On November 15, 2001, Microsoft unleashed the Xbox to the world of gaming in North America. With a built-in hard disk drive and the use of Dolby Interactive Content-Encoding Technology, the XBox brought about some new competition for the Sony Playstation 2, the Sega Dreamcast, and the Nintendo GameCube.
In late 2006, the XBox was discontinued, but its bigger and better brother, the XBox 360, was introduced on April 15, 2010.
Codemasters have just announced the new GRID 2, a racing game that will challenge players to be fast, be first, and be famous as they enter a stunning new world of competitive motorsport. With the new game, Codemasters are setting new standards for damage, AI and visuals, but will also raise the gameplay and technological bar for motorsport gaming. GRID 2 will be released in the summer of 2013 for Xbox 360, Microsoft, Playstation 3, and PC.
The new GRID 2 racing game
"GRID’s back and we’re going to make street, track and road racing exciting again," said Clive Moody, Executive Producer. "The core design philosophy for GRID 2 is that we treat the race as a character, not a consequence of simply putting cars on tracks. Everything that goes into the game impacts on that second-to-second, in the moment, blockbuster drama – the feel and personality of the race."
It’s that time of the month again when fans of Forza 4 wait with breathless anticipation to see what new car pack the people from Turn 10 Studios will release for the game. Well, the August Car Pack has just been released and true to what has now become a monthly wait, the new DLC content comes with plenty of muscle...both new AND old.
It’s also appropriate that the two faces of the August DLC pack are two muscle cars that certainly have no love lost for the other: the Ford Mustang Boss 302 and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
Joining in on the fun is the new Scion FR-S, the 1989 Mercedes-Benz #63 Team Sauber-Mecedes C9 racer, the Hyundai Genesis 3.8 Coupe, and the 1962 Lincoln Continental.
Before you check out the full teaser and a batch of photos of the cars in the DLC, it was be mentioned that anybody looking to download the pack will have to shell out $7. Not a bad price to pay if it means you can bring your muscle car wars to Forza 4.
Turn 10 Studios won’t launch the new Forza Horizon until October 23rd, 2012, but the company has announced that the game is already available for pre-order. As a bonus for those pre-ordering the game, Turn 10 Studios will be offering a 2012 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 for the Forza Motorsport 4 complete with a custom Forza Horizon livery created by Forza community team. A series of exclusive cars will also be available in Forza Horizon: the 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, the 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia, the 2012 Aston Martin Virage, the 2010 Nissan 370Z, and the 2010 Volkswagen Golf R.
Next to these exclusive additions, the new Horizon game will also feature cars like the 2013 SRT Viper, the 2012 BMW M5, the Nissan Skyline GT-R R34, and the Ford GT, among many others.
As a reminder, the new game will ditch simulated racing in favor of arcade action in order to one-up other famous racing games currently on the market.
Last month, Turn 10 Studios dropped the first screenshot and the cover box for the upcoming Forza Horizon game. Now, the company is offering up the first trailer, as well as a series of new screenshots for the game set to be released on October 23rd, 2012.
While the game is still being kept a secret, this new trailer offers a few more details on the upcoming game. As promised, the 2013 SRT Viper will be one of the cars featured, but the screenshots also reveal other cars: the 2012 BMW M5, the Nissan 370Z, the Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 and the Ford GT, among many others.
Here’s how Turn 10 Studios describes the game: "The moment you put your hands to the controller to play the Forza Horizon E3 2012 demo, you know you’re about to experience something special. After all, Forza Horizon is a new take on the Forza franchise; an open-world action racing game that transports players to the epic open roads of Colorado. It’s where gear-heads mix with hipster kids in a clashing cacophonous clamor of V12 engines and driving beats."
The Need for Speed franchise has never been about pure racing thrills the way both Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport are. While those two are all about burning rubber and collecting trophies, Need for Speed comes with added layers of story lines that make for a more dynamic gaming experience.
Their latest offering, called Need for Speed: Most Wanted, is no different.
Similar to previous NFS installments, Need for Speed: Most Wanted is a game that pits you against the authorities and engaging in a hellacious cat-and-mouse game throughout the city, complete with explosions, crashes, and yes, even road jumps.
Another new element added to the game is the involvement of Criterion Games, which allows for some of the best online multi-player challenges you and your friends can compete in.
In this trailer video for the game, we get to see what we’re in store for. Even better, there appears to be a roster of supercars that we’d love to take control of while playing the game. We see you, Lamborghini Aventador.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted is scheduled to be released later this year on a number of platforms, including the X360, the PS3, PC, the PS Vita, and iOS.
EA is already taking pre-orders for the game and if you do so, you get the chance to immediately own a Porsche 911 Carrera S and a Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale at no added cost.
