a week stay, leaving mid-week was less than $500! We both turned to each other and agreed that that was quite the steal! We had no idea that a flight to London would end up being that cheap! On a few other searches I did for trips to San Diego and LA, I was able to find flights for less that $150. All these experiences left me convinced that SideStep has definitely got something unique going on here. Sure their competitors can offer a similar experience, but I felt that SideStep did it with a kind of flair that was not seen on the other sites. I frequently check back on the site to see if they have added new things. And from the looks of it they're gearing up for something.

One of their recent press releases talked about a partnership with Forbes to create ForbesTraveler.com, a travel site focused on luxury travel. At first glance, it doesn't look like SideStep had much to do. But after a closer look, and reading the press release about it, I found that SideStep is powering Forbes' travel search. The integration was seamless and clean. I guess this is what they meant by "Syndication Platform".

Since the technology industry moves at such a quick pace, I can only see that SideStep's site will expand to provide users with a quality experience that is unrivaled throughout the travel space. I look forward to seeing what they do next.

The Greatest Screensaver In The World

It has been a while since my last post and i'll have to say working at EA is one of those things that get in the way of me writing. However, I am determined to keep this going and keep this updated as much as possible. Tiger Woods 2006 PC Review is coming soon. Too addicted to it right now to write.

For now though, let me introduce you to the greatest screen saver in the world. The first impression for most people have about this screen saver is something along the lines of "WOW!, This is awesome!" It has been featured on G4 TV's Attack of the Show during their segment called Damn Good Download. I am of course talking about Electric Sheep (http://www.electricsheep.org).

What is electric sheep? It was first described as the combined dreams of a network of computers. They are really fractal flames. Or a more simple way of describing it, a beautiful mesh of color and shapes and designs.

When you download the screen saver it creates a cache directory where it will download "sheep" to it. The sheep are the moving fractal flames that are downloaded from a central server. The thing you have to remember is that when you get the screen saver, be patient with it while it downloads the first sheep. Best thing to do is have it run over night if you can and let it do its thing. When you wake up in the morning, you will absolutely love the results. The best thing about it, is that it is always changing. New sheep are made every few minutes, and as time goes on, old sheep will be replaced with new sheep and keep the screen saver fresh.

There's nothing like coming into the room where your computer is and seeing a new sheep on your monitor dancing in beautiful color. This is the last screen saver you will ever need.

NHL 2006: Franchise boost or flop?

Another year and another NHL game is released by EA Sports. This time, there is actually an NHL season to follow along with the release of the game. However, with the past 2 installments of the NHL series being less than great, it was time to see if EA had listened to the people and brought the NHL franchise back to the top of the world of hockey video games. Last year's installment of NHL 2005 was pretty flawed. The number one annoyance of last year was that there was way too much hitting and the computer was just overly difficult to really have fun playing against. After purchasing and giving NHL `06 for the PS2 a good solid play through, it is clear that EA has made some promising steps forward.

The first thing many people will notice in this years installment is that the graphics have been upgraded. EA definitely took the extra step from last year's game to completely update the graphics for an extremely visually stunning game. The players look extremely realistic and the faces look exactly like the players should look. The likeness of the players in most cases is uncanny. This year, the crowd has also had an upgrade. They look more like real people instead of flat 3d polygons. The ice, lighting, and other details that make hockey a fun sport have also been upgraded a little from last year. As well all know, graphics aren't what make a good sports game, especially the likes of hockey. It's the actual gameplay that can make or break a game.

