Surely there is an award for worst post title ever, I’m gunning for it. Do you remember the experimental project FRACT which came out last year? I did an interview with the developer Richard E Flanagan for our old site if you need a refresher.

Since then the developer has teamed up with two other guys to form a new indie studio called Phosfiend Systems and they’ve been hard at work building Fract into a full game. It is remarkable what they’ve accomplished so far, they’ve essentially built a world which uses the elements of a synthesiser as physical structures and puzzles. Each puzzle represents a different music making tool which wires into a 3D studio where players can compose their own music. Just watch this video, it does a much better job of explaining the game than I can, it’s remarkable. It takes all of the clever things Portal 2 did with attaching musical elements to interactive objects to a whole new level.

I think the Myst meets Rez meets Tron comparisons while true, sell short the strong and unique identity this game has visually and sonically.

The guys over at  www.pixeljam.com are running a really cool feature as their homepage, check it out and have a good listen, there’s some wicked ‘neo-retro’ chiptune music on here being played over the backdrop of a slick pixelated music visualiser. I’ve had it playing for a while now, it’s consistently great and atypical for chiptune music.

Fanatec are a specialist racing simulation hardware manufacturer from Germany, the GT3 RS V2 wheel is one of their older products and sits in the middle of their price range, it is fully compatible with PS3 as well as PC and features 900 degrees of rotation as well as a belt driven force feedback motor. The wheel is modular meaning you can purchase shifter and pedal sets as and when needed, or if you have an old set of Logitech pedals you can attach it to the Fanatec wheel with an optional adaptor.

Awesome, was the first word out of my mouth when I opened the box. I was also a little embarrassed as I had the good fortune of having my girlfriend watch me open it. With each flap opening of the box it reads, ‘Today…Is a bad day…for your opponents.’ Awesome, it’s the sort of cheesy bad-ass language commonly found in Arnie films. Build quality is an instantly apparent plus for the unit, everything is just so solid and chunky, none of the plastic covering creaks and the authentic Alacantara leather covering the wheel is stitched without error or looseness. The unit is also surprisingly small and compact, not the actual rim which has a 30cm diameter rim, but the plastic casing around the belt driven force feedback motor is very tidy and compact, even when compared with the Logitech G27.

Setting Up

Setting up the wheel is simple enough if you’re clamping it to a desk, it’s just a matter of adjusting the width of the clamp and sliding it onto the desk. If you’re attaching it permanently to a wheel stand or gaming cockpit, the wheel comes with a handy cardboard screw guide which shows clearly where you would need to screw, drill or bolt. The shifter set comes as a pair, you have a H-Pattern and a Sequential, which you can only operate one at a time. Setting these up was a bit of a pain as you have to push (with quite a fair bit of force) these metallic poles into the side of the wheel, you then slide the shifter of choice onto these poles. It’s a simple and effective design but I was scared that I was going to break the thing as I was trying to ram the poles into the unit.

Once you have it all clamped up everything is sturdy, the rubber and clamps on the base of the wheel are very strong so you are unlikely to pull the wheel off the desk as is what I’ve done many times with the Logitech G25. There is quite an alarming amount of give in the clamping system though, it’s not an area of horizontal movement but about 35 degrees of vertical angle, I thought this would be a problem but when you are driving you honestly do not notice it, there is very little movement when racing you would have to consciously pull the wheel down to notice. The shifter/pole configuration works well also, the shifter of the G25 would constantly yank off my desk before but with this 6-speed you could pull it as hard as you like and so long as your wheel stays on the desk, so will your shifter.

