Past Blast: Chase The Express – Staying Above 50mph

What to say about the 90’s? Take That, Shell suits, Cassettes, the rave culture, Brit-pop, The X-files, The Outer-Limits, Steps, Strange but True, Sony PlayStation, VHS, Eclipse clothing, tramlines, the ear stud, Pokémon, Nintendo vs. Sega, Eerie Indiana and the Hollywood Blockbuster action movie.

In the 90’s, TV, clothing, music, brands and movies were events; they meant something. One burst out of nowhere, full of high octane action and was all thrill; that movie was the legendary ‘Speed’ starring Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock and Dennis Hopper. An action movie that defined a generation with cheesy dialogue, a simple plot and a 1 hour and 56 minutes adrenaline rush.

I imagine any youth of today may laugh at the above comments on Speed, yet, I’m not kidding. Speed was the must-see movie that even had its own simulator. Speed later influenced one of gaming’s beloved franchises: Metal Gear Solid. With the first Metal Gear Solid soundtrack ripping off the Speed soundtrack (seriously, someone should have been sued) and Metal Gear Solid 2’s Fat Man being inspired by Dennis Hopper’s character.

But there was one game that feels like Speed the game just without the staying above 50mph, being on a bus and Sandra Bullock – that game is Chase the Express.

Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn (let’s be honest, that title sounds like a prog album) in America, was developed by Sugar and Rockets, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan/Europe and Activision in America. It was released in the dawn of the new Millennium for the PlayStation.

You play as Jack Morton (maybe I’m reading into it too much but the main character from Speed is called Jack) a NATO officer sent to board the Blue Harvest, a train carrying the Ambassador that’s been hijacked by the KGB who now have access to nuclear bombs.

You are the sole survivor of your team after missiles strike your helicopter, nevertheless, you’ll see many characters on the way, Christina Wayborn – one the ambassador’s special police, Philip Mason – the ambassador’s secretary.  As Jack, your job is to stop the terrorists and ensure none of the nuclear bombs are detonated.

Ok, but what about the gameplay? I hear you say that – I was going to tell you if you calm down and listen. Patience is a good thing.

Chase the Express is a third-person action game with puzzle elements and item management. It features the obligatory tank controls suited for the fixed camera angles you’d expect from a game of the genre and time; however, the environments are modelled in 3D meaning you can slightly alter the camera angle.

The puzzles are your typical ‘find item, and place item in said obvious place’. Firearm combat auto aims at an enemy with a ring that will appear around them – changing to a darker colour, it indicates you can deal more damage and if you run out of ammo you always have your fists.

Stealth mainly consists of you walking to one of the side cabin, waiting for a geezer to walk past, and walking out while his back is turned. Another option is popping out of cover with an action roll or dodging certain attacks; you Souls veterans will feel right at home. The game does it’s best to mix the gameplay up with controlling the speed of a train to match another train, multiple scenarios/endings and a bomb disposal section where the wirecutter is the slowest machine I’ve had the pleasure of enduring.

The highlight of this game is by far the dialogue, writing and voice acting; it’s so terrible in that PlayStation 1 way that it provides the game entertainment and lots of charm. The lines are delivered vacantly with no emotion and are disjointed. The writing – there is a section where you speak to a character about how to disarm some missiles, his reply is just “Screwdriver”. Screwdriver… Genius.

That’s the joy of this game, it doesn’t try to be something spectacular because it knows it isn’t, the gameplay doesn’t try to wow you with some special mechanic because it’s all a poorly done version of something else, the writing and acting isn’t going to blow your mind and they know it.

What the game is, is entertainment, time out of your life for 4-5 hours. In that very 90’s way, it knows what it is and what its goal is, to entertain; not too much, but enough –  it doesn’t swallow your life in the process. If this was a 90’s movie, it would come in a triple VHS with ‘Money Train’ and/or ‘Daylight’; it’s that calibre of video game.

