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Forza Motorsport 4 Limited Collector’s Edition Detailed

Chris Carlson — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:52:05 +0000

Today Turn 10 has revealed all the details behind the Limited Collector’s Edition of Forza Motorsport 4. Bundled together in a polished Steelbook DVD Case, the Limited Collector’s Edition content will include the following:

The VIP Car Pack:

2011 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport
2011 Ferrari 458 Challenge
2011 Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera
2010 Noble M600
2011 RUF Rt 12 R

The limited quantity “Ship Bonus” car pack available for fans who order Forza 4 early:

1965 Ford Mustang GT Coupe
2011 Koenigsegg Agera
1997 Lexus SC300
2011 RUF RGT-8
2011 Tesla Roadster Sport

The Limited Collector’s Edition will also include a ten-car add-on pack featuring a selection of the best classic American muscle cars. There will also be a custom-designed BMW cars (also available for purchase at launch on Xbox LIVE Marketplace) selected as part of the “Forza Motorsport 4 BMW Design Challenge.”, as well as “Cars of Forza Motorsport 4 Presented by Top Gear,” a 96-page volume written by the editors at Top Gear. The content doesn’t stop there, you’ll also get a set of vinyl stickers featuring the logos of “Forza Motorsport 4,” “Top Gear” and “Turn 10”. A VIP Membership status within the Forza community including special recognition in the Forza community, leaderboards, ForzaMotorsport.net, plus more. Last but not least, an exclusive BMW theme available for download via Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Is that enough content for you? Well Turn 10 has one more surprise for you Forza fans. The new BMW M5 will be drivable first in Forza Motorsport 4 and will also be featured on the cover of the LCE version of the game. That means it will be automatically included in the LCE version of Forza 4, and all Xbox LIVE members will be able to download the car to drive. In addition, fans will be able to explore the meticulous design and impeccable execution of the BMW M5 via Autovista mode, where Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson will take fans on a virtual tour of the world’s most sought-after cars.

Although no pricing details were revealed, I have to say that’s one hell of a Collectors Edition. It may not come with tons of physical goodies, but you get a ton of in-game content. Be on the lookout for Forza Motorsport 4 when it launches October 11th exclusively on Xbox 360.

Microsoft: Forza Motorsport 4 to be The Kinect-Powered “Definitive Racing Game of 2011″

Garrett Hartman — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:35:57 +0000

Microsoft has been teasing Forza Motorsport 4′s Kinect compatiblity since E3. Today in a press release Microsoft ellaborates on kinect compatibility and it’s effect on the game.

At the VGAs it was announced Forza 4 will have a fall 2011 release, also on display was the Top Gear branding and a promise to “create an automotive experience unlike anything before it.”

Today’s press announcement, may not say much specifically, but definitely trumps up kinect interactivity:

“Forza Motorsport 4″ will be the most expansive and vividly realistic automotive experience across any console, bringing you closer to the edge than you’ve ever been before. Through the power of Kinect, players will be able to step through the TV screen and jump into the driver’s seat while the engaging controller-based experience will let you take on the bone-jarring physics, unparalleled levels of customization, and rosters of dream cars and tracks. Offering gameplay that will electrify racing fans and excite car lovers and novices alike, the highest-rated racing franchise of this generation returns in fall 2011.

More than likely, it seems Kinect control will be involved in interacting with your cars and customization. With Kinect selling out like hot cakes, this seems like a very good idea.

BBC America Invades the PSN with Free Episodes of Top Gear

Garrett Hartman — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 19:31:12 +0000

The British Invasion of the PSN has begun with free episodes of Top Gear soon to be followed by Dr. Who. Due to an arranagement between BBC America and the PSN, Top Gear’s Season 1, episode 1 and episode 101 are currently free in standard and high definition. These episodes will remain free for the next few weeks in a cross promotion to hype BBC America’s debut on the PSN and the recent release of Gran Turismo 5.

