So, the 1.06 gig demo is up on Live marketplace, and it gives a decent sampler of the new Carbon features. You can choose from 3 car classes, and use the "Autosculpt" function to custom design the car to your liking (think character creation morphing sliders from Saints Row).
The demo gives you the option of either choosing a Circuit race, or Drift comp. Both have to be completed to unlock the Canyon race.
Circuit shows off the crew system. As you race, a "Crew meter" builds up, and once filled, you can call for a crew member to take out someone in front of you, or someone on your tail. Also, your crew will communicate with you, and will shout warnings if someone is boosting from behind. You can also opt to help a crew member win, by sacrificing yourself to take out the competition yourself. I think this adds a very cool twist to the standard circuit race.
Drift is back and controls pretty nice. Only took me a few laps of the demo track before I was doubling the drift scores of the competition.
Canyon race was awesome. It is basically broken into two rounds. The first round, you chase a car down a winding canyon road, trying not to drive off a cliff. You score points by staying close, get bonuses for crashing into them, and can win instantly if you manage to stay ahead of them for 10 seconds. The second round, you start off with the points you earned from the first round, and they tick off as your opponent tries to keep up with you. This mode was pretty intense. There's nothing quite like drifitng around a canyon corner, shattering a guard rail with your tail and managing to boost out of the drift to safety at the last second.
Nice, solid demo.
The demo gives you the option of either choosing a Circuit race, or Drift comp. Both have to be completed to unlock the Canyon race.
Circuit shows off the crew system. As you race, a "Crew meter" builds up, and once filled, you can call for a crew member to take out someone in front of you, or someone on your tail. Also, your crew will communicate with you, and will shout warnings if someone is boosting from behind. You can also opt to help a crew member win, by sacrificing yourself to take out the competition yourself. I think this adds a very cool twist to the standard circuit race.
Drift is back and controls pretty nice. Only took me a few laps of the demo track before I was doubling the drift scores of the competition.
Canyon race was awesome. It is basically broken into two rounds. The first round, you chase a car down a winding canyon road, trying not to drive off a cliff. You score points by staying close, get bonuses for crashing into them, and can win instantly if you manage to stay ahead of them for 10 seconds. The second round, you start off with the points you earned from the first round, and they tick off as your opponent tries to keep up with you. This mode was pretty intense. There's nothing quite like drifitng around a canyon corner, shattering a guard rail with your tail and managing to boost out of the drift to safety at the last second.
Nice, solid demo.
Gotta decide what system to buy it for.
They've basically gone a full generation without working out how to get a stable framerate on a racing game that doesn't have a lot going on. Hooray for short development cycles.