This year, EA has decided to revamp their gameplay by adding and getting rid of a few features from the previous game. One of the most noticeable features is the actual puck control and dekes that have had a seroius face lift. Last year's game didn't seem to have much of it. The only dekes you could do were with the right analog stick and it didn't make much for anything exciting as far as cool moves to do. This year EA came up with a much better scheme that is reminiscent of the old NHL `94 and `95 games for the Sega Genesis. In other words, dekeing is now done with the left analog stick which allows for movement and proper dekes while in posession with the puck. Makes for some great opporunities to get around your opponent and open up scoring chances. It is also a great way to have the goalie bite, attempt a save and shoot over him after he has already fallen to the ground in anticipation of your shot. There are also new "Skill Stick" moves done with the right analog stick. These moves are a flashy way to score a goal. They are the type you would see on the highlight reel. There are only a few limited moves you can do. The coolest of these is probably the between the legs shot that they added, as well as the over the net flip followed by a slap of the puck mid air into the goal. They don't always work, but they're really cool when they do. Puck physics have also been upgraded which allow for much more realistic consequenses of different shots. For example, if a really hard slap shot hits a player in the foot, that player will end up limping for a little while after the shot. It can also put goalies in a daze. The one thing that really is annoything though, is the rebounds and how reactive the boards around the rink are. They bounce entirely way too much in this game as compared to last year. Many shots that should have gone out of the rink will bounce back really far and fast. I hardly consider this realistic puck physics (the rest of it is pretty good though).
Next comes the AI of the computer and the rest of the game play. This year the game has gotten better and the ice has opened up more to actually set up plays. Last year it was nearly impossible to get passes through to your guys and plays to be set up in the attacking zone. This year EA has changed the AI so that the opposing team's players don't come and hit you right away, they start taking away your shot angles and try to not let you too close to the net for shots. Your teammates also are smarter in that they'll be in the right positions during attacking zone plays. This is definitely a vast improvement that I know people will be happier about now. However, there is one major drawback in the AI this year, and that is with the goalies. Sure it is better than last year's, but the goalies now tend to dive for the puck more leaving the rest of the net wide open. This results in much more goals that shouldn't be made. Also, hitting (one of people's favorite reasons for watching hockey) has become significantly harder, and your defensive AI doesn't seem to do enough of it, especially in critical situations. This in turn also results in more unnecessary goals. Another major annoyance with the computer AI is that many of the goals that the computer scores against you are pretty similar. Shots that hit the goalie, rebound right back to the shooter and then a goal instantly after that. I understand that rebounds are a part of the game, but as a hockey player myself, I know that most rebounds off a goalie's pads don't go out 25 feet in front of the goalie right back to the player that just shot (at least not all the time like in this game). Once again, a higher amount of goals are scored because of this. These small facts can get rather annoying when playing a season game or even online.

Online play is once again back this year. And once again, similar annoyances have come along with it. First, is the LAG factor. EA's servers still have yet to be adequate enough to fully handle such a game. Although, compared to last year it is a little better. The biggest anonyance I found this year was that there are definite connection issues with other players from time to time and you can't even play against them because of it. Lag durinig the game can also be a pain because when it jitters, it's hard to make a play that can potentially stop a goal from going in. This is something that EA needs to do better in the future. Online play is becoming a staple to video games more and more, and as a result, companies providing online play for their products need to step it up to keep gamers coming back to the online world.
Also coming back this year is the Dynasty Mode which now allows for intervention during a simulated game (intervention is also available during the regular Season mode). This is really nice because you can join the game with 5 minutes left if you want and try to tie or win the game while the computer did the rest of the work for you. This can be kinda handy when you want to actually win the game instead of the computer losing it for you. This year you can also make custom teams that you can play with during a season and dynasty. Also is the addition of the player editor. If you think one of your favorite players is under rated, you can edit his attributes as you see fit. This is especially nice considering that there really are players that are way under rated in the game (Jonathan Cheechoo of the San Jose Sharks is one example). Free for all and World Championship modes are back as well, but they still remain the same from last year.

The worst part of this game has to be the sound track that EA puts into it each year. It is full of really bad poppy rock songs that most NHL fans don't listen to. In fact, I can't think of one good song on the music sound track to this game. So if you do play this, it's best that you turn off the menu music. The actual game play sounds once again are really nice. The on-ice sounds and crowd sounds are a small upgrade from last year but it can still get a littlel annoying from time to time. But i don't really mind it at all. They're at least tolerable when you play, as opposed to the music. Finally, the commentary of the game. The color commentating has gotten better this year with the addition of some facts about players on ice etc... This is something that EA omitted to do last year and made for some boring commentary. The actual play-by-play announcer is the same as usual. It is still a little choppy and forced in presentation like it has always been. One of these days, EA may actually have a realistic sounding play-by-play announcer and color commentary.

