It’s been over a year since the last one of these, but I was waiting for the right moment. One which allowed me to recap a game I put on the waiting for list back in 2021. Yes, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown finally released last year. Along with that, there’s two other games to recap that were featured in the last What I’m Waiting For. Then, the two games that are being added to that list.
Starting with Solar Crown, I found it a fun time. Hong Kong Island had a lot to explore, with the feel of the vehicles making such exploration fun. Even if grip off-road was a lot more difficult. So many roads, so much cruising. So little racing. Most of the money I made in my time was just through that exploration. The racing seemed secondary to me, especially since most events required cars I didn’t yet have.
Along with that, I felt the AI was too varied in the races I did try out. And the economy seemed to harsh, with cars to buy in the millions, while events paid out just in the tens of thousands. And with so many different requirements for races, getting to them all seemed a big grind. As such, I just stuck to cruising around Hong Kong Island. And a small section of Ibiza, which was added a few months later. At least the servers are pretty much sorted, so no more trouble getting on when I want.
From racing to a more relaxed pace, Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator had me loving the time I spent with it. The streets of Barcelona make for a great playground of ferrying passengers around the city. Wide highways and tight single lanes make for interesting driving challenges as I reached the destinations these passengers wanted. A lot of one-way systems, too.
It was easy enough to just take on one or two jobs, or go for the long haul of many. Especially when the results screen of the previous job meant at a push of a button, the location of a new job would be loaded onto the satnav. And though this is a simulation, I found the jobs where a passenger wanted to get somewhere quickly to be a lot of fun. There’s a great challenge in reaching somewhere not only fast, but also safely with no crashes at all.
And for something not about vehicles, Little Kitty, Big City offered a playground to mess around in. With its simple premise of being lost in the city, and trying to get back home, there’s a lot to miss out on if one just focuses on that. So much wit in each encounter, with a cast of many animals to interact with to complete their tasks. All the animals felt very accurate to real life, even with a few exaggerations to fit the game.
I loved every bit of it, wanting to discover as much as I could. Or just mess around. The photo mode made such messing around better, since there was the possibility to create some very fun shots. In fact, once I had completed all the tasks the animals had, such messing around is how I ended up with so many photos. Positioning the camera in photo mode wasn’t the best, but it still allowed for a lot of creatively posed shots.
For new games being added to the waiting for list, the first is one I played during the Tiny Teams of 2023. Arctic Awakening had a demo for the opening of the game during the event, which I was able to play. Playing as Kai, I was just one of three on a plane heading toward survivors of the flooding that is overwhelming the world. Something causes the plane to be cut in half, with Kai and his friend Donovan now separated in this frozen wasteland.
Across that opening, I was able to get an idea of how the game would play, too. Played in first person, there’s a lot of exploring to do as this narrative unfolds. Trapped by the night and the bitter cold, then out the next day to find Donovan. Walking through a lovely snowy mountain forest, the full game is said to offer many other places to explore, too. The first facility that will be entered was seen at the end of that demo.
The narrative needs to be strong for a narrative adventure to work, and I was invested in that narrative, along with how dialogue choices affect how much is revealed. I played that demo quite a few times, trying out different choices each time. Though small, it felt like the choices mattered because of how they affected the interactions. A bit more of the history learned, a sarcastic reply, it was lovely to see what response I would get.
There is no date for Arctic Awakening yet, as GoldFire Studios want this project that has been five years in the making to be an unforgettable experience. Running as smoothly as it possibly could. I’m sure that it will be worth the wait. Ever since playing that demo, I’ve wanted to see how this story continues, so I absolutely will be getting the game as soon as it’s available.
The second game to be added is The Precinct. First revealed at the Future Games Show Summer Showcase 2023, I enjoyed what I saw of it. A game where you play as the law, a man trying to unravel the mystery of his father’s killer, it is played from a top-down perspective. Since I was interested, I checked to see if developer Fallen Tree Games had made any others like it. And indeed they had.
American Fugitive had released in 2019, telling a similar sort of tale from the other perspective. One of a criminal who had been wrongly jailed for the murder of his father. Also from a top-down perspective, I enjoyed running through the story of this one. Shooting mechanics were a bit awkward, with having to use the right stick for it, but The Precinct seems to be making sure it won’t be as awkward this time out.
With full 360 degree camera control, and much better control in general, this is looking to be a great step up from American Fugitive. There will be a lot of action to take part in with this one, as there’s many crimes to stop across the city of Averno. Many car chases, many shootouts, and plenty of arrests are in the future of Officer Nick Cordell Jr.’s career. Playing on this side of the law should be a treat, especially with the backing of the entire force with the in-depth support system.
Another one that was delayed out of 2024 to release sometime this year, Fallen Tree Games want to deliver the game that fans deserve. There is a demo for this one also available to play, but I have not touched it. I’m confident from my playing of American Fugitive that this is one worth playing. So, it is one I will be getting as soon as it releases, enjoying it as much as I did with American Fugitive.
Images Taken From:
Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator | Xbox Series S
Arctic Awakening | Steam
Buy The Precinct | Xbox
