DemeaningPie
New Member
I downloaded DC off of the PS store this weekend and wanted to give my impressions. Please note, this review cannot be fully completed. You will understand why as you read this review.
For starters I am a fan of racing games, more specifically, racing games that attempt to bring some form of realism to the game. Games such as Need for Speed do not interest me as much as games like Grid or the GT series. I would classify this game somewhere between NFS and Grid as far as realism is concerned. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Looking past the play mechanics, we have a game that is supposed to be immersive in an online world where "clubs" are formed and those clubs race each other for prestige and points. This is a fantastic idea as it allows you to race for more than just a victory. Considering that of the couple hours I have played this game, Drive Club has been able to connect to the servers and give me that option for a total of 30 seconds, and I believe I am being liberal with that number, the game falls flat on its face. From what I have read, Drive Club is having server issues. For a game that is supposed to revolve around being connected, they dropped the ball, big time. This would be like Activision releasing the next Call of Duty but not have the servers ready for online play. Can you imagine the crap storm that would happen? That is how I feel about.
On to the gameplay. As you may have previously read, the "tracks" in this game consist primarily of two lane country roads. This can make for some exiting wheel to wheel racing, unless you are racing against the AI who parks the car in a corner. With no where to go because there is no room to take a different racing line, you find yourself butt packed in the back of the AI car. To add insult to injury, the XP system gives you points on how well you drive. If you make contact with another car you are deducted XP points. Two lane roads and an AI, whose difficulty level I have yet to find an adjustment for, drives like Ms. Daisy is in the passenger seat and you should prepare yourself to lose some XP.
Game mode Time Trial: My favorite part of any racing game, time trials. Running hot lap after hot lap in an attempt to put out the perfect lap. I give full credit to Drive Club for including this option. Not only can you run a specific class (hot hatchback, sedan, hypercar), you can narrow the results on the leader board to show who has driven the fastest lap in either the class or a specific car type. How beautiful is that?! Oh that's right, I cannot check to see how I am doing against the rest of the world because the server won't stay up long enough to post a time.
Being in a Club: As previously mentioned, the point of the game is to be in a Club. Since the servers cannot stay online long enough to find a club I created one. Creating a club allows you to apply a very basic level of paint customization to your cars. You can then apply that customization to the car you choose for the races. Here's the kicker, unless you are connected to the server, you cannot use that custom paint job you just made. Seriously, how much more stupid can we make this?
If, and this is a big if, Drive Club can get its servers working properly, the game may provide enough challenge to keep me interested. As a single player, AI driven game, I would rather punch my dog in the face than buy this game. Since I took advantage of the PS Network and thankfully only paid $49.99 US for the game, there is no option on me trading it in. If you are a fan of the GT series or the Grid series and are expecting this game to provide a similar challenge, it won't. If you are a fan of NSF and want to do nothing but bash wheels this may be for you. I am not attempting to insult the NSF crowd, it's just not a game type for me.
Once Drive Club removes their heads from their four points of contact and gets the servers up and running properly I will give a more updated review. Until then, save your money. If you have specific questions about the game please fell free to post up and I will do my best to answer.
For starters I am a fan of racing games, more specifically, racing games that attempt to bring some form of realism to the game. Games such as Need for Speed do not interest me as much as games like Grid or the GT series. I would classify this game somewhere between NFS and Grid as far as realism is concerned. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Looking past the play mechanics, we have a game that is supposed to be immersive in an online world where "clubs" are formed and those clubs race each other for prestige and points. This is a fantastic idea as it allows you to race for more than just a victory. Considering that of the couple hours I have played this game, Drive Club has been able to connect to the servers and give me that option for a total of 30 seconds, and I believe I am being liberal with that number, the game falls flat on its face. From what I have read, Drive Club is having server issues. For a game that is supposed to revolve around being connected, they dropped the ball, big time. This would be like Activision releasing the next Call of Duty but not have the servers ready for online play. Can you imagine the crap storm that would happen? That is how I feel about.
On to the gameplay. As you may have previously read, the "tracks" in this game consist primarily of two lane country roads. This can make for some exiting wheel to wheel racing, unless you are racing against the AI who parks the car in a corner. With no where to go because there is no room to take a different racing line, you find yourself butt packed in the back of the AI car. To add insult to injury, the XP system gives you points on how well you drive. If you make contact with another car you are deducted XP points. Two lane roads and an AI, whose difficulty level I have yet to find an adjustment for, drives like Ms. Daisy is in the passenger seat and you should prepare yourself to lose some XP.
Game mode Time Trial: My favorite part of any racing game, time trials. Running hot lap after hot lap in an attempt to put out the perfect lap. I give full credit to Drive Club for including this option. Not only can you run a specific class (hot hatchback, sedan, hypercar), you can narrow the results on the leader board to show who has driven the fastest lap in either the class or a specific car type. How beautiful is that?! Oh that's right, I cannot check to see how I am doing against the rest of the world because the server won't stay up long enough to post a time.
Being in a Club: As previously mentioned, the point of the game is to be in a Club. Since the servers cannot stay online long enough to find a club I created one. Creating a club allows you to apply a very basic level of paint customization to your cars. You can then apply that customization to the car you choose for the races. Here's the kicker, unless you are connected to the server, you cannot use that custom paint job you just made. Seriously, how much more stupid can we make this?
If, and this is a big if, Drive Club can get its servers working properly, the game may provide enough challenge to keep me interested. As a single player, AI driven game, I would rather punch my dog in the face than buy this game. Since I took advantage of the PS Network and thankfully only paid $49.99 US for the game, there is no option on me trading it in. If you are a fan of the GT series or the Grid series and are expecting this game to provide a similar challenge, it won't. If you are a fan of NSF and want to do nothing but bash wheels this may be for you. I am not attempting to insult the NSF crowd, it's just not a game type for me.
Once Drive Club removes their heads from their four points of contact and gets the servers up and running properly I will give a more updated review. Until then, save your money. If you have specific questions about the game please fell free to post up and I will do my best to answer.