The GT3 wheel also comes with three choices of paddle shifter, large, medium and small, they are easy to screw onto the buttons at the back and are very firm. I like my shifters big and ‘clicky’ and while the shifters here can be big, the click is quite dull, I had to make myself aware of the button press when using them.
My wheel came with the Clubsport pedals so I cannot accurately review the basic pedal set which Fanatec sells. If the pedals are anything like the Clubsports albeit plastic and without the pressure sensitive break then I’m sure they are great. One of the great things about Fanatec wheels is that you can plug in pedals from any Logitech sets, I tried the GT3 out with the G25 pedals and the Momo pedals with the included Logitech adaptor and they performed just as well as you would expect them to. Once you have everything set up with the shifter and pedals you never have to touch it again, one advantage of attaching the shifter to the wheel via the poles is that when you’re done racing you can just slide the whole thing off your desk and put it on the floor. I would have liked if all the inputs for the pedals, power and shifter were located on the same side of the wheel as I have to bend my pedal cable around my desk so that the wire doesn’t get in the way of the pedals. Still it’s better than the Logitech design of stuffing the cables inside the unit which I always found to be very fussy.

If this review compares the GT3 with the Logitech G25 / G27 often that is because they are very competitive in features, quality and price. It really is the only real comparison to make.

Features

Buttons! This wheel has many, 12 configurable buttons and a d-pad to be exact, the buttons are all aligned to mimic the real-world Porsche designs, oh yes did I mention that this wheel is an officially licenced Porsche product, featuring the same design, logo and even the same leather as the real life counterpart? Well it does and it’s something which sells the experience of this feeling like a real steering wheel.

So yes there’s lots of buttons and a d-pad, which is nice – what’s nicer is the tuning button, this button alongside the digital display atop the wheel gives you easy access to all of the wheels configurable features. This means that you can adjust degrees of rotation, force feedback strength, dead-zone and many other features on the fly. No need to mess around with background software, it’s all just there and instantly accessible. You can even program up to five separate configurations for different types of racing game. For example in Test Drive Unlimited 2 I have my degrees of rotation set to 270, whereas in iRacing it is set to 900.

This single feature is just splendid and is the type of thing which is clearly aimed at consumer convenience. It isn’t one of those things you build to put on the back of a box to sell a product, it’s something that has been invented through lots of iteration and customer feedback. The tuning feature is especially convenient for use on the PS3 where there is no configuration software available. For example when using the Logitech G25 with Gran Turismo 5, you are stuck with the full 900 degrees of rotation which is not how a lot of the cars are intended to be driven. The Fanatec solution is simple and obvious – I love it.

On the Track

Gran Turismo 5, GTR Evolution, iRacing, Dirt 2 and Test Drive Unlimited 2 are the games I tested the wheel and shifter with, easily putting 4+ hours into each game. The wheel basically dominated in each game, the only faults I found were with the games themselves, like Test Drive Unlimited 2 for example, it shipped with little or no force-feedback, even though they went to the trouble of adding clutch, H-Shifter and a button configuration for the Fanatec wheels specifically, but more of TDU2 in out review.

The force-feedback effects on offer with this wheel are quite surprisingly different to the gear driven effects which I am used to with Logitech hardware. The effects are much stronger but also much, much smoother. In dirt, the rapid forces of the wheel which in a gear system are very staccato and noisy are instantly transformed into something much more sustained, with a smooth transition between each bump on the road. This is not to be mistaken as lighter or less responsive or even better, it’s just different and more controllable. It’s easy to assume that the effects are lighter and not as strong but, when in an opposite lock drift round a corner you can really feel the force of the wheel pulling away from you. In this situation the force of the effects felt much stronger than anything I had experienced in the past. I have no real-track experience to compare the two philosophies to but, I do prefer the belt system, it feels more sensible and the subtle detail in the movements of the wheel when combined with the vibration motors seem to communicate more information to me than with wheels I’ve used in the past.

The wheel rim is massive, it’s large and thick (…I can’t seem to avoid innuendos in tech reviews), I found there to be an actual learning curve when taking my most familiar car the Alfa Romeo ‘75 Turbo, the size of the wheel along with the strength of the effects was so different to what I was used to with the G25 I found myself all over the place. An hour later however and I was actually beating my previous lap times. Either through pure geek-fueled will and enthusiasm for the new gadget or if the wheel diameter and force feedback actually helped, I cannot tell you.

