Play Bits: May 26 - June 1, 2007

This past week saw the release of Forza Motorsports 2 and Shadowrun but I spent most of my game time with demos and older fare.

Hit the jump for the week that was...

Rainbow Six: Vegas
Ah yes, it's been 5 months since I bought this game and I still play it compulsively. Terrorist Hunt still maintains its addictive pull, as does the level grind to promote my virtual soldier to the coveted rank of Elite. I really do play T-Hunt to the detriment of my skills in any of the other online modes. Team Sharpshooter and Attack & Defend would get more play if I didn't get so thoroughly owned every time I try to compete.

Simply put, Rainbow Six: Vegas is probably my strongest reason not to buy Shadowrun. Who has time for TWO addictive online FPSs? Who, I ask you, who?

Virtua Fighter 5
Don't get too excited. I don't have an inside man over at Sega. I merely played the demo version loaded onto a PS3 kiosk at my local Future Shop. A quick succession of matches using the leggy blonde chick (Sara?) was all that was needed to get me excited for the X360 version come July. The controls are incredibly tight and precise and the graphics are simply gorgeous.

There's still some debate on whether VF5 on the 360 will support online play. Online-schmonline, I expect the game to set a new bar for fighting games regardless of how multiplayer contests are handled. We are long overdue for a new fighter to play besides Dead Or Alive 4.

FEAR
On that same visit to Future Shop, I grabbed the 360 version of FEAR using my crazily loaded gift card. I missed this one back in 2005 when it hit the PC. Overall, I'm glad I picked this up. It's sorely lacking a proper difficulty setting in between Moderate and Hard. I've restarted the campaign three times already, feeling the game was too easy, bumping up to Hard, getting absolutely destroyed and crawling back to Moderate. Granted, it's still fun even though I'm literally collecting health kits from not having to use any of them. I'm only in mission 3 of 10, so I'm hoping the challenge ramps up nicely from here on out.

I also have to bitch about my avatar's gait as he runs. The weapon bob seems overly exaggerated and it can feel like I'm tap-dancing on a wet floor. That's what the play control feels like to me when I take the time to notice. Other than that small gripe, everything else you've heard about this game is true. The atmosphere, the destructible environments, the harrowing firefights, the satisfying weaponry and the cheap scares are all there in glorious, bloody detail.

DiRT demo
Taylor and Andy have already posted their thoughts on the demo and I'd like to throw in more praise. The graphics and presentation really won me over and I like how it's not obsessing too much on being a racing simulator. Of course that hasn't prevented me from posting anything but dead last in all the races so far!

I'm just really impressed at how well it makes me believe I'm driving smashing up a rally car in the middle of the desert. If I can find DiRT at a cheapy price this summer, you can bet I will add it to my collection.