It cost me three pounds. If there is any PlayStation one fans/collectors who haven’t played this game and they want something they can hammer out in a day or two – give it a blast. I’ll be back soon.

the inner friend

The Inner Friend… Is Awakening – It’s Out This Year

Audio can sometimes distort the meaning, can change the perception of something. We can witness an event, but we hear someone else’s story or whilst we are witnessing the event the ambience can alter what we have clearly seen; we doubt ourselves.

Sometimes we just need to cut the talking and just watch, a picture can tell a thousand stories and gazing upon a canvass, silent movie or a photo is when we truly find something about ourselves; no external influence, only our internal thoughts to delight or dismay us, we, you, I…

The Inner Friend

The Inner Friend

The Inner Friend is a game developed by Montreal ‘s Playmind studio. Previously working on AR, VR and interactive installations, they have taken their experience on these projects onboard to develop The Inner Friend, a narrative told through the visual exposition of surreal landscapes – based on the psychology of a child and supported with an ambient/cinematic score.

As you go into the subconscious mind you need to restore memories but the further you drive the darker the world becomes – you must escape or fight horrid creatures.

The Inner Friend

Can The Inner Friend accomplish its goal? Will its minimalistic and surreal visuals draw us into the world? Will the puzzle and combat help to compliment its meaning or will it hinder it?

Like gazing upon the canvass… We will all walk away with our own thoughts and our own interpretations.

The Inner Friend

A picture can tell a thousand stories. The Inner Friend will release this year on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Desert Child game

Racing RPG Desert Child Due Out Q3

The heat is exhausting out here, the only time you get shade is when the sun sets and then, you still want to be under an umbrella. For me, well I just get on this hoverbike over here and ride, for pleasure, for pay; it makes no difference.

Racing RPG Desert Child Game

The hot air turns cool. Of course, it can get pretty hot then let me tell ya – but when I ride, it’s like, what’s the word, Zen, you know… Free. It’s then I forget about the earth and its bullsh… ha, sorry kids, its nonsense. That’s not the life for me; the life for me is up there, Mars; and I’ll do whatever it takes to get there. Me and my trusty Judy here, my hoverbike.

Desert Child game
Dine on a range of interplanetary cuisine with sweet buffs to help you win

Hell, I’ll race, hunt bounties and deliver drugs; whatever it takes… Oh, you don’t like that? Listen, kid, you may snarl away to yourself as you’re reading this on your phone, tablet, but out here you do what you can for a buck. Breaking the law? Nah man, it’s survival. It’s the difference between having a meal and rummaging in the bins for scraps.

To me, I see as I’m playing some RPG, life-sim, racing game; the more points I get, the better the ranking, the bigger the taking. Man, I sometimes see the scores with my very own eyes I get that absorbed in it. Pfft, don’t look at me like that, I’ve got rent to pay and noodles to eat. I might even customize I, Judy, here.

Desert Child game
Race, shoot, and get better! Designed for replayability, with secrets that keep you coming back

I know you don’t understand but look, kid, if you want to survive out here you should do the same, earn what you can and get your ass to Mars.

You’ll see me soon kid, by Q3 you’ll understand and if you see me, you’d better shoot first kid; like I said, just think you’re on your PS4, Switch, Xbox One or PC… It makes it easier.

Desert Child game
Hunt bounties, deliver drugs, throw races – do anything you can to earn cash

Desert Child, that’s who I am. And that’s who you’ll be”.

Bujingai Swordmaster

Past Blast: Bujingai Swordmaster – Surprisingly Rare

As I approached my favourite stall at the Doncaster Video Game Market, looking at all the obscure splendours, I thought: ‘It’s these obscure games that make me attend these events’. To dig into gaming’s past, games ignored on their release and games still ignored today.

As I’m looking through the PlayStation 2 games I hear my fiancée’s voice staccato with excitement to my left. There in her hand was ‘Bujingai-Swordmaster’, there was one of these obscure splendours. I hand over the game with my money to the merchant.

“You know what, this game should be a hell of a lot more expensive. This is a surprisingly rare game”, says the merchant consciously grinning.

“I know, I’ve been after it for some time,” I say, noticing the crowd look at the case in a curious bewilderment.