Over All the NHL `06 is definitely a step in the right direction. It is easily a much better game than `05 but it still has its faults. No game will exactly be perfect but it can definitely get better than it is. The new control and AI features are definitely the part of the game that needed the upgrade and was delivered fairly well by EA. But like the other games of the past, there are still some great annoyances that can be found during the gameplay that might just take the fun out of it for some players. I still enjoy this game over last year's by a good margin, but it is still nowhere near what it can be. EA needs to continue on this path in order to make a better hockey game. They also need to start listening to its fans and the people who really want a great hockey game. Though some people may say that NHL 2k6 is a better game, it is really not a realistic game. NHL `06 provides a more realistic feel of the real game that any real fan of hockey would enjoy. Now the task is to fine tune what has been done and come out with hopefully a great game for `07.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Gran Turismo 4 Vs. Forza Motorsport

For many years different software companies have attempted to create a great racing sim for consoles. Ever since Virtua Racing appeared on the scene the racing sims have mostly gone in one direction, up.
It wasn't till Sony and Polyphony Digital released the first of a very successful Gran Turismo series of games. It is the first game to take driving simulation to a whole new level. With license tests that you had to pass to unlock races, the game really taught you how to race and drive a car at high speeds. It was a breakthrough indeed for Sony and soon became one of the top selling video game franchises to date. The most recent game, Gran Turismo 4 (Gt4, Pictured above) keeps the franchise strong.
The first thing anyone notices about this game is that it is absolutely gorgeous graphically. This has some of the most beautiful photo-realistic courses and cars I have ever seen in a video game. The intro alone blew me away the first time I saw it. I was literally saying "THIS IS A VIDEO GAME!?" Polyphony digital went the extra mile when they designed the graphics for this game. Now, some may argue that the fans in the stands aren't animated or what little gripes some may have, but the reality is, who cares about the fans? It's a racing game! Concentrate on the road people!

Then comes the most important part of the game, the actual gameplay. GT4 carries on in Polyphony tradition of being a very realistic driving simulation. This makes the license tests extremely crucial. Knowing how to take turns at the apex and at optimum speed will help you go very far in the game. The added Traction control, and driving aides (that can be modified) are handy to have around. Turning them off is not necessary and does not take away from the game play. For racing games, I like the PS2 controller set up over the XBox controller (XBox Controller S was used). The size and response of the analog controller on the PS2 is nicer for precise steering, acceleration, and braking. This game also delivers a driving AI option called B-Spec. This is handy for those lengthy endurance races that you don't feel like sitting down for a couple hours playing through. Your B-Spec driver will drive similar to you. In this mode you can also speed up the race and give your driver directions of how aggressive to drive. It's like having the radio connection to your driver that race crews have. This AI is also fairly adaptive. The better you drive, the better it drives, and the more races you let it drive and it wins, the better your AI gets. If you love real racing and real driving sims this is this the game for you. But what good is a driving game like this without the most important thing, The Cars!

Gran Turismo offers over 650 different cars that you can buy and unlock throughout the course of the game. Though some may argue that this aspect is only for the true car enthusiasts, I'd have to say that I partially agree. It's not exactly necessary to have all those cars, but it does give you one thing that Forza doesn't offer, a large variety of cars from a plethora of car manufacturers. This game has the widest selection of cars and manufacturers to date and believe me, Polyphony spared no expense at the realism of these cars. They meticulously researched every aspect of each car, and even went around recording real engine sounds to add to the realism. Though you may not be able to "pimp your ride" like you can in NFS Underground, you can certainly tune the hell out of them. This may be more reserved for the car nuts out there, but with a little tinkering, anyone can find a good set of values that works well for them and stick with it. Bottom line here, each car is beautifully rendered and looks extremely realistic. Sometimes you have to even double take to make sure it's still a video game. Game play, Visuals (including cars) thus far have all been pretty spectacular. But a game like this needs to have killer sound. Thank goodness that it does!.