The H-Pattern shifter was also something I had to get used to, I don’t like how plastic the shifter is. Even if the plastic is durable and good-quality, it is still very hollow and clicky. The weight is just about right to feel realistic and solid but it just feels cheap. I imagine that’s because it is cheap, even at the price and with the material used I still prefer it over the sexy metal and leather Logitech shifter. The reason why is because I have never miss-shifted with the Fanatec shifter, not once. With the Logitech one, even though I prefer how it feels, it’s too light and loose, it’s not entirely clear from feel where you are putting the gear stick, plus it’s too easy to put it in reverse when you intend to go into 6th gear. So I liked the Fanatec shifter, I just wish it felt a bit more quality and wasn’t so loud!

The much touted full compatibility with the PS3 was justified with Gran Turismo 5, it just worked fine out of the box – the tuning feature providing an essential aid for fine-configuration. The force-feedback on the PS3 were just as detailed and strong as they were on the PC, overall this is the wheel for PS3 owners, just as the GT2 is the wheel for Xbox owners, it really is the only choice if you want totally compatibility and feature-rich flexibility.

Conclusion

You have probably guessed by now that I like this wheel a lot, and that I like it more than the Logitech G25. I’ve not used the G27 for an extended period of time and I loved the rev display, but next to the GT3’s massive list of features, belt driven force-feedback, large diameter and thick rim, compact drive and excellent button placement there’s just no contest. The thing feels less like a toy and more like an interface to a real car. There are things I don’t like, the placement of the wires is annoying, the ‘give’ on the table clamp and most importantly the noise of the fans when it starts to run hot. Those little fans are so noisy, louder than an active PS3, I’m tempted to see if I can replace them with more silent ones.

I’ve also read some horror stories about the wheels breaking, I have not experienced this with two weeks of heavy use-age. I do have faith in Fanatec however to offer swift customer support.

If you were comparing this and the G27 on price value alone then the GT3 still wins, even if you bought everything, the wheel, pedals and shifter together still cost less than the G27. The modular compatibility with Logitech hardware also means that if you were just interested in the wheel and shifter but wanted to keep the G27 pedals, the ‘upgrade’ wouldn’t be much of a pain in the wallet. I would consider it an upgrade myself, it may not be a radical upgrade but the wheel is just better, the size and weight of the wheel feel more serious and the features mean you can do more with it.

I’ve heard that the GT2 wheel which is also compatible with the XBox 360 and comes packaged with pedals and shifter is more or less the same as the GT3 RS V2 though with added XBox 360 support. If you’re into Forza then I would recommend the GT2, even though they are charging quite a premium for it, there’s no better wheel for the XBox. If you’re just a PS3 owner however, the GT3 RS V2 is definitely the way to go.

[9]

Price Wheel: 179.95 EUR / $179.95 / £151.32

Price Shifter: 49.95 EUR / $49.95 / £42

Price Pedals: 49.95 EUR / $49.95 / £42

Total: 279.85 EUR / $279.85 / £235.32

Fractal Design are a Swedish specialist PC hardware design company, their range of products include fans, PSU’s and cases. They are a relative new-comer to the market but they have stood out from the crowd by creating products which have a very unique but pleasing form. Leading the catalog of stylish products is the Define R3 which is a sleek, fully-featured and surprisingly clever
compact computer case.

Built specifically for silent cooling the Define R3 is clearly aimed for the high-performance user who values noise as much as cooling. The case can be configured to hold a whopping 7 120-140mm fans around its compact frame. Out of the box it comes with one fan in the front and one in the back and if desired there can be another fan attached to the front, one on the side, two on the top and one on the bottom. With all of this airflow you would be hard-pushed to build a system which needed more cooling than what this case offers.

