HOW TO DRIFT: PRESS DRIFT BUTTAN
Okay, so from the title, anyone who assumed I was talking about Initial D: Mountain Vengeance should be frightened now. Because...I'M NOT LOLOLOL
Mrak wanted me to review Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift in my LJ to provide a reference for those of you who might care, so...here it comes.
GRAPHICS:
The graphics in TXRD are incredible. It's got the extreme attention to graphical detail of the Gran Turismo series (on both the car models and the tracks; during the spring you can race in piles of sakura petals). Turbo cars have incredibly well-animated backfires when slowing down for a turn. Standard streaming lights and brake lights when seeing cars at night, and you can flash the high beams to piss off anyone in front of you going slower than you (or shut off your lights, though the game seems far too well-lit for a blind attack...might only be possible on certain courses). Overall, extremely good detail here. Not much more to say.
GRAPHICS: 9/10
SOUND:
Okay, this is probably a ridiculous category for a racing game, but engine sounds mimic their real-life counterparts quite well (the Doppler effect during replays is badass if your engines have noises similar in pitch). Then there's the music. A lot of generic rock and intense instrumentals, with a couple of rap tunes that I really didn't care for. Couldn't catch the lyrics but it kinda sorta sounded Japanese, if that's your thing.
SOUND: 8/10
INTERFACE:
You can customize your car Gran Turismo-style, but those who like me are not very car-savvy will be delighted to know that not only is tuning completely unneccesary to drift, it's also made much easier by the addition of a "help feature" which explains in detail what each setting does and translates the effects into layman's terms. Using this system, I've actually learned MORE about car settings than I would have otherwise, even if the chances I'll actually be able to apply this to real life are slim indeed. You buy parts and cars via a credits system, but it is MUCH easier to get credits in this game than in the GT series (I made over 900k in my tenth day alone with an 85 Levin on the easiest course). There's a message board which allows you to learn about and challenge various rivals, several of whom have names mimicking those found in Initial D (a couple of whom share personalities with their namesakes). My only gripe in the overall game is the load times. Every single thing has to go through the "Now Loading" screen before it comes up, which is a pain if your name is Dusty and your PS2 takes an aggravatingly long time to load things to begin with.
INTERFACE: 9/10
GAMEPLAY:
Most important part of all. The physics engine is more realistic than Initial D, but far less nitpicky than Gran Turismo. While this means you won't be drifting around corners at breakneck speeds in the sucky cars, it does mean it's a lot easier to learn than the GT series (and with the speedy credits, you can get your car customized much more quickly as well). There's a handbrake and a regular brake. You'll find yourself using the handbrake a lot until you can get a fast car with well-tuned brakes and suspension, by which time you should be able to drift with the main brake. Battles are done in many different ways: time attack, corner artist (get good scores drifting on corners without hitting walls...sounds lame but it's how you get credits during the day), combined (time attack and corner artist at the same time), and SP Battle (explained below).
SP Battle is special enough to warrant its own section. In an SP Battle (which depending on circumstances may require you to wager one or more parts), both participants (or if you're in a multi-man race, all of the participants from both teams) will have SP gauges, which indicate spirit, or will to battle in this case. Drop far enough behind your opponent and your SP gauge will drain slowly, or it'll take a dip every time you hit a wall whether you're in front or behind. You do NOT suffer a penalty for ramming your opponent (besides the usual drop in speed), and the computer opponents can be rammed unlike in Initial D, making matches much more cutthroat and intense. If your SP gauge drops to zero, you automatically forfeit the match, and this applies to computers too. This makes battles much more interesting, because you cannot make up a ludicrous deficit like you can in Initial D.
There is no reverse gear. So try not to spin into the wall.
GAMEPLAY: 10/10
PLOT:
Uh...you're some guy racing a bunch of people. The message board adds a lot of substance to it, but the point of the game isn't the plot anyway. GET OUT THERE AND KICK SOME ASS
PLOT: -/10
I would recommend you buy this now if you like racing games at all, particularly the drift breed. If you're not sure, you can always rent or borrow a friend's copy.
