#and i'm so used to my switch pro controller that i struggled with my ps4 controller when i started tlou (which i never got back to rip)

[bilestat]

the silent realms in skyward sword have no business being as nerve wracking as they are

[zachsgamejournal]

PLAYING: Burnout 2: Point of Impact

Got my new Pixel 7 Pro. Wanted to see if I can play PS2 games (specifically Timesplitters Future Perfect), but after playing Riptide all week I was feeling nostalgic for some classic console racers!

Of the Burnout series--Burnout 2 isn't even the best one. I think it's basically a tie between Burnout 3 and Paradise. There's some other B3-era Burnouts I haven't played (like the 360 version), but I feel pretty confident in my appraisal.

Burnout 1 was interesting. Plenty of racing games had to offer what Burnout did, but the slight focus on crashing and building a boost-bar with dangerous actions made it feel pretty unique. I remember the original's cars being pretty bland. They were solid-colored, unexciting rip-offs of popular car types. But the slight deformation on the cars might it more exciting than the average racer--which just had solid cars collide with a flash of sparks and then you moved on.

Burnout 2 improved the game in every way: graphically, gameplay, and presentation. Watching my friend play through, I definitely felt it was more exciting and fun. I think I played a few races, but it was mostly him. I remember him holding a burnout-combo for over 1 lap. He practically burnout-boosted the entire race. That was cool!

I ended up buying Burnout 3 and it blew 1 & 2 away. The cars were much more interesting looking, the graphics were far more detailed, and the SFX made the experience far more exciting and intense! Then there was the crashing: WAY BETTER! Burnout 1 had car models that deformed slightly, Burnout 2 had a little more destruction, but Burnout 3 had cars that would fold and crumble in half--with glass, sparks, and debris flying every where! It was crazy! On top of that--wrecking other cars was a key mechanic...

Burnout 1 & 2 allowed opponents to wreck, but there's little one could do to influence it. I even tried to just now to bump and push other cars and it was like trying to redirect a train of its tracks with a leaf blower. But B3 let you disrupt an opponent's controls with a bump, or side swipe them into a wall, oncoming traffic, or other obstacle. And you were celebrated and rewarded for this! So not only were you battling the track and traffic, but you literally battled the other racers. It was fantastic.

Anyway--I'm not sure why Burnout 2 attracted me when there was a better game available. There's something about those bland-but-fun PS2 classics that tickle my nostalgia nerve. Because I've been playing Riptide Renegade on Mobile, I've been really pumped to play some classic-fun racers. And since I got a new phone, I was interested in trying out its emulation capabilities. Mostly I'm impressed.

Emulation on Pixel 7 Pro

I was a huge fan of PS1. So when PS2 promised to play PS1 games, awesome! I became a huge fan of PS2. So when PS3 promised to play PS1 & PS2 games: AWESOME! Unfortunately Sony abandoned BC. I thought they would correct that with Playstation Now for PS4--but they totally dropped the ball and haven't quite picked it back up.

When my original PS3 with BC died (after 8 long years of daily play for many hours) I wasn't sure how i was going to play PS2 games. And it's been a long struggle to figure that out. I had hoped the Pixel 4 XL could handle it--but not quite. (At least not Timesplitters: Future Perfect.) I've got a PC that can handle the emulation now, but I love the convenience of using my phone (I don't have a desk or designated PC play space. So it can get awkward setting up my laptop.)

I was able to get Timesplitters Future Perfect working with 4x resolution by switching to Vulkan backend. It's been great so far!! I tried getting Burnout 2 to work on AetherSX2--but it fails to recognize the disc. I've tried to mess around with the regional bios, but it's not getting me the results I want. So tried it out for GameCube with the Dolphin emulator (which has generally been a more pleasant emulation experience in the past).

This version worked. The game ran well at 4x until I got to the highway track. Framerate dropped to 45 fps and the audio chugged along with it. Wasn't great. I switched to Vulkan backend and everything got a little bit better. But the highway tracks still cause slowdown. Not sure how to fix it, but almost every other track runs at a smooth 58-60 fps.

How's it play?

The game requires a "training" section. You have about 6 exercises to go through explaining how to build the boost meter and do burnouts. When this game first came out and I was a high school teenager, the hand-holding that reminded me of Gran Turismo's license tests was kind of exciting. I thought, Wow--how cool that they've spent production time to teach you and pull you into the experience. Now I'm like, "Just let me race!"

Riptide Renegade, like many modern racers, teaches the core mechanics in the first race. It's a 5-10 minute experience of going through a first race. The game pauses and explains a feature, then encourages you to complete the feature. Compared to the tutorial of Burnout, it's not so invasive and is over quick. There's lots of loading in Bunrout 2, so loading each tutorial feels more laboring than it should be.

But then you start racing. The cars are just "unlocked". No purchase necessary--though you have to beat further challenges to unlock more. That's not so bad, but I miss games that give you cash even if you fail, meaning that if you fail long enough you get to buy something new. But then again, Burnout's approach makes getting new cars less grindy.

The cars control ok. Burnout 1 had really stiff cars. These feel better. But still not as nice as Burnout 3 or Paradise. The crashing is exciting enough, but not like the latter games. It's interesting, you only race 3 opponents. I'm guessing this is due to technical constraints. But the game does a good job of keeping the races intimate. While I was able to pull ahead in many races, the AI is always just behind. And if you fall behind, they don't leave you too far behind. It keeps the racing exciting and fun.

I did notice after barely holding first place with 2 laps that were about 1 minute 15 each, somehow I still came in first with an abysmal 1 minute 40. Maybe it'll get harder later.

The point of playing this was just to feel some nostalgia and test out my emulation capabilities. But I'm considering playing through. I don't know...there's plenty of Riptide left and I've got many other games on my list.