A common issue with fan-heavy cases like this is noise, I’ve had cases in the past which will keep the whole house awake if left on overnight so getting a silent system running is of high importance to me, especially because I mostly work with audio all day. The reason why the Define weighs so much when you pick it up is mostly down to the soundproofing material that Fractal have mounted to the inside walls of the case.  While this dense material does do a lot to dampen some annoying frequencies generated from your fans, do not expect it to completely shut off sound. My system which is running 3 case fans as well as a Noctua NH-D14 and a GTX570 generates roughly 37 Db which – compared to my old case at least, is pretty good.

In order to take advantage of the Defines soundproofing, you need to make sure that all the components and fans compliment this philosophy of silent running. When purchasing extra case fans, it’s important to buy large, well-designed and rubber mounted ones. Fractal do their own range of cheap by quiet fans which are what I am using, but I would also recommend Noctua fans.

One of the main concerns I had before buying this case was size, I was planning on fitting in a behemoth of a CPU cooler (the Noctua NH-D14), as well as a new 10 inch + graphics card. Luckily Fractal had thought of this already, the Define is a bit of a Tardis, it’s deceptively small, it stands at an average height but it is also remarkably long and wide (that’s what she said). There is ample room inside the case to fit in giant coolers such as the Noctua, as well as triple or even quad graphics cards. The very functional design even allows for up to 8 hard disks, each one mounted in white, rubberised HDD trays with screw holes for 2.5” SSD and 3.5” HDD.

Cable management is also a great feature of this case, with roughly an inch deep space behind the motherboard with ample grommets around it, it is easy to tuck away all your messy cables. On the back are also three water cooling holes, my only complaint with the system is the rubber around the grommets, it’s completely pointless as the flimsy bits of rubber do not hold position at all, a minor annoyance but it is an annoyance.

Another issue I had was that the front bay door has no space for any protruding elements you may have. My soundcard for example comes with an interface and features two volume knobs, I had to set the bay deeper into the computer so I could shut the front door panel. This doesn’t look too pretty and it still has left two marks in the foam coating inside the door. I can forgive this however because, when closed the case looks stunning. It’s a beautifully simple design, clean and straight. The power button and front mounted USB 2.0 slots are stylishly mounted onto a slight recline on the top of the unit and the white paint on the back of the PCI slots are helpfull as well as being nice to look at.

This is what I’ve grown to enjoy about this case and other Fractal products, they are function-led designs. This case is one of the smartest, stylish and useful cases out there, it has a design which is both subtle and striking. The noise dampening features work well providing you play ball and not fill the case with noisy fans and components. What is most remarkable is just how much crap you can stuff in the case and still have good airflow, did I mention you can hold 8 Hard drives?! Assembly is easy with each fan having its own modular component meaning that any fan holes that are not in use can be covered with pannels which are fitted with the same nosie dampening material that is on the inside. Overal this is a very thoughtful design with only very minor complaints, perfect for mid to high range builds but perhaps not ideal for the ridiculously high-end builds, though if you’re one of those people you probably wouldn’t want a case this subtle anyway.

[9]

Codemasters play by their own rules, their games often attempt to bring a level of depth and skill to arcade racers in a way rarely seen outside of Bizarre games. Grid, F1 and Dirt all sit in a place between simulation and fantasy and unlike their recent competitors like the Shift series, Codies are largely successful at bridging the gap. Grid and Dirt 1 still stand today as two of my most loved racing games, standing proudly next to GTR2 and iRacing. Unfortunately Dirt 2 missed the mark, Codies stripped away a lot of the features I loved from the first game such as Hill-climb events, a campaign that let you progress through your own proffered race-type and a stylish, focused and consistent aesthetic, and replaced it with a brash ‘extreme sports’ vibe and an emphasis on big trucks and circuit races.

Dirt 3 hits the floor running with a large preference to rally driving, most of the events are rally or rally cross with tracks inspired from key real world locations such as Finland, UK and Kenya. There’s a range of cars available from today’s turbo charged beasts to yesterday’s Arbaths and Audis, there’s even a range of 90′s and group B cars available to those of you who want to relive the Collin Mcrae Rally 2 days.

