E' molto difficile trovare in Italia il nuovo Saturday Night Speedway della Ratbag, ma è possibile acquistarlo via internet ed oggi il portale di GameSpot ne ha pubblicato una completa recensione: voto finale uno scarso 6,5.

In summation, the game is disappointing in that it clearly isn't all it could or should be given what has preceded it. Though gamers new to Ratbag will undoubtedly have a good time exploring Saturday Night Speedway's many intriguing facets and its convincing, high energy dirt track world, veterans of prior Ratbag efforts will quite probably wonder why so little has been done to modernize, repair, and enhance a game model that's now been kicking around for far too many years.

La SCi ha annunciato che la colonna sonora del prossimo ed atteso Richard Burns Rally saprà stupire quanto la sua fedeltà simulativa in pista: le musiche saranno infatti curate dal famoso DJ e produttore Paul Oakenfold, che ha lavorato con personaggi del calibro di U2, Madonna, Rolling Stones...

Music is becoming increasingly important to computer game releases and with SCi Games’ Richard Burns Rally, this is certainly no exception. Richard Burns Rally has secured a number of exclusively licensed original music tracks to appear in game from Paul Oakenfold, Andy Hunter, Pepe Delux and Plump DJs.

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DJ and Producer Paul Oakenfold needs little introduction, a legend on the club circuit, he was the first DJ to play the main stage at Glastonbury. Working with acts such as U2, Justin Timberlake, Madonna, Massive Attack, The Rolling Stones and Snoop Doggy Dog to name but a few, it was his work with film scores such as: Planet of the Apes, Austin Powers, Swordfish and Matrix: Reloaded that made him the ideal choice to compose an original music track for Richard Burns Rally. Burns Attack was written and produced exclusively for intro and menu screens in the game.

Paul said: "I am proud to be a part of the Richard Burns Rally game, I am a keen gamer and by all reports this will be the most life-like Rally game ever. I’m always trying to push the boundaries with my music and this game is definitely pushing the envelope on gaming - brilliant."

Other tracks exclusively licensed for the game are from a collection of highly reputable DJs including Pepe Delux Cruel Youth, Plump DJs Creepshow and Andy Hunter Go.

Il portale di GameSpot ha già pubblicato un primo articolo di impressioni generali dedicato al prossimo Xpand Rally, titolo rallystico molto interessante della software house Techland:

Like other traditional rally games, in Xpand Rally, your car is the only one on the road. You must get to the finish line as fast as possible; an arrow indicator appears at the top of the screen in advance of each turn to let you know how to steer. The game's control scheme is extremely simple; there's a forward throttle, reverse, and turning (which can be mapped to the arrow keys, or WASD if you prefer), gear up and gear down keys, a handbrake, and headlights for night races.

Il portale di NextGame ha pubblicato una dettagliata ed esauriente recensione del nuovo Colin McRae Rally 4 della Codemasters in versione per PC, eccovene un estratto:

Dato lo sforzo profuso dalle software house concorrenti nel proporre, ciascuna nel suo settore e piattaforma di competenza, titoli rallystici sempre più emozionanti e innovativi, l'attaccamento di Codemasters alla sua formula vincente inizia a suonare più come un ripiego che come un contrattacco. E' vero, d'altra parte, che le migliorie di questo quarto capitolo adombrano generosamente alcuni piccoli difetti, e che nel complesso la conversione di Colin McRae Rally 04 per PC può dirsi compiuta bene e con criterio (vedi l'implementazione del multiplayer online, assente nelle versioni console)...

La Techland ha comunicato che molto presto partirà l'attesa fase di beta testing per il nuovo Xpand Rally: fra le oltre 10.000 richieste, sono stati selezionati 2.000 fortunati che potranno provare da subito questo interessante titolo rallystico.

Techland, the producer of Xpand Rally informs that it has closed the registration process for beta testers and began the BETA TESTS. Over 10.000 people registered during the one week registration period! As announced before, Techland chose 2.000 from the registered users to become the Xpand Rally Official Beta Testers.

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Among all the registered the majority are residents of France, United States and Germany. However, there were also registrations from such countries as the United Arab Emirates, Korea and Malaysia. The Xpand Rally Official Beta Testers will soon receive and email including detailed information on:
· downloading new builds of Xpand Rally
· bug reporting system
· communication with the development team
· access to the official Beta forum.
Beta Tests will be divided into 3 separate phases. The first phase will emphasize on evaluating the car handling physical simulation and the controller compatibility. The second phase of beta tests will focus on tweaking the carrier mode with its economy structure and other single player game modes with special emphasis on balance and gameplay. The final part of the tests will involve testing of the multiplayer feature.

Sul sito di GameZone potete leggere una interessante intervista agli sviluppatori del prossimo Xpand Rally della Techland:

What type of game modes does Xpand Rally have to offer?
Pawe³ Zawodny, Development Director: The game offers a career mode which is based on ideas presented in the already legendary Gran Turismo series. The player will have to compete with fast opponents, earn money and tune his car to be able to win in numerous championships. Of course single-race mode will also be available. One of the unique qualities of the game is the fact that in some game modes the player will be able to drive without any restraints around vast, carefully detailed terrain, unlike in other games, where the driver has to stay in a characteristic "gutter."

Ma come sarà l'atteso Gran Turismo 4 Prologue per Playstation 2 che arriverà anche in Italia a breve, sarà il caso di averlo a tutti i costi? Il portale di Ludus ci propone una interessante recensione:

Lo diciamo sin dall'inizio, questo nuovo titolo della serie è solo una prova generale da parte della Polyphony Digital. Il perché di questa nostra affermazione? Lo spiegheremo nel corso dell'articolo. Innanzitutto il giocatore, una volta di fronte al menu principale, ha due scelte: cimentarsi nella Modalità Arcade o in quella denominata School....