“Not got the demand, which is a shame because it’s a really good game”, replied the merchant as he’s bagging it up.

“Well, no one has heard of it”.

“I know, thanks mate,” I said, taking the bag from the merchant.

“Thank you”.

I walk off in search for more obscure splendours.

Bujingai Swordmaster

Bujingai Swordmaster

Bujingai, Bujingai: Swordmaster (in Europe) or Bujingai: The Forsaken Forest (North America) is a beat em up/hack and slash game with loose puzzle-solving and platform elements.

It was developed by the legendary Taito Corporation in collaboration with Red Entertainment and published by BAM! Entertainment in North America and 505 Gamestreet in Europe.

The game was exclusively made for the PlayStation 2 and was a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Taito. Due to the anniversary, some exceptional talent worked on this game, with Toshihiro Kawamoto the character designer for Cowboy Bebop, Yosuke Kuroda the scenario writer Trigun and the main protagonist modelled after J-pop Icon Gackt.

So again, all this talent but I bet you just walked past this game?

Well, here’s what you’ve missed out on or for you retro collectors out there; here is what you can get and get for a reasonable price!

Now when I played this game, I didn’t pay that much attention to the story. I had a vague idea of something going on, but I’ve done some research (I read the Wikipedia page…) and here’s what I’ve got.

A 100 years ago an accident of an environmentally friendly energy source has wiped out 70% of the world’s population and in the process has wiped out the government.

All the remaining survivors have gained special powers from earth’s energy – in swordplay and magic. You play as Lau Wong, a human exile who returns to earth to battle his training partner and friend Rei Jenron – who has been possessed by an ‘Evil Spirit’.

Yohfa has been kidnapped, and numerous portals have been opened allowing demons to take over the Asian city Bujingai; it’s up to Lau Wong, to save Bujingai.

Bujingai Swordmaster

As you can see, not an Oscar-winning narrative, but this game isn’t about the narrative, it’s about gameplay.

The gameplay is simple, with two attack buttons and a jump button. The jump allows you to glide and run on the wall, then the light attack button acts as a counter if pressed at the right time.

The counter is where the game shines, you have these gems in the corner of the screen based on how many times you can defend before taking damage. When the counter kicks in, your mouth will drop, and you’ll salivate at its splendour.

Like all hack and slashers around this era, you have a combo counter; in this game, the combo counter runs out the more you are on the ground, so the game encourages you to jump around, gliding through the air and running on walls like some crazed Chow Yun-fat.

The unspoken genius of this game lays in the hands of the sound designers. It’s like listening to the nostalgia of old samurai and kung-fu movies. Those vivid swooshes of the sword, that ting and swipe of steel on steel, the swooping of bodies gliding in the air, those synthesized laser beams, and last but not by a long shot least, the sound of the loose fabric clothes contending with the force of its wearer.

It’s in those details in sound that gives the game authenticity.

Bujingai Swordmaster

Bujingai isn’t a masterpiece, the environments aren’t that exciting, the glide mechanic never feels like you have complete control of where Lau will go, and the game is repetitive.

But the excellent sound design mixed with the outstanding choreography of the fighting animations is just a fun gameplay experience; it’s a shame it doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

Well, now I must give it a blast because it was so dirt cheap.

Secret of Mana HD

Secret of Mana remake version 1.02 announced

Secret of Mana was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System all the way back in 1993, (the same time Europe received Streets of Rage 2) and a remastered edition has recently been released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and PC.

Secret of Mana HD Remake

The remaster adopted 3D graphics, voiced characters and some new content too. The biggest criticism of the title thus far though, appears to be the horrible optimization, specifically on PC, although it doesn’t look great for any of the versions. The game is said to crash constantly and there are animation problems aplenty, which gives the impression of a rushed to market product.

On that note, Square Enix have announced version 1.02 for the PS4 in early March and it’s due out on PC and Vita soon. The patch fixes many errors, such as black-out screens, colour changes, movement errors and more.