This is the first Dirt game to almost feel like one of the old CMR games, a series I loved with a passion, I still miss the serious vibe of those games with the post-race timed repairs and checkpoints which bleeped appropriately telling you if you are ahead or behind the pole time for each section. It’s a bit of a shame then that Codemasters still feel like they have to make Rally look ‘cool’. They learnt a few lessons from Dirt 2, but still a lot of the in your face graffiti, X-Games and irrelevant race events remain though thankfully they are toned down.

So while there is less ‘woah dude!’ There seems to be twice as much painfully annoying menu dialog with tediously long explanations of what every single menu item or race type is. Straight away from creating a profile you are introduced to four different faceless characters, each one talking to you like your some kind of driving Rainman. It’s a somewhat okay idea in principle as it stops first time players from skimming over the details and just jumping into their first race blind, but in practice it feels like a very tedious un-skippable cutscene, thankfully the more you progress through the game the more they shut up and just let you race.

On the track Dirt 3 roars, this is the best handling model Codies have ever produced. There’s a surprisingly steep learning curve at the beginning because as I said at the beginning, Codemasters play by their own rules, but once you nail the handling you quickly turn into a master driver much quicker than you would in a sim. Part of what makes the handling so great is the excellent course design, each bend, ditch, slope and crest is designed so that your car bounces and slides round the tracks at break-neck speeds, you will be amazed at some of the moves you pull off on-the-fly because the track design tends to ever so subtly guide your car into it’s own momentum. The co-driver is also Scottish and excellent, plus the large variety of rally class vehicles are impressive with each group feeling noticeably different from each other. The only bad thing i can think about the controls is, where is clutch and H-pattern shifter support? To be honest though, I don’t care when the handling is this much fun. For some reason Codemasters can’t seem to do a cockpit view that I’m happy with but they do the best bonnet cam in the industry which is how I play the game

A surprise success in this game is the insane set of multi-player modes. Outside of the usual races and time trials you have crazy concoctions such as ‘Invasion’ which tasks the players to fight off a robot invasion by smashing into cardboard objects while avoiding cut outs of city buildings. There’s also capture the flag and Infection type game modes. Such is the robustness of the driving physics and the confidence Codemasters have in their players that these multi-player modes are a welcome addition to the usual run of the mill modes that are expected. I do feel though that if Codies are going to start playing around with this sort of car lunacy it would be much better fit and received in a new Micro Machines title.

The sound design and DSP effects as always is industry leading with thousands of highly detailed sound effect components being played and morphed in real time as you thrash your mechanical monstrosity around the tracks. Graphically it’s easily the best looking Ego engine game out there with particularly detailed environments. The only bad blotch on the overall aesthetics is the eclectic collection of God awful music tracks, I don’t know why racing games feel like they have to please everyone with music selections. I think it’s better to do things the Wipeout way, think about the style of the game and match the music to it.

The series is back with it’s strongest entry. The best driving physics in all of Codemasters history coupled with meticulously designed tracks creates a super fun and pure arcade racer that in it’s best moments feels like what Sega Rally Evolved should have been.
[9]

Arma 2 was an awkward beast when it was released in the hot summer months of 2009. You were lucky if your computer ran it smoothly plus the game was plagued with bugs and on-line lag issues. At first impression the game may have felt unfinished and broken but this is forgivable however when you consider the scope of this military simulator. The detail of the 225 km2 streaming landscape, the mostly accurate representation of the 80 weapons and 130 drivable vehicles, the deep ballistics modelling, comprehensive mission editor and the infinitely moddable engine all combine to create something truly unique. This review might be sounding like a US Army inventory check-list at the moment but I’m just trying to hammer into you just how bloody massive this game was. Arma 2 was the most ambitious videogame ever made in the field of trying to simulate infantry combat and while, in the remaining months of 2009 you may have cursed Bohemias name for their lack of polish, entering into 2010 and after several substantial patches you would have been playing with an entirely different and much improved beast.

