Words by Marcus Boothby
As you might know, the world is currently ending thanks to a cheeky little virus called COVID-19, or coronavirus, and it’s basically forced everyone to stay inside and do nothing. Some are filling the time by doing their houses up, doing some gardening, ordering way too much stuff Amazon, or if they’re like us, they’re playing games.
Thankfully, we have access to a relevantly decent PC with fairly up-to date specifications such as a 6-core Intel i5 processor and a NVIDIA GTX1060. They’re average specs for 2020 but we’re not Linus Tech Tips who seems to build a new computer worth many thousands of pounds every week.
Anyway, we’ve spent the past few weeks playing some games and we thought we’d share what we’ve been playing with you.
Forza Horizon 4
Despite being around for just over a year and a half, Forza Horizon 4 remains as one of our favourite games to kill hours on. Since launch, Horizon 4 has seen two map expansions and countless new cars coming into the franchise, with recent additions including the McLaren Speedtail, the latest Mercedes E63 AMG and the reintroduction of Toyota road cars. There has also been a couple of Horizon Story additions and the Eliminator game mode.
Exploring Horizon 4’s version of Britain is quite enjoyable, no matter what car you drive, but like previous Horizon instalments, the roads are still wide. Sure, this is done to increase playabilty but I wish the team at Playground Games implement some narrower roads in Horizon 5, which will probably come next year to PC and the soon to come out Xbox Series X. However, we still play Horizon 4 at least once a week as it’s one of the easier games we’ve been playing.
Dirt Rally 2.0
Dirt Rally 2.0 is a very, very hard game. Compared to Dirt 4, Dirt Rally 2.0 is on another level. It’s one of those games which makes you think about what you’re doing, meaning you can’t tackle a rally stage at full send all the time. I quickly learned this when I loaded the game up for the first time, hopped into a BMW M2 and then crashed into a tree, not even 30 seconds into the stage. So, if you start the game for the first time, go for something much less powerful, just to learn the game.
The game itself is stunning to look at, and all the cars and stages are noticeably different. One of my favourite combinations is Argentina with the Opel Kadett. Argentina is hard, thanks to narrow roads, constant right angle turns and cliffs, which result in doom and a ruined car if you fall off it. So, Dirt Rally 2.0 is one of those games where it’s awful if you treat it like Forza, but when you take your time and gain confidence in your car and skill, it’s so rewarding.
SnowRunner
SnowRunner has only been out for a few days and I’ve already fallen in love with it. SnowRunner is the sucessor to MudRunner and Spin Tires, where the focus is off-roading and driving some massive trucks and SUVs. The vehicle list may be small but it has everything from a 80s Chevrolet CK1500, right up to massive Russian trucks. Oh, and it has mod support too, which means more crazy off-road toys are yet to come.
I must make it clear that I’m only 9 hours into the game and I haven’t finished the first part of the Michigan map yet, as there’s so much to do. The game itself plays so nicely, with realistic terrain deformation, using the environment to get your vehicle out of tough terrain, numerous modifications and stunning graphics. And the best thing about SnowRunner is that it’s not expensive. A lot of high-end racing games are about £50-60 these days and yet, SnowRunner is £35 and you get so much content for your money.
Hitman 2
Ok, ok. Hitman 2 is not a car game, in fact it has nothing to do with driving cars at all. So why is it being featured on a mainly car-oriented website? Well, it’s bloody good fun to play. You play as Agent 47, a skinhead assassin, who wears a stylish suit with a red tie, and has a barcode tattoo’d at the back of his skull.
Hitman 2 can be played in almost any style, with my style mixing between stealthy takedowns or being an idiot and killing literally everyone in the map, regardless if they’re a target or not. Exploration is also important as the more you explore, the more locations, weapons, and outfits you pick up. The locations are important as they are different starting locations, which changes how you play ever so slightly. Hitman 2 isn’t the newest game out there but if you can get it on sale from Steam or similar, you’re in for a good game.