More BBC America shows are on the way including Dr. Who and Being Human (not to be confused with the upcoming US version). PSN promises new additions each week at $1.99 an episode for SD $2.99 for HD.

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Assassin’s Creed Hints At Sci-Fi Twist: Should We Care?

Patrick Steen — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 04:06:16 +0000

Assassin’s Creed is one of the few “next-gen” games we’ll be experiencing this year – whatever that means, seems to be the buzz word these days. Coming from the makers of the classic Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, it has lofty expectations to live up to.

The game takes place during the Third Crusade, with the player taking the role of a secret Assassin, Altair. Altair means “the flying thingy” in Arabic, where the word “thingy” should be replaced with “one” to avoid any childish visions. This flying bloke, or Altair as he will henceforth be referred to, has the objective to slay individuals who promote hostilities. What hostilities? The Third Crusade, young one. Pay attention.

The game promises to contain historically accurate cities and interactive environments. You’ll be able to climb any building you fancy, buildings complete with historically, accurately, coloredly bricks. You are but an archaic Spider-Man (minus the red and blue tights) making your way through cities dressed in an assassin’s hawk outfit.

Yet, there is something on top of all this “gloriousness” that Ubisoft Montreal has kept swept under their grandmother’s carpet; a “sci-fi” twist that is suggested in the game footage. But should we give a monkey’s (or a rat’s ass as you American’s like to say) about this twist, and could it potentially spoil the game’s integrity?

An Assassin fallen from grace, Altair must prove himself to be a worthy stealth killer by assassinating nine historical figures who are propagating the Crusades. The Crusades? How interesting. Please tell us more, you cry. Well, if I must.

It says here on Wikipedia, that the Third Crusade is also known as the King’s Crusade. Good website that Wikipedia is, and if you type in my name there, it’ll come up with a “List of Winniepeggers”. Now, I don’t know what they are exactly, but they sound amusing, and I’m vaguely proud to be associated with them. Anyway, the Third Crusade, also known as the King’s Crusade, saw European leaders trying to reconquer the holy land from Saladin.

Who’s this Saladin fellow? Did he make salad? Actually he should properly be introduced as “Salah al-Dīn Yusuf ibn Ayyub” better known to his friends by his hip short rapper name “Saladin”. He was a Muslim leader from Iraq who led the resistance against the European Crusaders from infiltrating Jerusalem, which Saladin had captured years before.

Well, little Saladin was defeated by Richard I of England at the end of 1191, and the two came to an agreement over Jerusalem in 1192, where it would remain in Muslim hands but was open to Christian pilgrimages. This was a time when the opposing rulers had large mutual respect for one another, so much so that Saladin offered his personal physician to an injured RIchard I, sending replacement horses, providing fresh fruit, and even giving the King snow to keep his drinks cold. Ah those were the days. Fast forward to 2007, and we’re stuck with a pleb who calls an air strike against an adversary for hiding “invisible weaponry amongst oil reserves. That’s the end of our history lesson, so we must move on.

As Altair, the bird man, you have the power to impact events in the year 1191 AD, by tracking down and assassinating key figures on both sides of the conflict. Three cities will be your playground: Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus. But why is Altair called the flying thingy? Does he have wings, or a nifty glider to glide him from place to place, or perhaps even a funky colored hot-air balloon. No, he has no such transport, though at times, a wee pony will be gracious enough to carry him on her back. What he does have are some amazing abilities in free-running.

You might have seen “free-running” at the beginning of Casino Royale, or even better you might have watched Top Gear where James May raced a couple of free-runners through Liverpool in a Peugeot 207 – the runners won of course. Yes, it’s that jumpy jumpy, climby climby stuff. To escape from the deed you have done, you must climb the buildings, jump over the roof tops from beam to beam, and generally act like a flying fox floating from place to place with your nimble feet.

