Christmas Is Hard Work! Time to Relax.
Enough With The Curried Turkey Already!
One of the good things about that otherwise rather deflating period after Christmas - and before everyone returns to work - is the few quiet days you have to 'recover' after all the feasting. And this is a good time to eke out a little time just for myself...With some games!
I'd mentioned that I had received some STEAM gift cards for my Christmas, but with all the festive activities I hadn't had time to chose what games to download, much less time to play them. Well, now I have...
WINGMAN
I was a huge fan of ACE COMBAT 7 and enjoyed the wonderfully cinematic 'Top Gun'-esque dust ups that I had in that game. So I naturally felt that Wingman would give me more of the same.
In brief, from what I have played so far, Wingman is perhaps a little too much like Ace Combat 7. It's not a bad game, in fact it is - as I said - exactly what I wanted, more of the same. But there are some omissions that definitely make AC7 the better of the two titles.
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| Above: The initial WINGMAN mission, a dawn attack! |
Wingman looks fine enough - for an arcade flight combat game - but it's graphics aren't as polished as Ace Combat 7. Moreover, one thing I particularly missed was that Wingman does not have the cinematic mission replay facility that AC7 has, where you can create review of your missions and change camera views to make a very entertaining Top Gun-like scene.
So, if you want to record your missions - if that's your thing - it'll be a straight gameplay recording or screenshots. For, gamers who post their activities this is a bit of an irritation, but you have to understand that Wingman's publisher Sector D2, Humble Games are not an apex game developer. They do not have the same resources for development as Bandai Namco Studios Inc., who are responsible for the very polished Ace Combat franchise.
FORZA HORIZONS 4
OK, while it's great to have a spot of dynamic and frenetic action, there comes a point where you want to put on the brakes and turn off the brain and relax with a bit of good old fashioned 'sofa gaming'.
There's something laid back - ironically - about racing cars very fast while listening to a banging music track. At time it can get very frustrating - like when you mis-judge that corner and drop from lead position to seventh - but it's a good type of adrenalin rush. The type that has you going back and doing the same circuit again and again to try an get top spot!
Forza 4 is a beautiful game [Forza 5 is out now, hence the STEAM sale of 4] and the range of cars available is stunning.
Of particular interest to me are the classic American muscle cars - I was delighted to be able to drive a Doge Challenger right from the start - and also the range of 1960s and 70s British vehicles. I have to say, I have little interest in the modern high performance cars, they just aren't my thing. That said, there's definitely something for everyone... Even a Robin Reliant! 😆
I'm using an Xbox controller to drive the cars, adding to the 'sofa gaming' feel to playing this game BUT that adds a layer of difficulty as I am a set in stone keyboard and mouse gamer. There again, I do find the Xbox style of controller is well suited to driving and flying games and I have gotten used to it (but not for shooters)!
Forza has the incredible knack of losing you hours where you are sucked into the almost trace inducing gameplay as your brain goes into cruise control.
I'm looking forward to hitching my gaming laptop up to the lounge big screen TV via a HDMI cable to further enhance the 'sofa gaming' experience.
A great start to the New Year!
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