Knowing what the typical issues with most games in S3D were, in particular blur effects,I wasn't expecting much but I was soooo wrong... As soon as I installed the game and launched it, I grinned....
The colors looked crisp and sharp and the blurred light effects all seemed to be in the right place, but that was just a screen... Next, I had to create an account in game and login, it took me 20 seconds...
Finally a game that seems to have made a good use of 3D for setting things up...
The settings didn't even need to be tweaked, it seemed that everything was working !
Back to the game, I promptly headed to the Career Mode and quickly started my first race. Some movie intro before the race explained the basics, but unfortunately, only in 2D. Everything else worked like a charm...
Basically, this game is the Need for Speed version of Mario Kart... and it is FUN! So you get all sort of mods/powerups that you collect by driving over them. Some you shoot in the front or back, some knock up opponents next to you, another one give you a nitro boost, an armor or a repair, etc...
The controls are easy with the keyboard, basically Q/A to accelerate/brake, and W/S to drop the mod in front/back of the car. Then left/right arrows to steer, etc... basic but efficient...
After one hour, I decided to stop and rewind to take a few snapshots, so let's go back at the beginning.
First you choose the level at which you wanna race, and eventually beat the champion ofthat level (and win his/her car). As you gain fans, which you collect by winning and doing all sort of stylish stunts, you unlock other levels and cars... More people actually show up to cheer when you race ! Cool !
You start with Proving Grounds and then move on to less "friendly" champions... hehehe
In each level you can play different games than multi-car races. For example, in "destruction", you got a time limit to blow up other cars. Each time you do, you get a time bonus. Before you can challenge the "Champion" and win his/her car, you must complete his/her demands...
You can then choose one of your numerous cars you unlocked that seems best fitted for the event you selected.
and off you go !!
As you progress, you can collect Stickers and there seems to be dozens of them !!
There is a whole Multiplayer section but I had so much fun with career, I haven't got there yet. I read that you can also challenge your online "friends" with races you made in Career mode, so that they can play against you offline. Pretty cool, but that's for another time...
On the S3D side, I have seen a little ghosting but nothing outrageous. Everything seems to be in their place (shadows, lights, sky)
I pushed convergence pretty high (while keeping depth at minimum), which I prefer to get some popout effect. Or played with no convergence and depth...
Great job. Finally a game I can play that relaxes...
Kristoff
