Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Game Review

There are a few fortunate enough to have driven a Ferrari and even fewer who own one, but many nonetheless dream of being behind one of these Italian thoroughbreds. Now that dream can be a reality with System 3’s new PS3 Ferrari Challenge (Trofeo Pirelli), with 32 models lovingly re-created to keep us dreamers happy.

In the single player mode, you will be able to drive a F340 through 14 tracks worldwide (for example Monza, Misano and Silverstone) in order to ultimately win the Ferrari Challenge trophy.

The worldwide challenge is divided into three regions — Italy, Europe and America — and takes place on weekends, beginning with a qualifier followed by two 15-minute races. New vehicles can be unlocked using the points earned after competing in a race.

For those not used to driving a Ferrari or any high-performance vehicle, (I’m guessing the majority of you) the game incorporates a clever driving assistance device, which tells you the optimum line in which to drive, and when to brake and accelerate (much like in Gran Turismo 4). It teaches you how to drive these cars and how best to tackle each track, telling you where you car should be on track (follow the green line), when to brake (when the line turns red) and accelerate at the apex of the corner (when the line turns green again).

This really does help at the beginning when you are still trying to get a grip on the feel of a Ferrari.

Of course, the driving assist can be turned off and this is when your experience behind the wheel goes full throttle. Just beware these are not your regular street cars — any mistake in taking a corner and you will be greeted by a wall or skid onto the gravel. Something you definitely don’t want to do to a Ferrari!

Not cutting corners is a good motto in life and in Ferrari Challenge (Trofeo Pirelli), the same principle applies. If you do, a penalty flag will appear on screen, causing your car to slow down for a few seconds until your penalty has passed.

Unlike games such as Gran Turismo, car damage has been included, although because it’s a Ferrari, the damage has been toned down so that it doesn’t affect the car’s handling. This is a shame though, as it would have given the game more realism (part of the license agreement I guess).

There is also the arcade mode where you can get quickly into the action. The Ferrari Top Trumps is a sort of mini game, which is great fun and quite interesting. There is also a decal system for those who want a customized look to their car. As for looks, Ferrari Challenge does not stand a chance against Grid’s damage mechanics or Gran Turismo’s Prologue, its stunning wet weather effects and well rendered backdrops.

The in-car look is quite impressive though, and each car is made to look just like its real-world counterparts. This game can be used to give would-be Ferrari buyers a test drive, saving the mileage on their would-be cars. Each car’s sound has been recorded faithfully: imagine turning off the soundtrack and listening instead to the purr and roar of the engines.

Ferrari Challenge (Trofeo Pirelli) may not have the variety in GT5 and Prologue, or the speed and killer-looks of Grid but for fans of the Italian luxury car, this game will fulfill all your fantasies.

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Kungfu Panda Video Games Review

Kungfu Panda Video Games. Master the specialized Kung Fu fighting styles of Po the Panda with Kung Fu Panda. Embark on an epic, action-packed adventure with the unlikely hero, his teacher Shifu, and the legendary Kung Fu masters, the Furious Five. Through 13 legendary levels from the movie and beyond, you must work your way to become the Dragon Warrior.

NoT many PS3 titles are children-friendly but since Kung Fu Panda is a tie-in to the animated movie, you and your kids can both enjoy this awesome game. Movie tie-ins have not fared well after being converted into games but this action adventure title proves that there’s still hope out there.

The game opens with Master Po, kung fu master and legend among his people, whose martial arts prowess is unsurpassable, defeating enemies around him with ease. At the time, you’ll be thinking: “Man, Po’s skills are so awesome and bodacious this game could dangerously become boring.”

And just when you attain and unleash the power of the Legendary Sword of Heroes, Po wakes up holding a broom. It was just a dream. The first level introduces you to Po (not a Master yet) as the clumsy apprentice of a noodle maker, day dreamer and the laziest animal in the Valley of Peace. But this Panda has aspirations of becoming a member of the most powerful Kung Fu masters ever known — the Furious Five.

As these legendary masters were demonstrating their arts, Tai Lung, a snow leopard martial arts master who recently escaped from the inescapable Chorh-Gom prison, capture them and attempt to steal the Dragon Scroll. With no warriors to defend the scroll, it is up to Master Shifu to train Po into a fighting machine, rescue the Furious Five and rid the land of Tai Lung.