Here’s everything it does:

  • Fixed common application error.
  • Fixed personality colour change error.
  • Fixed black screen after character revived at 0 HP mistake.
  • Fixed an error in which a conversation won’t finish in some specific locations.
  • Fixed an error that had characters fall into the first floor of a dungeon to the next.
  • Fixed an error that slowed an enemy during an assault or magical cartoon.
  • Left the bow weapon trajectory when assaulting particular enemies.
  • Added a guide to display how players can switch the Ring Control screen.
  • Added an icon to display the character currently employing a ring.
  • Added a display of the effect of a Ring.

Hopefully this patch fixes the many performance problems of the game so that fans can fully enjoy the experience offered by Square Enix. I know things will never be like 1993 again, but this can be much, much better!

Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds Review [PS4 Pro] – An Icy Return for the Nora Warrior

Enter the dangerous lands of The Cut

Earlier this year, Guerilla Games launched their new IP set throughout a vast and gorgeous postapocalyptic world in Horizon Zero Dawn. The adventure/RPG took players on an enduring journey 1,000 years into the future where humanity has devolved back to tribal living conditions – only to find themselves an outcast in a world overrun by the many ravenous and hostile machines. Months later, the gaming community uncovered the sacred hidden truths about the ancient world before the fall of civilization and craved more from the Nora warrior, Aloy. Meet The Frozen Wilds.

The icy region of The Frozen Wilds glitters the screen with heavy snowflakes and tundra-like conditions. The Banuk tribe has settled up north in Song’s Edge, a village just before The Cut – a snow-covered territory ravaged by never-before-seen machines, frozen peaks, mountain ranges, and the looming threat known as Thunder’s Drum. A billow of smoke suffocates the sky on the far edge of the map, but reaching the volcanic mountain comes with its own string of both physical, and spiritual, challenges.

The snowy peaks of The Frozen Wilds is an impressive sight, even with the billowing smoke of Thunder’s Drum.

Within the frigid lands of the Cut, Aloy will spend her time completing various tasks and objectives, similar to what she accomplished in Zero Dawn. Along with a new area of the map to explore, new weapons, outfits, characters and, of course, tribe-slaying machines, all await in the sizeable expansion to one of this year’s top releases. Adding more depth to the complex and driven personality of Horizon’s protagonist, Aloy will dive further into the truth surrounding the confusing relationship between the rationally intelligent machines, and their curious, and otherwise unstable, human creators.

The looming threat of Thunder’s Drum

Through the main line of quests featured in The Frozen Wilds, you’ll be introduced to the Banuk settler’s striving to survive in the snowy regions. Led by the chieftain, Aratak, Aloy finds her determination to discover what made the machines so hostile at the feet of the stout and fearless Banuk chieftain. With countless Banuk warriors lost to Thunder’s Drum in previously failed missions, very little hope rests in the dwindling tribe too proud to give in. Luckily, the fierce and persistent Nora warrior sheds any doubt that may inhibit her natural instincts to discover what lies in the depths of the scorching bowels of Thunder’s Drum.

Aloy finds new companions – Chieftain Aratak and Shaman Ourea – in the Banuk settlement, Song’s Edge.

The weapons earned from proving your worth to the Banuk reflect the growth and perseverance our beloved heroine so faithfully exhibits throughout her encouraging story. The Forgefire relentlessly engulfs targets in a rage of flame dealing severe, close-range fire damage, while the Icerail freezes enemies with crisp ice damage in a short-distanced stream of frosty mist. Jolts of electric energy launch from the dominant Stormslinger, adding a useful long-range weapon to the list of cutting-edge weapons found in the treacherous wilderness of The Cut.

In addition to an arsenal of elemental weapons, a fourth skill tree has been added to accommodate the increased level cap. Focused on various travelling aspects of the game, players are now able to grant Aloy with a variety of new skills and abilities. Gathering loot while mounted on an overridden machine, or striking from the back of your travelling companion with the Dismount Strike attack are only a few examples of the added perks to Aloy’s skill tree. Many of these new abilities provide useful and tactical approaches to increase travel time, storage space and repairing your hard-earned, overridden machine mount.