GT4 boasts rich sound effects and a killer sound track to boot. Polyphony once again out did themselves by recording real life engine sounds and implementing them into the game. And your driving music, awesome! A large bank of music to keep you bobbing your head a little as you race towards victory.

Over all, this game will take some time to get really good at. Learning the tracks is important and so is learning how to properly drive. But this game will keep you race happy for a long time to come. I've been a fan of the Gran Turismo series since it's beginning and I have yet to be disappointed. I would definitely recommend this game to anyone looking for a great racing game and they're not afraid to put a little work into getting better.



In 2005 Microsoft released their answer [read competition] to GT4 called Forza Motorsport. This is Microsoft's first attempt at creating a realistic driving simulator. The result is a game truly worthy of being a successful racing franchise. It may not be GT4, but Forza still does not disappoint.
Like GT4, Forza Motorsport boasts brilliant graphics and smooth textures. However, this is one area that Gt4 dwarfs Forza. The cars and environments are not as photo-realistic as Gt4 and I found I had trouble sometimes seeing the track and its turns (without the best line indicator on ) but everyone knows that graphics aren't everything. Everyone knows game play is more important.

Forza doesn't disappoint here either. Forza succeeds in becoming another realistic racing simulator. However, the traction control and driving aides in this game don't seem to work as well as GT4 and are not adjustable like they are in GT4. So if you're used to GT4 style controls, be ready for a bit of a change in game play. Braking in this game seems to be a lot different. GT4 allows you to take some cars and control them as you are breaking into a turn. Forza makes you respond earlier and you can't really steer well at all (Even with ABS on, you still skid). Also, I personally was not a fan of the triggers for acceleration and braking. It works well, but I prefer the PS2 style analog better. For steering I also prefer the PS2 analog better because there is more travel on the controller allowing for smaller adjustments. So if you want to have better driving, you might want to go with a steering wheel controller for this game. One nice feature is that you can have on a "best line" indicator on while you drive. This is a great way to learn the tracks and also work on your driving. It's a nice feature, but can in some way be seen as cheating. GT4 makes you actually learn how to drive and tests you allowing you to gain more racing confidence. Like GT4 there is an AI driver option available. The difference with this AI mode, called Drivatar, is that you have to actually train your drivatar by driving on the courses themselves. From these races you drive, the Driveatar will mimic your driving abilities in each given driving situation (Different types of turns etc...) And now for the meat of any driving game, the cars.

Forza has to take a back seat to GT4 in this department as well. Forza doesn't boast nearly as many cars as GT4, but there are still a fair amount of cars to be won and bought. Customization of the cars is much more simplistic than GT4, and there isn't as much fine tuning that can be done. But that can either be viewed as a positive or negative aspect, you decide. Unlike GT4, the Look of your car can be customized more, but I still think that its not really what a racing game like this is really about, but it is a nice feature to have. As visually and gameplay rich this game is, it is definitely an ear-sore.

First off, the sound track is horrible! It's all instrumental versions of songs that some people might know, but they go the extra distance of butchering them. It's also all done with an overdriven electric guitar and a drum machine that doesn't sound all that realistic. The engine noises aren't bad but they still sound generic. The sounds of the tire screeching don't sound much like tire screeches at all! Microsoft needs to step up this department if and when they create a follow-up to this game.

Bottom line, Forza is a strong driving simulator/race game. It takes a little getting used to the controls (especially if you're used to the Gran Turismo Series) but regardless it is solid in its own right. The graphics and especially sound could have been better and there could have been some refinements in the controls. Regardless of its flaws, it still deserves to be hailed as good competition to GT4.