For most of the game you play as Po, but other characters, like the Furious Five’s Master Tigress, Master Mantis, Master Viper, Master Crane and Master Monkey, are also playable. The game is a puzzle-platform format and most of the gameplay is fairly straightforward. However, in some of the more advanced levels, the puzzles can become quite difficult.

You will have to analyse different structures, use environmental objects and find switches in some pretty complicated maps. The controls are fairly easy with light and heavy attacks. There’s the block, jump and special-attack button which ranges from belly flops to the Panda Stumble.

Most of the game involves unleashing kung fu-style butt-kicking with some creative twists thrown in such as river rafting and a fireworks cannon. On occasion, you’ll run into the all-too-familiar timed button sequences that pop up unexpectedly and will at least keep you on your toes.

The graphics in Kungfu Panda Video Games are reflective of the attitude and comedy of the movie with great amount of detail that matches the movie quite well. The original cast members did not return for the game but you will be hard-pressed to tell the difference. Whoever did Po really sounded as bodacious and awesome as Jack Black.

The sound effects throughout the game are well done. The background music sounds like it came from a 1980s kung fu movie. Though Kung Fu Panda might appeal to more kids, parents and adults who want in on the action may find themselves kung fu fighting for the controller

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Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Game Review

METAL Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is set in a war-torn future where huge conglomerates, including those in the Middle East and South America, fight for supremacy using armies of hand-picked mercenaries. The game does a superb job of tying up the loose ends and there's so much going here it could have easily been spread over two games instead of being squashed into one. An amazing sequel to a great series. Personally I have not played any of the other games, yet I hear they're great. So this game is good for dedicated Snake fans and people who need to be introduced to this series. The gunplay is excellent, yet it does not take away from the stealth factor that dominates a well written game, that has you on the edge of your seat. The cut-scenes our long, making up a few hours of the game.

METAL Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots ends the saga about a reluctant super soldier who has spent two decades saving the world from destruction... and what an end it is. Solid Snake has kept gamers hiding, crawling and sneaking. It has taught us the importance of an empty cardboard box in tackling a technologically advanced army since it came out on the Playstation 1.

It was simple back then, Snake is a one-man army, genetically engineered and involved in a generation-spanning battle against terrorists wanting to use the Metal Gears for world domination. But four titles and three consoles later, Metal Gear Solid’s plot has evolved as much as the advancements in technology which drives the world under threat by a renegade army led by Solid’s brother, Liquid Snake.



METAL Gear Solid 4 is presented in the near future with Liquid resurfacing to take over the world and it is up to a much older Snake and his team (characters from previous title) to take him down. To really enjoy this game, it is best if you have some previous knowledge (though not essential) of the series as throughout the game there are references made to previous plots and characters as well as flashbacks that you can activate with the X button during cut-scenes.

So it is a good idea to get your hands on a PS1 and get a feel of what the saga is all about from there. Then continue with METAL Gear Solid 2 and 3 on the PS2. Rest assured, you won’t regret it. For anyone familiar with the game, playing METAL Gear Solid is more like watching a movie because of the lengthy cutscenes. In Guns of the Patriots, the “movies” are well acted with all of the original cast members returning to reprise their characters.

There is a good reason behind the cinematics. METAL Gear Solid 4 answers all the questions that have accumulated for about 20 years now while simultaneously injecting them with a huge dose of nanomachine-inhibiting adrenaline, making the whole series better as a result. METAL Gear Solid 4, in essence, is a game where stealth is recommended. But if going at it guns-a-blazing gives you your kick, then by all means. How you deal with the missions is entirely up to you.

With the OctaCamo, Snake’s new outfit, he can “disappear” into the environment and sneak up on unsuspecting soldiers. If you take the other approach, the introduction of Drebin, a gun launderer, will certainly keep your trigger-finger happy. The levels and boss fights are really huge as always, with five Acts to play through, each one broken down into smaller areas. Once you finish a game on one of the four difficulty modes, more guns and rewards open up which you can use on your next tour of duty.

METAL Gear Solid 4’s graphics and sound are just superb with the surround sound immersing you in the fire-fights with explosions, screams and whizzing bullets, and the more subtle sneaking areas, where you listen out for footsteps of approaching guards, taken into full effect.

METAL Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima and Konami went all out on Guns of the Patriot, giving a befitting end to an epic saga. After all that you have read in this review, this is a game that needs to be experienced and cannot be expressed in words.

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