I can remember when Gran Turismo first came out for the Playstation… It was some time in 1998, I wasn’t in high school yet, the whole body changing process was in full bloom, my parents didn’t understand crap, and when I wasn’t hanging out with friends, flirting with the girlies, I was playing video games with my buds. I was one of the few with an actual Sony Playstation, all my other friends had Sega Genesis’, Super Nintendo’s, and one actually had a 3D0. So we would swap, and share games/consoles, basically share the collective wealth between us.
The common bond between us all, is that we all loved racing games. So no matter how crappy the game was (Ford Racing was crap but popular with us), we’d play it, revel in it, then move on. But, the one game (as there is always one), pretty much changed it for all of us. I had bought Gran Turismo on it’s release date after school.
“It couldn’t be all bad, 180 cars? This should be fun. Skyline? What the hell is a Skyline?” I probably thought as I bought it.
I didn’t know the can of worms I had opened with that one purchase.
The graphics were some of the best I have ever seen (at the time), the car selection was AMAZING, the tracks were fun. But this was different, licenses? What, I have to take tests and earn my license to race? As frustrating as they were, they kept me in the game for MONTHS.
My friends, I let them try it and they were like, “GAH! I MUST HAVE THIS!”
We all hated and despised the license mode with such a passion, but we all would help each other out in order to get our I-A license. As this would lead us to the endlessly fun Career Mode. We would often buy Mitsubishi GTOs, spec them out to the max, and then just dominate all the races we could. We would scoff the cars we would win (The Mazda Demio provided MUCH entertainment). None of us would fully beat the game, the enduro races were where we would pretty much draw the line. We would just go back and have fun with the other races, win money, buy cars and spec them out.
This is pretty much how it went for Gran Turismo 2, 3, and 4. Some of them we didn’t like as much as the 1st, but we still loved Polyphony Digital and Kazunori Yamauchi.
I eagerly await Gran Turismo 5 for my PS3, I still play Gran Turismo 4, and I just bought Gran Turismo for my PSP.
Hey Polyphony, where’s my career mode and license tests?
Gran Turismo for the PSP can easily said as a watered down of Gran Turismo 4, and I like it. The visuals are great, the car selection is good, but there’s a few things amiss. There’s no career mode, license tests and you can’t spec up your cars. I can live without the car parts and such, that’s okay. But, career mode? License tests? Those two modes are what kept me in the game for months/years on end! Is this gonna kill it for me? Not so much. The cars I want to buy and try out, I’ll race and get the money to buy them. Of course, I’ll have to wait until they show up in the Showroom. Yep, you have to wait for your manufacturer to show up, then see IF your car is in there. It’s much like the used car part of Gran Turismo, and it’s always annoyed me. Always.
Of course the game isn’t all faulty, you can have your own soundtrack which is something I always longed for. The visuals are top dollar, for a PSP game you will be surprised. And while the driving challenges do not replace the license tests, they will still provide some days or weeks of fun as you try and perfect your driving style.
I’ll play Gran Turismo for my PSP when I’m not around my PS3, that’s for sure. I’m bummed my favorite modes aren’t in here, but I’m sure I can convince my friends that have PSPs to buy this so we can try the multiplayer side of things. Maybe I can trade myself into a Audi R8 LMP1 or a Corvette ZR1. ;D
Gran Turismo for the PSP — Where’s My Career Mode??
Monday, October 12th, 2009Driving.
Friday, August 21st, 2009Driving is one thing I’ll never take for granted, as I love to drive, I love everything about it. Driving is one of huge passions, however, I have a few beefs with most of the drivers out there. (Just wait, this might be amended)
1. Paying attention — Okay, so. I know I’m not the best, I have txt’ed while driving. But I have been amazed from what I’ve seen while driving and heard/seen about. Between putting make-up, eating breakfast, talking on the phone and generally just not paying attention, sometimes I feel a little afraid to drive. I’ve actually started forcing myself to pull over if I wanna mess with my iPod or txt or take a call.
2. Parking — This is actually the biggest beef I have, bigger than paying attention. How hard is it to actually park? People drive these big vehicles, and they come up to a parking space and they can’t get it between the lines. Now that I think about it… I think pay attention leads into parking. If you have a hard time parking, just practice. Please, I ask you, practice safe parking. I don’t like dings or dents in my car. 
Future Choices.
Thursday, April 9th, 2009(I’ve been working on this for way too long and I’m burnt out on it. Here it is.)
It’s a rare time now when a car can capture my imagination, and it’s even more rare that two cars do. Living in Europe I see cars that we do not normally see in North America, and being there for four years I grew numb of the exotic factor. So now I have this urge to find more imaginative, creative, exotic cars. I’m bored of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, and Ascari. But, there are two manufacturers that have captured my imagination, one new and one that has been around for a very long time.
Tesla Motors and Honda Automotive.
“Honda?! Are you serious? They make cars for old people.”
Yeah, Honda. Honda had left me bored, they left Formula One, their car lineup leaves much desired and Acura’s redesign is best to be said as questionable. But, a few years ago Honda had a concept car that actually got me interested. The FCX, a hydrogen fuel cell based vehicle.
Now, I’m not one much for environmentalism, but I like to do my part here and there (when I can remember). The FCX got my attention. I’m not one for gasoline, I love the smell, but with the constant rising (well, now falling/stable) cost of gas, I wanted an alternative. Hydrogen? Right, hydrogen, so after it’s done going through the motor powering the electric motor, nothing but water and oxygen.