The new Tallneck viewpoint in The Frozen Wilds will first need to be reactivated before climbing atop the roaming machine.
Persevere against all odds

At the core of The Frozen Wilds Aloy finds herself in the midst of a lopsided war between the Banuk warriors, and another corrupt, machine-controlling virus, known as Daemon. Located in the depths of Thunder’s Drum, the Banuk have made their courageous run to infiltrate the mysterious plume of smoke, only to retreat empty-handed, and under-manned. Aloy will be put to the ultimate test of strength and will to determine if she has what it takes to uncover the secrets that lay within the volatile mountain. With the help of the spiritually obedient Shaman, Ourea, players will traverse the frigid lands in search of the hidden mysteries that make up the world Aloy so tenaciously pursues.

The frozen regions of The Cut opens players up to a new cast of keen and colourful characters eager to task Aloy with adventurous missions and reward her with extravagant loot. New hunting missions, side quests including an exciting new Tallneck viewpoint errand, as well as new bows and outfits crafted from the rare and exclusive resource, Bluegleam, are scattered throughout the snow-covered tundra. However, with improved weapons and skills comes new enemy machines, the likes that no warrior has faced before.

Scorchers and the virus corrupted Daemonic Machines are weak but persistent adversaries, while Fireclaws and Frostclaws are enormous and agile machines that deal corresponding elemental damage, often in rapid succession. All of these machines are capable of receiving healing waves generated by the new corrupted Control Towers, which must be destroyed or carefully overridden to reverse its healing effects. These towers are sprawled across the frost-riddled Cut, typically guarded by hordes of hostile machines.

A handful of puzzles await in the Cauldron that rests in the belly of Thunder’s Drum.
Survive. Prevail. We are Banuk.

Horizon Zero Dawn has proven that the courage, confidence and determination of a young, fierce woman, who is overwhelmed with curiosity and under-appreciated by the culture around her, is enough to overcome even the most perilous odds. The Frozen Wilds expands heavily on the brave and righteous protagonist, bringing with it a tale revealing a spiritual Shaman devoted to bringing peace back to the lands in the name of her God, a chieftain too proud and mentally resilient to give in, and a sole survivor achieving everything she can to unravel the mysteries of a world overrun by unpredictable threats, and a dark, catastrophic past.

Gran Turismo Sport Review – An Impressively Polished Racing Sim [PS4]

The Gran Turismo series has always left racing fans feeling accomplished, trained and ready to tackle the toughest racing courses known to man. The enormous selection of cars and daunting content featured in the series’ Career mode were both namesakes in the long-running racing franchise. With Gran Turismo Sport, the series does away with both, leaving long-time fans a bit sceptical to the change. However, Polyphony Digital manages to create something the genre desperately needs to stay competitive and does so with astounding visuals and sounds, ambitious online competition and a campaign mode geared toward making every player a better, more sound racer.

Taking the racing genre to new heights in online competition

If you’ve played through the beta last week, the layout of GT Sport should look familiar. Opened with a beautiful shot of one of the 160+ racing machines featured in Sport, the options on where to first go seem limitless. With various racing modes like Arcade, Campaign and the online hub of competitive racing – Sport, the best way to tackle this daunting racer is to hone your skills on the track. Campaign mode allows you to do exactly that, tasking you with various driving tactics like conquering S-curves, to full lap time trials.

gt sport6.jpg
Without question, GT Sport is easily one of the most breathtaking titles to grace the current generation of video games.

The absence of favourite modes blinded by the glimmer of gorgeous visuals

One thing many fans of the GT series will notice almost immediately is the absence of the traditional career path. While I felt extremely disappointed by this initially, I collected my thoughts, took a few deep breaths and continued forward. The game alone looks and sounds like no other Gran Turismo in the series, which was enough to push me reluctantly further into the game. The exhausts growl, engines rumble and the turbo hiss all breathe fresh life into the series; which before shoved otherwise stale and recycled sounds of below standard racing motors.

