I love racing games, and lately I got to a very interesting conclusion - racing games are the best ones for busy people! Why? The answer is simple - you can simply race 5 minutes and then get out, while it's virtually impossible to enter World of Warcraft or another MMORPG and do something that matters in less than 30 minutes or even more. Now, Aeria Games' Project Torque cars just got refreshed!



If you don't remember last time when we talked about this great game, you can check out my previous Project Torque-related article, especially to enjoy those awesome screenshots. This time, it's not about screenshots, since if you don't get to play it, screenshots are nothing. Just think about this - "Capture the Flag" gaming with cars! Obviously, this is only the cherry on top of the Project Torque cake...<-180x150 Small Rectangle - right->

This time, the Project Torque cars lot got a bit bigger with today's update, since two new offroad cars have been added - the Mitsubishi Outlander and the Toyota 4 Runner. Both cars look and handle great, but some upgrades for them seem to be a bit buggy, according to early reports. Anyway, since they are free to try before you buy, I don't see any big problem with that.

Just think about the following facts - Project Torque is free to download and play, and you can enjoy it to the fullest without having to pay a single dollar, although real world cars must be purchased using real money - or you can even get them during various promotions/contests. If you have been disappointed by the latest Need for Speed games, and you don't have the money to buy Test Drive Unlimited, or you simply want to try something new, go ahead and give Project Torque a try - it surely deserves more than just that!

In everything comes time for a change, at least once in a while. While Lara Croft is one of the most notorious game characters, and the hot chicks impersonating her at various game conventions changed pretty often, that's not what I am going to talk about next. Obviously, I won't go too much off the line, and still talk about the time for a change, but not with Lara, since there's something much bigger that feels the time for a change has come - the entire gaming industry!



Do you think this is not really something new? well, you may be right, and I started to feel this a few years ago, but this time is not about me, since Atari's Phil Harrison has spoken - gaming development reached the time for a change.

At the Unite 08 conference in Copenhagen, Harrison said <-180x150 Small Rectangle - right->"Here is my EUR 10 million gift to this room - all of the mistakes I have made in software development have been based around one problem and one problem alone, which is accelerating through this pipeline without successfully and properly satisfying the requirements of each of the stages - and typically it involves going from concept to production in one jump."

I fully agree with him, but he should always keep in mind that today, most gaming companies put development speed above anything else, and that's only the fault of the tendency to turn games into 99% merchandise, and 1% art. A decade ago, things were a bit different, in my opinion...

Getting back to Harrison, here's how he concluded the speech - "I believe that a true 21st century business model is to do all of that [production] in the glare of the game-playing public, so you can expose that innovation to your consumers,. You may not charge them for it at this point - but why not deliver your innovations and experimentations directly to your players, and let them be part of the process of deciding which games to make?"

The answer to the above is very easy - a large mass of consumers will always be more demanding than a small team of developers and Beta testers. I may be wrong, of course, but these are only my five cents... feel free to drop your comments below, if you think otherwise!

On the 19th of November, Microsoft is expected to roll out a bunch of Xbox goodies. Even before that date, some extremely interesting titles will be released, such as the Xbox version of the good old Duke Nukem 3D. So far, so good, but there's one problem - Primetime will be missing, as well as other features - but apart from Primetime, nothing is sure.

According to a Microsoft spokesperson, "The New Xbox Experience is a long-term initiative, and what we are rolling out on November 19 is only the beginning," but I must disagree, just a little - a strong start is usually better than a slow one, especially since I am sure Microsoft should be able to keep up in time, once they manage a good start. <-125x125 Button - right->After all, I am sure Xbox is not Windows...

"With the New Xbox Experience we will have the flexibility to roll out features and updates dynamically, unlike in the past where we were on a more biannual schedule. So, there are a lot more exciting features, including Primetime, that will be coming soon," added Microsoft.

Well, it seems the Primetime feature should arrive as a spring 2009 release, at least that's what Forbes says, and I can't disagree with them. I only hope the prize is going to worth the wait.