Tag Archives: Capcom

Auto Modellista, Sunday Driving

Sunday Driving: Fear the Mighty Yaris – Auto Modellista #2

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I enjoyed Auto Modellista so much when I tried it for the first time last week that I felt it deserved another look or two. So that’s what we’re up to today!

For the unfamiliar, Auto Modellista is a 2002 release from Capcom that, alongside Monster Hunter and Resident Evil Outbreak, was supposed to be Capcom’s big break into online gaming. That, uh, didn’t quite work out — indeed, the initial Western release of Auto Modellista didn’t have any online modes at all — but it didn’t stop it being a cool, immensely stylish game.

Hit the jump for the latest video to see what I mean!

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Essentials

PS2 Essentials: Auto Modellista

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Even today, Capcom’s 2002 racing game Auto Modellista stands out as a bold and striking experiment.

By combining relatively conventional arcade-style racing gameplay with an eye-catching cel-shaded visual style, the game successfully distinguished itself from many of its peers — though sadly, relatively mediocre reviews, mostly focusing on the game’s handling and its attempts to straddle the line between deep simulation and arcade racer, meant that it sold fairly poorly.

That doesn’t mean it’s not worth checking out by any means, however — particularly if you are someone who, like me, enjoys the customisation aspect of deep sims but hates “realistic” handling. Let’s take a closer look — and keep an eye on Sunday Driving for the next few weeks to see the game in action for yourself!

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Auto Modellista, Sunday Driving, Videos

Sunday Driving: Feel Nothing Without Vibration – Auto Modellista #1

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Last week, I actually wanted to cover Capcom’s Auto Modellista, but instead ended up taking a look at Jaleco’s questionable (but actually quite entertaining) World Super Police.

The reason for this was that the copy of Auto Modellista I picked up a while back… uh, it didn’t work. I’d put it in the PS2, the drive would make chirpy zappy noises and then nothing would happen. There didn’t appear to be anything wrong with the disc itself and the PS2 was working fine, it was just a dead copy for whatever reason.

I still wanted to take a look at it because it’s a game I’ve been curious to explore for a long time. So I tracked down another copy and… well, hit the jump for the video to see how I got on.

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Capcom, Essentials

Capcom Essentials: Final Fight

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First released in 1989, Capcom’s Final Fight was originally conceived as a sequel to Street Fighter.

The success of Technos and Taito’s Double Dragon in 1987 (and again with its sequel in 1988) convinced Capcom to reimagine the game as a belt-scrolling beat ’em up rather than a one-on-one fighter, however, and that proved to be a solid decision. Street Fighter, meanwhile, would go on to get its true sequel in 1991… and create its own phenomenon in the process.

Final Fight, while perhaps not as well known or fondly regarded as its one-on-one stablemates today, remains a highly enjoyable game — with more depth than you might expect at first glance.

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Capcom, Essentials

Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle: It’s The Belt For You, Lad

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Those of you who read my coverage on Senran Kagura: Estival Versus will know how much I enjoy the beat ’em up genre… and how much I appreciate its history.

With that in mind, Capcom’s announcement that it would be releasing a new product simply called Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle made me kiss £15.99 goodbye even before the package was released. Doubly so because it was also coming to Switch… and who doesn’t want to bust some heads on the go?

Today we’ll take a high-level look at the package as a whole, then over the course of a series of Capcom Essentials articles in the coming weeks, we’ll explore the individual games in the collection in more detail. Suffice to say for now that £15.99 is a very fair price for this bundle, and I highly recommend it to all fans of the genre.

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Essentials

PS2 Essentials: Crimson Tears

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Once upon a time, there was a funny little fighting game on PlayStation called Ehrgeiz.

Ehrgeiz was noteworthy for a number of reasons: its high-resolution graphics; its beautifully slick framerate; its inclusion of Final Fantasy VII characters in its roster… and the bizarre inclusion of a full-on dungeon-delving action RPG mode.

If you have fond memories of that particular aspect of Ehrgeiz, then you’re most certainly going to want to check out Crimson Tears, since it’s by the same developer (DreamFactory) and expands that concept into its own distinct experience. And, given the apparently enduring popularity of games with roguelike elements, it’s a game that remains impressively relevant even today.

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Essentials

PS2 Essentials: Under the Skin

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One aspect of gaming we’ve lost sight of a bit over the course of the last couple of console generations is the idea of a game that is “nothing but fun”.

I’m talking about mechanics-centric games where the aim is to just have a good time and challenge yourself; games that aren’t trying to “say something”; games that aren’t trying to be artistic in a narrative sense.

This kind of game hasn’t died out completely, of course, but at the time of writing they remain primarily confined to the independently developed, digital-only sector. Capcom’s Under the Skin for PS2, meanwhile, reminds us of a time not so long ago (2004) when this type of experience would get a full retail release and no-one would bat an eyelid.

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Essentials, Shmups

Shmup Essentials: Satazius

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When you think of Japanese shoot ’em ups, it’s easy to get hung up on nothing but classic arcade and console titles.

But over the years, the PC has played host to a wide variety of its own unique titles, too, with many developers specialising in this highly flexible platform thanks to its ease of digital distribution and free marketplace.

One such developer that has come to prominence over the last few years is Astro Port, and its title Satazius is one of its best, alongside the similarly excellent Zangeki Warp.

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