Showing posts with label PC Games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PC Games. Show all posts
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
This patch for Rockstar games'Grand Theft Auto: San Andreasstops
the controversial "Hot Coffee" mod from working. Other mods for the
game still work but Rockstar Games has decided to disable Hot Coffee due to
user feedback and parental concerns.
The
patch also adds a few new features including support for 720p and 1080i
resolutions. There's also a bunch of bug fixes for audio problems, dirty cars,
dance game timing, and various crashes.
CSR Racing
It is hard to resist the term “open-world sandbox” when
describing Mad Max – if only because there is sand literally everywhere.
Presented with a hauntingly desolate world, devoid
of all but the most hostile life, you must guide Max in his
quest to find peace. Filled with car based action, hand-to-hand
combat, and stuff to collect, there is always something to do –
though sometimes I wish there wasn't so I could enjoy the ride.
Capturing the movie
Mad
Max takes clear inspiration for the movie franchise, right down to the fact
that the titular hero acts as a stand in for the audience in its crazy world.
The only constants are powerful cars, weapons, and the harsh (but hauntingly
beautiful) desert filled with the worst of humanity – the
perfect setting for a game.
The
only thing Max is concerned with is his journey. He’s not truly sure why – and
nor are you – but that doesn’t matter, it is his driving force that compels him
to battle his way through the world.
Starting with his meager belongings and his car taken from him, it is up to you
to rebuild Max’s arsenal so he may continue his journey through the game’s
open-world.
Along
the way you discover more about the fate of the world, but this plays into the
story. It does add fascinating color though, especially when picking up old
photos and messages that lead to Max commenting. One brilliant scene has you
find a photo of a bunker with a note telling loved ones to hide there. “That
would be the first place I’d look” is Max's response, highlighting
the brutality of
this world after the oceans dried up.
Your
car, your Magnum Opus, is the main focus of Mad Max – and understandably so
given the vast scale of the map. Racing along the dirt track produces the
fastest results, but watching your car kick up plumes of dirt as you skid
around off-road is great fun. And you can drive anywhere,
with your sturdy vehicle able to take all kinds of punishment before needing a
repair by your in-car mechanic, Chumbucket.
The
vicious world also frequently forces you into car combat. Here upgrades allow
your car to shunt left and right,
bullbars to ram, and harpoons to
grapple and rip apart opponents machines.
This last of these is the most useful, letting you rip people from their
vehicles and then drag them helplessly behind you – slightly sadistic, but I am
assured they deserved it.
Taking the fight to the crazies
This
harpoon, along with a sniper rifle upgrade, are vital for the game's other main
mechanic - taking down enemy strongholds.
While there are plenty of opportunities for you to hop out of your car and
enter combat, the most important time is to break into rival factions bases.
The sniper rifle lets you silence their defenses, while the harpoons can rip
open doors and other defenses.
Once
inside its time to get down and dirty. The combat is similar to theBatman Arkham game’s, with Max proving an equally
vicious fighter. Youparry
and dodge enemies attacks based
on onscreen prompts before violently smashing them into the nearest floor or
wall. Unlocking additional - abilities using both XP and scrap - allows you to
become more resilient to enemy attacks, like the ability to block weapon
attacks and other skills to gain you upper hand.
This
skills are vital because unlike similar titles it doesn't take long for enemies
to start swarming you rather than forming an orderly cue. This means that often
you have to break off an attack early, or prioritize a dodge over a block, if
you want to preserve your limited health.
Max might be mad, but he isn't crazy, and knowing when to run is a necessity.
CSR
Racing is an amazingly realistic racing game for Windows and best of all, its
completelyfree.
CSR
Racing features stunning graphics and addictive gameplay with a range of high
performance cars including
Audi R8, BMW M3 and Chevy Corvette. You can even customize them with turbos,
nitrous injection and aerodynamic tweaks to make them go even faster.
Other
cars to chose from include Ford, GM, Mini and Nissan, Audi R8, Ford GT,
Chevrolet Camaro, Nissan and GT-R. You can upgrade these with turbos, racing
tires and much more although you have to get the balance right - give your car
too thin tyres with too many turbos and it'll be out of whack! The aim of the
game is territory - beat the gangs and the
gang leaders to
take over their side of the city until you own it all.
CSR
Racing might not be as big as commercial racing games but for free, it's an excellent
racing sim.
Mad Max
After you take over a base, you can ensure you have all of the
collectibles present. But this is the problem – you spend all of your time
collecting. Whether you are taking part in one of the handful of repeated missions,
or just cruising across the visually stunning desert through a sandstorm, you
are met by a barrage of icons encouraging you to stop
having fun and search the area. You could just cruise on by –
but that is not how I play, especially when collecting an item can help you
slightly improve.
These
breaks in pace continue when
the story is laid out. Every time you enter a base, or perform an action of
note, the screen fades and comes back with your car parked or characters
present in a way that further breaks the action. It stops you feeling like Max,
with the game constantly reminding you that he is doing something you are not a
part of.
An open-world with too much of nothing
All
these bumps in flow, and the repetitiveness of many of Mad
Max’s tasks prevent
it reaching the highs the mechanics and stunningly created world promise. With
a bit more variety, less to collect, or simply a game that rewarded exploration
rather than chasing icons around the map looking for the next item, this could
have delivered something understatedly beautiful. What you get instead is a
solid good game in an interesting world, filled with repetition.
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