[youtube width="425" height="335"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwik-qCpnR0[/youtube]

You must agree that this sounds beyond splendid. Playing an Assassin in the Third Crusade, targeting individuals from both sides of the conflict whilst skipping from location to location, sounds like a veritable ball. Some might say that Jerusalem is a bit of a touchy subject, but how many World War II games have we seen in the past years, glorifying the Americans, and vilifying the Germans as Nazi encrusted robots? Moreover, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare takes place in a fictitious adaptation of the present day Middle East. Thus I think, in comparison, 816 years is plenty of time between now and The Crusades for it to be a safe and welcome change from other games.

There must be a catch, right? A catch maybe not, but there is a twist – a sci-fi twist. In interviews and game footage there has been a suggestion of “something else” in the Assassin’s Creed universe. There are visible effects, such as electrical interference encroaching across the screen like a TV with bad reception, and character’s outlines flashing with a blue glow when you approach them. Some have theorized that the historical setting may be a simulation, or even the “genetic memory” of present day people trying to discover information about past conflicts. This was put into the minds of those who frequent the sticky web that is the Internet by one of the character actors for the game, Kristen Bell. She said in an interview with IGN:

“It’s actually really interesting to me. It’s sort of based on the research that’s sort of happening now, about the fact that your genes might be able to hold memory…And it’s about this science company trying to, Matrix-style, go into people’s brains and find out an ancestor who used to be an assassin, and sort of locate who that person is.”

Well since then, the game’s producer, the stunningly gorgeous Jade Raymond (I wonder if she’s an unlockable skin in the game…hmmm), has stated that it’s not like the Matrix, and Altair is not a time traveller. Yet, in a gameplay demo at X06 a few little snippets seemed to support the genetic memory theory, with the words “memories/01”, “hard drive” and “access your genetic memory” appearing after Altair had died. Furthermore, in the background of the official website and in the “making of videos” are visible DNA strand patterns. So, the plot thickens for Assassin’s Creed, the supposed historically accurate game set in 1191AD. What’s clear is that the developers don’t want to talk about any of this yet, but have tried to make it certain that this is not a gimmick.

Now this worries me, because if this twist is an integral part of the game, then it’s not really set in 1191AD, and you can’t really get immersed into the atmosphere of Jerusalem and the Crusades.

What really gets on mon wick as I watch game footage, are these electrical glitches that interfere with the screen, which are said to have roles in the gameplay – such as being able to change the camera angle in real-time cutscenes. Even worse are the electrical readouts and outlines around the many characters within these cities, that apparently identify who you can interact with. Still, these effects are far from subtle.

It seems such a shame that Ubisoft Montreal have gone to all the trouble to accurately create these holy cities, from the architecture, to the clothes of the characters, to then just stab the player’s eyes with futuristic effects. Yes it’s a game, but games are meant to engage and engross and make you suspend disbelief. These “glitches” act as a knocking down of the fourth wall, taking you out of the immediate action and shouting at you “There’s a twist, don’t forget the twist young Assassin, oooh glitchy glitchy this is not as it seems, everything’s all Matrixy”. I’m all for twists and turns, but it fails to be a twist when the game tells you there’s a twist every five seconds.

Rumour goes that this sci-fi twist is actually revealed in the first 10minutes of the game, and that Gamesradar, the cunning foxettes that they are, have already worked it out by reading a chapter from the Assassin’s Creed comic. Let’s be honest, one is too cowardly to spoil the game by reading a piddly comic, and I doubt you, fine reader, would like the game experience to be spoiled like a freshly killed badger being run over by a two seater Cadillac (I mean I could have had that for my dinner!), either.

So, all in all, I could be wrong. This twist could in fact enrich the gameplay, supplement your interest in the game, and further engross you in the story. All the while the game’s plot will play with your little mind, confusing your thoughts like a Bishop confuses a choir boy when he leads him to the confession box.

Anyway, the long and short of it is young hobbit, is that there’s something else in this game, something bigger, more clever, and we all know it’s coming (well, you do now) and I for one am not convinced that it will help this game. In fact, right at this moment, I think that this twist will detract from the gameplay.