OVERALL:
Some might argue that Forza is better because there is actually car damage, but that is just preference. The one thing that is mainly griped about GT4 is that there still is no Online play (However, apparently there is a way to actually do it, if I ever find out I will post it here). I do agree, that is definitely a huge no-no in today's gaming world. Unfortunately as it stands now, the next GT game to come out for the PS3 might not have Online Play either (Let's hope this is not true). All these things set aside I would have to say that GT4 really is the superior game. This may be a PS2 and Gran Turismo Series bias on my part, but after playing Forza I still didn't feel there was enough behind Forza to keep me interested in the long run. The controls and realism of GT4 is a much better system in my opinion especially because of the controller itself. So while Forza may be a good first attempt for Microsoft, it's still not the grand daddy and reigning champion of racing games Gran Turismo.

Wired at the Hip

Being in Mexico recently has made me realize one simple thing. We (those living in a high-tech world) really do need/rely on/want technology in our lives at any point in the day. The reason my Mexico trip made me realize that is this: Where we stayed, The Costa Azul Adventure Resort in San Francisco, Nayarit, is a place where the most high tech thing in your rooms is the air conditioner. That's right, no TV, no Phone, no Radio in the rooms. The bar area was a little different. There was a radio and a TV there, but for the most part I never watched TV save for one night that I happened to catch the World Hot Dog Eating Championships on Mexican ESPN. Other than that, guests were pretty much all alone and virtually disconnected from the rest of the world. But being a person from the Silicon Valley, I began to realize how much I miss technology and noticed it among a few people.
The most high tech piece of gear that I had with me was my iPod. But during my five day visit there, I only really used it on the plane ride to and from Mexico. There were a few people there that were considerably more "wired" than I was. First there was Ernie, he had his iPod and PSP handy and when I first walked into his room one night I saw him watching the Final Fantasy movie on his PSP. But that was as wired as he was. One more of my brother's friends was just as wired as he also brought his PSP with some movies etc... with him. Then there was Ray. Ray you could say was the most wired individual out of everyone there. He brought his really nice Digital camera complete with at least 3-4 large lens attachments (which provided for some excellent pictures) as well as his G4 Powerbook and new Treo cell phone. He did have some work that he could potentially do, but mainly it was for downloading the photos from his camera on to his computer for viewing later. I had thought about bringing my laptop with me but in the end decided against it thinking I wouldn't have the opportunity to actually use it while in Mexico (boy was I wrong). His laptop came in handy on the day we were supposed to leave Mexico and got stuck in Puerto Vallarta for the night due to heavy downpour that ended up closing the airport for a few hours. Our plane simply could not land and got diverted to the nearest airport which was a 30 minute flight away. We at least were able to use the Powerbook to access the internet and contact people from the Marriott Hotel we ended up staying at for the night.
From that experience it dawned on me that we are far more reliant and used to having all this technology than I had previously thought. In fact, I was having mild cases of withdrawal from technology. As soon as we landed in San Francisco, I immediately hopped on my cell phone to check voice messages that I had gotten while in Mexico.
The next day I got in contact with a friend of mine living in Chicago who is always on her Sidekick. I then realized, "gee, she has that thing EVERYWHERE she goes!" And it made me realize more that our technology innovations have given us the opportunity to always be online in some way shape or form. In this case, the Sidekick allows her to be on AIM all the time no matter where she is. I know there have been countless amounts of times where she has been in other states like Wisconsin and Kansas and I would be surprised when she told me where she was.
All this has come together in my mind to form the conclusion that we really are "wired at the hip" in many cases. Our constant use of technology in our every day lives has made it clear that when you get taken away from it, you realize you start to miss it. I guess it's just the convenience factor that keeps pulling us back to technology. I guess it is mainly because technological advancements have made our lives much easier and allowed us to continue to communicate with people regardless of location. Technology can also be looked as a proverbial teddy-bear in that we sometimes find comfort and security in our technology. But, despite all that, it still never hurts to occasionally disconnect your self from the rest of the world. It can bring you some peace of mind and take away some worries that you may have if connected. I highly recommend anyone to occasional take a day or more to disconnect and get in touch with your thoughts and the natural world around you. You may just gain a whole new appreciation for it.