Forza 4 already has enough Porsche vehicles to make the heads of even its most ardent fans spin in confusion. But even with all the Porsche bombardment, Turn 10 Studios still believes that you can’t have too many of these virtual German prancers in your video game.
So they did something that, if not expected, can be construed as inevitable: release a Porsche Expansion Pack.
Forza 4’s latest downloadable content will include 20 of the most iconic Porsche models to have met the pavement. The pack dropped on the Xbox LIVE network on May 22, 2012 costing 1,600 MS Points for the opportunity to access 30 new cars and 20 new career events, among other new other features.
Of the 30 that will be available in the pack, we’ve singled out a few of our favorite models: the 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder, the 1987 Porsche 959, the 2007 Porsche #80 Flying Lizard 911 GT3-RSR, and the 2012 Porsche 911 GT2 RS.
The pack is everything a Porsche fan could possibly ask for in a video game. If you don’t want to take our word for it, take Turn 10 Studios’, who said in a statement that “this is the kind of news that deserves to be shouted from the rooftops: Porsche is returning to Forza Motorsport.”
Head over after the jump to check out the entire list of Porsche models that are part of the Porsche Expansion Pack
Full story
Turn 10 Studios is preparing the next chapter in the Forza Motorsport history books with a new Horizon version. Forza Horizon will debut in Fall 2012 for the Xbox 360, and we already have an insight into the game with the box cover and first screenshot of the future game.
No other details have been provided, but the screenshot reveals that the new generation SRT Viper will be a part of the action when the game hits the shelves. The company has also announced that the new Forza Horizon will ditch simulated racing in favor of arcade action in order to one-up other famous racing games currently on the market.
"Forza Horizon combines the automotive thrills that Forza fans expect with a gorgeous open-road world that begs to be explored. "Our goal is to turn gamers into car lovers, and car lovers into gamers," Forza 4 director Dan Greenawalt said. "This is part of our DNA. That’s why we’ve been working on this series for more than 10 years. Our goal is to take people who play Skyrim and Call of Duty and make them in racing game players. That is why I come to work every day."
Every month, Turn 10 Studios releases a downloadable content package for Forza 4 that allows gamers to add to what is an already growing list of impressive cars they can play on the game.
Last month, it was the AlpineStars Pack. In March, it was the Pirelli Pack. And back in February, it was the ALMS Pack.
For May, Turn 10 is releasing the Top Gear Pack and lo and behold, they’re including the Hennessey Venom GT in it.
We have to admit we’ve enjoyed all these DLCs Turn 10 has released every month, but the thought of driving the Venom GT in the game has us already wishing that it’s May 1, 2012 already.
In addition to the Venom GT, the Top Gear pack also includes the 1977 AMC Pacer X, the 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8, and, yes, even the 2011 Ford Transit SuperSport Van.
The TopGear pack will set you back 560 Microsoft Points - or $7 - so if you’re interested, you can score the Venom GT to play on Forza 4.
Atari’s Test Drive Unlimited was and still is a hit among many racing game addicts and now Atari is hitting us up with another does of racing awesomeness with a new chapter of the Test Drive racing franchise - "Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends". As the name suggests, the new game will be all about putting together some of the most impressive sports cars Ferrari has ever offered.
"Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends’ detailed physics underpin a huge variety of entertaining drives spread throughout automotive history. Vehicle handling uses a convincing physics model, tuned for exciting pick-up-and-play racing. High speed racing with visual damage effects are the major game play keys. Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends’ offers 50 of the Italian manufacturer’s racecars and production models, and includes rally, Formula One and GT racing modes. The playable world will track-based, compressed to 36 circuits from around the world of motorsports."
The new Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends was developed by Slightly Mad Studios and will be available starting May 31st for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.
The Mazda 787B already holds esteem as one of the most iconic race cars in history, highlighted by its successful win at the 1991 Le Mans 24 Hours race. That win make it the first and only Japanese race car to win the prestigious endurance race.
For a race car that holds so much esteem, the folks over at Turn 10 Studios decided to bring the 787B into their game as part of their February ALMS Car Pack.
In this video, we catch up with some of the people responsible for bringing the 787B into the virtual world. More than just the sheer sight of the green-and-orange racer romping Forza 4, the 787B’s defining quality will always be its four-rotor Wankel engine, the source of what Turn 10 Studios says is the loudest engine they’ve ever recorded.
For something that often falls in the realm of hyperbole, the 787B has a legitimate claim to that title. It’s so loud that it actually beat the TVR Cerbera Speed 12, a car that packed a sizzling 960 horsepower and 650 lb/ft of torque.
Check out the video and find out the lengths Turn 10 Studios had to go through to fully capture the banshee-like screams of the Mazda 787B. Better yet, turn up the volume and listen to it yourselves!
