As long-time readers know, I'm not an extreme fan of online multiplayer games - primarily because I keep waiting for family and friends to join me online and, to date, most haven't. I still keep my Xbox Live Gold status every year, just in case the right game comes along to change my mind.
I actually played the right game once. It was 5 years ago, back when Xbox Live was still in beta. It was called Re-Volt and it completely rocked as an online multiplayer game. Ported from the Dreamcast, it was one of Acclaim's finest creations (maybe their only really good game besides the original Turok). And Microsoft adapted it to test its online gaming service. You'd jump into one of three races with random opponents in these tiny RC cars and, if you could keep it together, you might win or at least stay up with the leaders. If you failed, you'd crash and burn and maybe end up last or near the end. The stakes were low since these were only toy cars, after all, and if you blew it you could try again in a matter of minutes.
It was a blast! And Microsoft killed it a few months after it launched Xbox Live, no doubt terrified that a tiny RC game could overtake its big racing franchise, Project Gotham Racing. We urged them to reconsider, maybe finish the game and release it as a budget title. But we were denied.
Ever since, I've been looking for something to fill the void. Mad Tracks on Xbox Live Arcade comes close, but it still lacks some of the features that made Re-Volt so great. Like the ability to force everyone to drive the most ill-conceived vehicle ever (Flying Saucers!) and see how they make out. So, when I heard about Toy Home I hoped that perhaps, just maybe, Sony would beat Microsoft at its own game.
After trying the demo, I can say that Toy Home is not that game. It suffers from the fatal flaw that has plagued many promising PS3 titles: over-dependence on Sixaxis controls. Most of the controls in Toy Home make sense, but to steer you must tilt the controller. I tried this with Excite Truck on the Wii, and gave up after a day or so. And those controls were much tighter (and the game much more fun) than Toy Home.
It's possible the full game will have an option to steer using the analog stick or D-Pad (the Options menu is grayed out in the demo), but I'm not going to pay $10 to find out - and then decide, on my dime, if the game is actually fun. Sony, you had your chance and you blew it.
I'll just have to keep hoping that whoever bought the Re-Volt property from the Acclaim fire sale a few years back dusts it off and does something with it. Someday, just maybe.
-=Gamewatcher
I actually played the right game once. It was 5 years ago, back when Xbox Live was still in beta. It was called Re-Volt and it completely rocked as an online multiplayer game. Ported from the Dreamcast, it was one of Acclaim's finest creations (maybe their only really good game besides the original Turok). And Microsoft adapted it to test its online gaming service. You'd jump into one of three races with random opponents in these tiny RC cars and, if you could keep it together, you might win or at least stay up with the leaders. If you failed, you'd crash and burn and maybe end up last or near the end. The stakes were low since these were only toy cars, after all, and if you blew it you could try again in a matter of minutes.
It was a blast! And Microsoft killed it a few months after it launched Xbox Live, no doubt terrified that a tiny RC game could overtake its big racing franchise, Project Gotham Racing. We urged them to reconsider, maybe finish the game and release it as a budget title. But we were denied.
Ever since, I've been looking for something to fill the void. Mad Tracks on Xbox Live Arcade comes close, but it still lacks some of the features that made Re-Volt so great. Like the ability to force everyone to drive the most ill-conceived vehicle ever (Flying Saucers!) and see how they make out. So, when I heard about Toy Home I hoped that perhaps, just maybe, Sony would beat Microsoft at its own game.
After trying the demo, I can say that Toy Home is not that game. It suffers from the fatal flaw that has plagued many promising PS3 titles: over-dependence on Sixaxis controls. Most of the controls in Toy Home make sense, but to steer you must tilt the controller. I tried this with Excite Truck on the Wii, and gave up after a day or so. And those controls were much tighter (and the game much more fun) than Toy Home.
It's possible the full game will have an option to steer using the analog stick or D-Pad (the Options menu is grayed out in the demo), but I'm not going to pay $10 to find out - and then decide, on my dime, if the game is actually fun. Sony, you had your chance and you blew it.
I'll just have to keep hoping that whoever bought the Re-Volt property from the Acclaim fire sale a few years back dusts it off and does something with it. Someday, just maybe.
-=Gamewatcher