By the time Operation Arrowhead was released the Arma 2 engine, ‘Real Virtuality 3’ had been optimised, tweaked and stabilised. This meant that from the very beginning ‘OA’ was an excellent experience and not the buggy mess which Arma 2 was. OA features all of the features of Arma 2 but also adds some game changing additions to its inventory, (I mentioned most of them in the introductory paragraph). Two of my favorite additions would be the optics and the UAV Littlebird. OA’s release coincided with my first purchase of a joystick, this meant that I wanted to fly planes and helicopters at every opportunity. Fortunately there’s an excellent single mission in OA which lets you fly the Apache and also deploy the UAV from it, this mission – quite brilliantly shows you what you can do with this combination of vehicle. You fly the Apache from an airfield, over some mountains but then stop miles away from your objective. From the Apache you then deploy the UAV which has a flightpath way-point system you can set from the map screen. Whilst looking through the UAV’s camera you can switch optics from night to IR white and black. The IR modes very clearly show you the heat signatures generated from the landscape beneath you – this optical vision is most popularly shown in that famous Call of Duty 4 mission, ‘Death From Above’ and just like with the UAZ in Bad Company 2 you use the camera to paint targets for the Apache to lock onto and fire missiles at from its safe distance a few miles back. It is systems like this which show just how simplified games such as Bad Company 2 are when you consider that firing from a UAZ doesn’t require any helicopter to be present to fire on the painted target – the missile just magically appears from the heavens. This isn’t a bad thing on BC2’s part, I just mean to point out the difference.

The new A-10 is a fun aircraft to fly and a great addition to OA. It’s a highly maneuverable flying tank killer and has sure saved my ass more than once in multiplayer. While the simulation of flying and firing the A-10 within OA isn’t quite as realistic as say DCS A-10C Warthog – the flight system is still deeper and requires a touch more skill (especially during bombing runs) than in say, Battlefield 2. I do wish though that Bohemia had modelled that haunting, elephant-like howl which the 30cal cannon strapped onto the nose of the A-10 makes.

All this is just a taste of OA’s features and modes, there’s so much more including a dynamic large-scale singleplayer/coop campaign along with many more single mission scenarios. If you can stand the god-awful dialog and voice acting then the campaign is a fantastic way of learning how to play the game, especially in coop with up to four friends (each one controlling a different aspect/role within the unit.) – the standalone scenarios are some of the best though, I enjoyed each one of these thoroughly, thankfully they omit the need for awkward character development and personality and play out as just straight forward missions.

Such is the strength then of OA’s multiplayer capabilities and community that these elements make the game shine higher than most others out there. I admit – it is not for everyone, the learning curve is steep and the barrier of entry is high but god damn, when it clicks it is like nothing else. As much of a simulator this might be it is much more of a game. A fun game about shooting people in the face just like any other. When you do get to grips with the controls, after spending a few hours in the scenarios learning how to shoot and figuring out your personal style of play, when it all just falls into place and you say, ‘I get it.’ Then you realise just what you have to play with here, it’s a sandbox game like no other, you truly interact with the game in your own way unlike most other games trying to do the same thing could dream of.

Get yourself into a Domination match online with 64+ players playing cooperatively against the AI in a fight for territory across the entire map and you see all of the games brightest features in constant use. This epic multiplayer mode would not be possible without the fantastic mission editor, a deep and easy to use environment which can set up entirely unique multiplayer game modes.

There’s always something new to do in this game – even after you’ve exhausted it’s single player content and have played many hours of multiplayer there’s a bunch of mods out there that dramatically change the way the game behaves. A.C.E 2 is a complete overhaul mod which adds new units, weapons and also tweaks the ballistics modelling and audio, it’s almost like a new game.

At the core of it, this game is smart, tactical and fun – it demands a lot but its rewards are worth it.

[9]

*Arma 3 is due out this year – we can’t wait.