The level of detail found in every car featured in Sport is astounding and, above all, quite appetizing to the eye. The shimmer and gloss, the detail when racing in the cockpit view (which is by far the best looking cockpit camera view I’ve seen in any racing game to date) and liveliness of every course immerses the player into every race. The shadows that graze across the road follow the cars effortlessly as you patiently bend and curve around the course. The details and sharpness of Sport are quite possibly above all other racing games, however, there still lie a few hiccups in the overall production and appearance in the gorgeous racing title.

gt sport2.jpg
The courses in GT Sport are lively and beautifully rendered for some of the best racing experiences on current gen consoles.

Dynamic weather – something us racing fans have seen a lot of over the past couple of weeks in other new releases – is missing from the formula altogether. The challenge that comes about from slippery and icy courses or dirt stirred up from off-track racers found in other racing sims, which have recently hit the market, is nowhere to be found in GT Sport. The day-to-night cycles which help add a sense of time and endurance to longer races remain untouched in the Gran Turismo series, which easily could have helped push the latest instalment with even more challenges to conquer for the racer.

Making strides in providing enjoyable online races

That being said, this still doesn’t shred the fact that Gran Turismo provides a true racing experience at a high level of competition. In Sport mode, players are free to enter and participate in online races. From daily challenges to legitimate championships, Sport is (obviously) the centrepiece of what this release tries to narrow in on. However, before entering the ring of professional and dignified racing amongst the eager grid of online racers, the player is forced to complete the Racing Etiquette class for proper racing guidelines on how to – more or less – not race like an ass.

The ‘class’ is simply two instructional videos highlighting what counts as proper racing manoeuvres, and what makes you look like the king of all things awful in the world of online gaming. Bumping other racers in the back, boxing racers out around turns, blocking other racers from passing, cutting corners to gain ground; there are tons of rules to follow in the world of competitive online racing in GT Sport, but they do in fact help to make a much more enjoyable experience when diving in online.

gt sport5.jpg
Boxing out, blocking cars, ramming other racers, as well as a litany of other misbehaviours will not be tolerated in the competitive ring of online racing in GT Sport.

If stuck with a penalty, the driver is then instructed to slow down for a set amount of time. While the cars are ‘in the penalty’ they appear as a ghost car to help alleviate any further burdens for other racers. If the driver fails to follow the penalties, they seconds begin to add up throughout the length of the race, and the total is then tallied to their overall time; in turn losing a few spots in the final standings. However, if one racer spins out or smashes into a barrier/wall by an unfair racer, there’s not much help to retain the position you previously held. Sure the disobedient racer was punished, but that has little effect on the innocent racer at hand.

Drivers are separated by driver rankings and sportsmanship rankings in online competitions. The driver ranking shows off how fast you are and comes in a rank from S-A-B-C-D-E, with an S ranking as the best possible outcome. The sportsmanship ranking keeps track of your penalties and overall etiquette form, helping to place racers in evenly matched competitions. The proper racers earn better rankings, increasing their score and rank higher amongst the competition rankings.

Though missing the Career mode, there is still tons of content in GT Sport

Throughout Sport mode, there are a handful of options to choose from, most of which are unavailable at this time. The Daily Races is the only option to dive into right now, but once the online championships begin, there are three other events to partake in. For now, Daily Races will do as it helps to build DR and SR points in your driver’s profile. Each day three different courses are available with a broad range of vehicle classes to choose from. Giving players an evenly matched group of racing machines, players are able to enter the race and begin qualifying rounds. Again, there isn’t much to Sport mode right now, but the promise of taking your online racing career further is inching closer with the approach of competitive championships at stake.

The Campaign mode is where players go to learn the basics, and eventually graduate to more difficult challenges. Like other entries in the series, there are loads of tests taking the player through acceleration/braking, tackling s-curves, out-in-out manoeuvres, as well as tons of other useful skills to help build a better racer.

gt sport4
Oval courses, street and popular circuit courses, as well as the beloved rally tracks all make their appearance in GT Sport.

Accomplishing all tests with a bronze time or better will reward the player with a car at random. Aside from the new vehicle upgrade, the knowledge of how to conquer turns and other difficult manoeuvres are enough to help push the player a little further into the depths of the multiplayer experience.

