I think calling that section a 'tutorial' is a bit of a stretch as it fails miserably in that function, it tells you what the basic button functions are but that's it. Yes you can drive around with unlimited weaponry but it's utterly pointless as you have nothing to shoot at to test with the weapons. The learning curve in the single player is pretty much a brick wall as you're dumped in a game with six others taking chunks out of your car giving you no time to try and get a feel for the level, the controls and the weaponry. Going into the challenge mode first is a better way to start the game as the one vehicle endurance gives you time to get used to the game but I still find the game frustrating, it doesn't seem to want you to play it. I don't know why they bothered with a manual as it's just a waste of paper and the hints and tips seem to refer to the useless default controls.Father Time said:
The only reason I stick with it is because I stupidly bought the game at full price, if I'd been playing the demo I wouldn't have given it a second look and as this is a primarily multiplayer orientated title, that's not good at all. I think the review is one of the more accurate ones (if anything too generous to the game), I could put up with the numerous problems and very lazy port for a £5 PSN title but for a full price PS3 game I think it's a joke.
Because it's horribly dated and it feels it, some games are timeless in their simplicity but games like this are not and the total lack of any modern innovation and advancement shows really badly. The physics engine is terrible, the controls are awful (when you're actually getting to drive the car which is rare amongst getting constantly rammed off the track or ripped apart by the AI) and the enemy 'AI' is a joke - I put that in brackets because using the term intelligence gives them credibility they don't deserve. The race mode in particular seems to be some sort of sick joke, when I'm the fastest car even the slowest AI car rockets off the start line faster and from then it's a game of how many times can the AI cars shoot you before you get sick of it and power the console down. A lazy port like this would be acceptable as a cheap PSN title but as a full priced Sony published game it's a total embarrassment.
John