Incidentally, this whole article took me nine hours to write because I got called in to work and I ate out and shit with the window still open. THAT'S PRETTY LOLI
Mrak wanted me to review Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift in my LJ to provide a reference for those of you who might care, so...here it comes.
GRAPHICS:
The graphics in TXRD are incredible. It's got the extreme attention to graphical detail of the Gran Turismo series (on both the car models and the tracks; during the spring you can race in piles of sakura petals). Turbo cars have incredibly well-animated backfires when slowing down for a turn. Standard streaming lights and brake lights when seeing cars at night, and you can flash the high beams to piss off anyone in front of you going slower than you (or shut off your lights, though the game seems far too well-lit for a blind attack...might only be possible on certain courses). Overall, extremely good detail here. Not much more to say.
GRAPHICS: 9/10
SOUND:
Okay, this is probably a ridiculous category for a racing game, but engine sounds mimic their real-life counterparts quite well (the Doppler effect during replays is badass if your engines have noises similar in pitch). Then there's the music. A lot of generic rock and intense instrumentals, with a couple of rap tunes that I really didn't care for. Couldn't catch the lyrics but it kinda sorta sounded Japanese, if that's your thing.
SOUND: 8/10
INTERFACE:
You can customize your car Gran Turismo-style, but those who like me are not very car-savvy will be delighted to know that not only is tuning completely unneccesary to drift, it's also made much easier by the addition of a "help feature" which explains in detail what each setting does and translates the effects into layman's terms. Using this system, I've actually learned MORE about car settings than I would have otherwise, even if the chances I'll actually be able to apply this to real life are slim indeed. You buy parts and cars via a credits system, but it is MUCH easier to get credits in this game than in the GT series (I made over 900k in my tenth day alone with an 85 Levin on the easiest course). There's a message board which allows you to learn about and challenge various rivals, several of whom have names mimicking those found in Initial D (a couple of whom share personalities with their namesakes). My only gripe in the overall game is the load times. Every single thing has to go through the "Now Loading" screen before it comes up, which is a pain if your name is Dusty and your PS2 takes an aggravatingly long time to load things to begin with.
INTERFACE: 9/10
GAMEPLAY:
Most important part of all. The physics engine is more realistic than Initial D, but far less nitpicky than Gran Turismo. While this means you won't be drifting around corners at breakneck speeds in the sucky cars, it does mean it's a lot easier to learn than the GT series (and with the speedy credits, you can get your car customized much more quickly as well). There's a handbrake and a regular brake. You'll find yourself using the handbrake a lot until you can get a fast car with well-tuned brakes and suspension, by which time you should be able to drift with the main brake. Battles are done in many different ways: time attack, corner artist (get good scores drifting on corners without hitting walls...sounds lame but it's how you get credits during the day), combined (time attack and corner artist at the same time), and SP Battle (explained below).
SP Battle is special enough to warrant its own section. In an SP Battle (which depending on circumstances may require you to wager one or more parts), both participants (or if you're in a multi-man race, all of the participants from both teams) will have SP gauges, which indicate spirit, or will to battle in this case. Drop far enough behind your opponent and your SP gauge will drain slowly, or it'll take a dip every time you hit a wall whether you're in front or behind. You do NOT suffer a penalty for ramming your opponent (besides the usual drop in speed), and the computer opponents can be rammed unlike in Initial D, making matches much more cutthroat and intense. If your SP gauge drops to zero, you automatically forfeit the match, and this applies to computers too. This makes battles much more interesting, because you cannot make up a ludicrous deficit like you can in Initial D.
There is no reverse gear. So try not to spin into the wall.
GAMEPLAY: 10/10
PLOT:
Uh...you're some guy racing a bunch of people. The message board adds a lot of substance to it, but the point of the game isn't the plot anyway. GET OUT THERE AND KICK SOME ASS
PLOT: -/10
I would recommend you buy this now if you like racing games at all, particularly the drift breed. If you're not sure, you can always rent or borrow a friend's copy.
Incidentally, this whole article took me nine hours to write because I got called in to work and I ate out and shit with the window still open. THAT'S PRETTY LOLI