What kind of racing game doesn’t give you upgrades? You couldn’t even tune or upgrade your car.
Here were the guys at Sony’s Evolution Studios who did the wonderfully whimsical Motorstorm games, but now straight-jacketed into a series of contained tracks minus any whimsy. I watched the others play and I asked questions and I surmised that, boy, this was going to be an awful game. I wasn’t actually given a turn at Driveclub, but I was sequestered in the room, apparently to be subjected to my turn later, which was forgotten when everyone went to get lunch. Who wants to do a multiplayer race in a game you’ve never played with cars you’ve never driven in a design based on persistent social shenanigans that aren’t in place? Besides, there was food downstairs and a playable version of The Crew tucked in another room where you could just do whatever you wanted in Ubisoft’s upcoming open-world driving extravaganza. I first saw it at a Sony press event where they corralled grumbling journalists into a room and sat them in front of a row of monitors to have them race against each other. For Driveclub, nearly two weeks after its release, that time has come.Īfter the jump, I come not to praise Driveclub. But after a certain amount of time, a launch issue is no longer just a launch issue. I’d just as soon wait until Driveclub, a fantastic variation on the usual driving games, achieves the state it deserves to be in, a state I have every reasonable expectation it will eventually reach, a state I’ve enjoyed firsthand before the launch.
I’d really rather not be here, writing this review right now.