Mission Challenge and Circuit Experience are the other two events found in Campaign mode. Mission Challenge gives players difficult situations usually involving the player behind a handful of spots on a specific sector in a course and urged to place the highest position possible before the finish line. Circuit Experience acts as a practice session for every sector, or an entire lap, in every course, with a gold, silver and bronze time to beat. There are tons of challenges and courses to conquer, of which does help to give some of the playability the traditional career mode provided in previous entries.

In Arcade mode, players will finally have the chance to get down and dirty with AI racers in actual full-scale races. Fans of career mode in the other GT games may find themselves hashing out races here, as it provides the closest familiarity to the missing career mode. The course and car selection may be the smallest ever featured in a Gran Turismo title, but the thrill of competing in this expertly handled racer is well worth the downsizing.

Other modes offered in the game are Brand Central, which is the manufacturing market for all of the cars in the game – where players purchase the cars of their dreams, Scapes which is the shiny and spectacular photo mode and the all-new livery editor. Buying your dream car to take on the road, placing it in gorgeous, jaw-dropping settings, or perhaps covering it with custom wraps and liveries to help personalize your ride, all give Sport a casual approach when the heat of the racing grid is too much to handle. The views and scenery in Scapes present a truly remarkable image, some even looking near identical to real-life photos.

gt sport3.jpg
Scapes mode gives players chance to place their dream car into a gorgeous scenic setting and snap the perfect photo.

Throughout Gran Turismo Sport players will race, crash, learn, and occasionally win; all in repeating order. With a strong emphasis on multiplayer racing, and an even stronger swinging hammer crashing down on racing etiquette, I can honestly say my reluctance has subsided almost entirely to the eSports approach. Earning points for your overall driver ranking and sportsmanship ranking, players are easily matched for a better quality of racing.

Find Polyphony Digital’s latest entry in the popular racing series – [amazon_textlink asin=’B00ZG1SVA4′ text=’Gran Turismo Sport’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’geali01-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’351cec9e-b40a-11e7-a8a4-63dad7f5c6da’] – out now for the PS4.

Gran Turismo Sport – Demo releasing Oct. 9th for a limited time

Primed and Ready to Cross the Finish

In the midst of a racing sim releasing frenzy between the biggest names in the genre, Sony’s – Gran Turismo Sport – is closing out the major release trio coming this October 17th (18th EU). Until then, players and fans are urged to check out the upcoming demo release to help sway the players on the long-awaited title.

This new 4-day demo will run from October 9th – 12th with the option to pre-download the demo starting on October 7th. For four days, players will get the chance to earn in-game credits and experience leading up to the arrival of Polyphony Digital’s current gen debut, all transferable to the real game once released.

3 Demo Modes Available

The demo is packed with multiple modes to get a hold of like Arcade, Campaign and the new Sport mode. Also coming with limited look in the demo are the all-new Scapes Photography mode, and the for the first time in GT history, a custom livery editor. Finally, racing fans can feel like they’re actually competing big-name sponsor races like so many of the other racing-sims available.

gtsport2.jpg
Get started early on your professional racing career with the Gran Turismo Sport demo headed to the PS Store.

Arcade mode provides racers with their choice of race settings, a huge selection of cars, tracks and race styles. In the demo, only three courses are available, but stretch across the diversity of GT Sport. Jump right into the action and get a solid glimpse of GT Sport’s racing features.

In Campaign mode, fans of the series will waste no time jumping head first into their heated career as a professional racer. Increase your experience, currency and vehicle total by winning various challenges, race events and Daily Workout tactics throughout the pro career.

In the brand-new Sport mode, take on tight trial runs in solo qualifying rounds. Then take on the competition in fairly matched vehicles in heated all-out race. Prove you’ve got what it takes to tackle the tough courses at unforgiving speeds to mark the fastest time possible.

Catch a sneak preview of Gran Turismo Sport with the upcoming demo. Arriving for a short 4-day span from October 9th-12th, get your pre-download from the Playstation Store starting October 7th. Get your engines primed for the official release on October 18th (17th NA).