(Car Noises)
Woah, listen to that music eh. It s like a hymn from the early 90s. A
hymn from the church of arcade games, when men were men and games were games or something
like that, I don't know. Anyway, it's Daytona USA. Now, I think Daytona USA is the best racing
game this year. You're gonna think I'm just saying that to be an arse and get a rise out
of folk. How could I say that in a year that's had Forza 4, F1 2011, Dirt 3 and all these
other great racing games? Especially seeing as it's only got 1 car and 3 tracks. Oh my
god what an idiot I am. Well seeing as they three tracks are timeless, perfectly designed
classics, I think I'm in the right. Three 7 speedway is pretty much what my generation
grew up thinking a real NASCAR race looked like, with a giant slot machine and a picture
of Sonic carved into a cliff face. Dinosaur Canyon's breathless ascent makes way to perfectly
judged hairpins, asking you to tame your beast of a car and drift it like a pro. And Seaside
Street Galaxy? Well, conquering this marathon is like perfecting Le Mans in Gran Turismo,
trying not to get distracted by the giant statue of Jeffry McWild long enough to keep
your car in a control. And that car, what a car. Why would you ever need anything else?
Daytona USA's blue Hornet, or yellow if you're a prick and play on manual like I do, is
a joy to drive. You're constantly battling to keep it gripped to the road on the straights,
and shifting gears like a mad man to get it drifting. It's utterly barmy, but it exists
in it's own world, with it's own, convincing realism. It isn't realistic in the same way
that Gran Turismo 5 is, but it acts exactly as expected of a car that races around these
fantasy worlds. This new release of Daytona USA is pretty much the standard bearer for
what HD rereleases looks like. It leaves everything from the arcade original intact, but gives
you the benefits of all the mod cons, like widescreen and a brilliant online multiplayer.
Folk that don't know better will moan about the graphics, but I think they look beautiful,
fast and colourful, with a timeless style all of their own. One major addition is
the karaoke mode. Let's be honest, we all know the words to the Daytona soundtrack,
but this time you get to kick back with the horses and sing along to your hearts content.
Daytona USA is a classic. For the price it's going for, you'd be mental not to pick it
up. There's more fun packed into it's three tracks than there is spread out through all
these other modern racing games. If you can look past the old fashioned graphics which
I think still have a sense of charm about them no other game has, then you're gonna
have a whale of a time. Now, if you'll excuse me.