SCP-087 is an experiment in first person horror, it features procedurally generated events and environments. I couldn’t handle it, I quit before the ‘end’ it was too scary. This is a game based on a passage from http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-087. I think it is genius, its usage of audio is fantastic and there’s something fundamentally scary about walking into complete darkness. It reminded me most about some of the scary parts of the Metro 2033 book where Artyom would become paralysed by the dense darkness of the unlit tunnels.

I don’t know who made it apart from the fact he/she has a YouTube handle of Haversine – reception has been a suprise for the developer and there’s talk of expanding this experiment into something fuller. I don’t know if that’s necessary but I’m eager to see what’s next for the mystery developer.

Download the game here:

Windows : http://www.mediafire.com/?5cadimaeo004aee

Mac : http://www.mediafire.com/?5sbi5a0e8mwhbto

Developed by Rich Edwards with music by Syphus, PSC is a ‘neo retro’ game which is a cross between a Alien Breed, Bomberman and Cannon Fodder. At the start of the game you name 4 soldiers and the goal is to take them through an increasingly difficult series of randomly generated missions. Your four soldiers all run as one single unit and aim dependant on where your mouse is looking, each unit can hold a grenade and as you level up throughout the game more grenade types become available. Grenades are where the core of the action is. There’s a huge variety of them to use; some are aim guided missiles, deployable turrets, teleporters, decoys, tripmines, lazer spreads…there’s loads of them and it’s always fun to discover a new one. You never know what grenade types you could be rolling with so this adds a sense of improvisation to the gameplay as each type behaves very differently.

Explosions are gloriously digitized in this game, they cause huge fireball spreads which wrap round the edges of walls and solid objects, it’s very Bomberman and much like Bomberman it’s easy to get caught in the fire. When one of your soldiers dies he is replaced by a new randomly named recruit, it’s a nice touch which adds a very slight element of personality to your units. It would be nice to customise the look and colours of the soldiers but the game doesn’t need anything like that as the core combat is just so much fun.

Initially I rolled my eyes at the chiptune soundtrack, so many games are using the style these days – but after a while I started to get really into it. Syphus is a very talented musician, I even got into the unfortunate Dubstep styled tracks. Sound design as a whole is exquisitely crunchy and satisfying. There’s something very sonically pleasing about the game, almost like your ears are being massaged and it can keep you in the game for long stretches at a time.

I’ve racked up about 6 hours in the game and I’ve only had two sessions with it so the addiction level is high – for  £6.99 on Steam it’s easy to recommend. It looks fantastic, sounds fantastic and is bringing something new to the crowded arena shooter market.

[9]

I was quite gutted that I missed this game back in the Eurogamer Expo last year but hurrah! The game has launched on Steam and Desura as of today. The game won game of show at the Indie Arcade during the expo so it’s bound to be worth a look.

If  you don’t know what PSC is then I’ll quote this from the developers blog because I’m lazy;

PSC features tight squad formation shooting, aliens, robots, zombies and grenades- lots and lots of grenades! Level up and choose from an assortment of devastating hand-lobbed weaponry, including (but not limited to!): rockets, machine-gun grenades, laser beam grenades, suction grenades, mines, teleporters, holo-bait and bullet shields! also including rare powerups such as Fear, Bullet Time, Invincibility and Four-Times Damage!

Here’s the trailer:

A review is on its way

I just stumbled on this video via the ever fabulous Pixel Prospector - It’s a 3D racing game called Turbo Run which emulates 16-bit Mode 7 style graphics within a fully 3D engine. I’m quite enjoying the idea of 16×16 textures being used in ‘real’ 3D environments. Minecraft is the obvious example but hey, this looks like Out Run! The game is still heavily in development but I just want it all to be one long massive power slide, like you just start power sliding and if you stop, your car  then blows up and the game deletes itself from your hard drive. Er, I think what I’m trying to say is that the game needs a mechanical hook to compliment its aesthetic hook but like I say it’s still very early in development – there’s a blog detailing its progress over at http://delkoduck.wordpress.com/

*UPDATE

I found another video this one features way more power sliding