So as you drive all there is, well, good things.
In the FCX the hydrogen motor powers an electric motor that actually powers the car. So in all actuality, the FCX is a hybrid vehicle like the Prius. You’ll get about 77/67 miles per gallon with a range of 280 miles.
Hydrogen powered cars will ultimately be the future unless big energy comes up with a way to burn cleaner fuels to power the electric grid. Which brings us to…
Tesla Motors. The new kid to the block with their pure electric vehicles. Their first vehicle really didn’t grab my attention. The Roadster was a Lotus Elise with redone body work and an electric motor. But their technology of the car was revolutionary enough for me, with further development affordable cars could be had by all.
Now the only issue with a pure electric vehicle is the power. The car will be hooked to your house, which is hooked to a power gird, which is hooked to a power plant. So while the car itself is zero emissions, it still has to be charged from the grid. Not the best thing in the world, but there is always advances in technology.
But, there’s a new model on the horizon the Model S. A bit more affordable (50,000 USD compared to the Roadster’s 100,000 USD price tag), more space (seating for 7), pretty much the same range as the FCX (at most 300 miles compared to 280), but for me the deal breaker is the design of it.
This car itself is a step forward in the right direction, a leap forward in automotive technology that demonstrates that a car can be built with good use that can last several hours on a charge. It’s not like these little urban runabouts like the G-WIZ over in Englandland. This car has got me really excited and if I had the money to plop down on a deposit, I would in an instant. I only hope the real car is as good as the concept and what they say about it.
Telsa Motors – Model S
(source: www.teslamotors.com/display_data/Spec_ModelS_US.pdf)
0-60 in 5.6sec – all electric w/ 120mph top speed
Available all-wheel-drive
All electric – Lithium-Ion Batteries
Range of 150 to 300 miles, 45min QuickCharge from 120V, 240V, 480V
5 min battery swap – up to 10 year battery life
~49,900 USD after tax break – US, Europe (limited service centers)
17in Touchscreen w/ 3g connectivity
Seating for 7
60/40 flat-folding rear seat
Honda FCX Clarity
(souce: automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity)
Drive-by-wire
134hp/189ft-lbs of torque from Electric motor w/ 100kw output
Front wheel drive
Range – (city/highway/combined) 77/67/72 w/ 280mi driving range
Hydrogen Gas w/ Lithium-Ion Batteries
Seating for 4
600 USD a month lease for 3 years – Limited release in Southern California
SatNav, Rear view camera, XM Radio w/ MP3/auxiliary plug
It’s coming.
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009Slowly but surely that peice I’m writing with my impressions of the Tesla Model S and the Honda FCX Clarity is coming. It’s more or less halfway done, just hitting a few roadblocks along the way. My two favorite new peices of technology, electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells. Ahhh, the joyous life of a techie! (Now I wish I could drive either one of them now!)
New Beginings.
Saturday, December 27th, 2008Everything starts from somewhere, whether they start from an ending or something inspires you to start a new thing.
2008 has been an interesting year, I saw friendships end, and others begin. I saw relationships fail, and saw others grow into a new phase. I even bought 2 Mac’s and designed a new site to update every so often. (:P) It definitely hasn’t been the easiest of years, but it certainly has been one where I saw myself with a need to grow more. I thought I was ready for so much more, but I only saw that I was regressing into someone I never wanted to be. Maybe 2009 will be different, maybe in 2009 I’ll be on the path of the person I want to be, nee, need to be.
A stronger, wiser man. Not the scared, unsure boy I feel like I am.
Some people never really change, they’re the same who they were years ago. People don’t normally like change, they get scared when they see the prospect of change. I try not to be scared at it, I try to embrace it, we need to evolve. It was pointed out to me recently where I fail to meet standards. At work and at my personal life. Nothing can kick you in the pants more than knowing that even though you tried your best, there is something there that can get your ass kicked. So, you make a list, you figure out what you need to work on and make yourself better. If you let it kick your ass enough, you’re just gonna regress into someone you don’t wanna be.
I have my list.
I’ll post about it here and there. I don’t like doing it for the attention, and I don’t like getting sympathy from others. Maybe someone, somewhere will take what I read to heart and they get inspired. I remember at the beginning of 2007 I set it as a goal for myself to help inspire others, and make a little change. I don’t know where I lost the path, but I’d like get back on it. It’s a nice goal, an ambitious goal. To inspire others means you have to work above and beyond the usual and make it seem like it’s fun and or easy. To make a change though, even a little bit, requires a lot of effort. I hope I can stay on track with it, I like the person who I was becoming, before my issues of 2008 came.
Anyways, enough of that personal gibberish.
I hope to write more about my personal musings on this site, I’m gonna concentrate on my main interests: Photography, Automotive (including racing 
) and Technology. I’ll write about my opinions, reviews, and general impressions of what ever it is I’m writing about (I think I just used 3 of the same adjectives in the same sentence). Maybe someone will read it, maybe someone wont. Eh, either way. I do it, because I’d like to do it and I’m a writer, and writing is in my blood. What I write may not make much sense, and my humor may seem overly dry, and well, British, or just stupid. You’ll get used to it, everyone does eventually. But this is what I wanna do some day, if I ever get out of the Air Force, so I gotta start somewhere.
Why not here?
