Making the Most of a Track Day
As I recently posted, I finally drove Laguna Seca at speed in my own car. With four classes each doing five sessions over the course of a full day, there is a lot of down time at the track. So of course I brought my camera–and monopod this time!–and spent my free time capping snaps.
No sooner had I reversed my car in the paddock than Chris had delivered a jack and tools. Before I had even eaten my morning banana I was pulling everything out of my car and swapping my track wheels and tires.
(more…)Every PS1 Game – Bio Hazard aka Resident Evil
Released in March 1996 in Japan as Bio Hazard (two words), North America got Resident Evil (renamed due to the existence of a now-forgotten game already titled Biohazard) only two weeks later.
And yes, it is “Bio Hazard”; there is a space between the two words on the title screen as well as the packaging for the game, which was changed to the more common “Biohazard” for the sequel.
(more…)Finally! Flat Out Around the Dry Lagoon
Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I’ve been lucky enough to have two “home tracks”. To the north is Sonoma Raceway, and to the south is one of the most famous tracks in the world: Laguna Seca.
Meaning “dry lagoon” in Spanish and lovingly called “Laguna” by fans and locals, possibly its most distinctive characteristic is here: The Corkscrew. Along with Eau Rouge at Spa and the hotel hairpin at Monaco, this is one of the most famous turns in the world.
(more…)Every PS1 Game – Syphon Filter 3
Even though Syphon Filter 2 was awful, I knew I was going to play Syphon Filter 3. First of all, I was just determined to finally do so, but it was also a case of having to sleep in the bed that I made, as the saying goes: I had already purchased SF3 before I even started SF2. I am fascinated that 23 years after its original release, you can still buy a brand a new copy of Syphon Filter 3. So I did.
After a brief intro FMV reminding us where we are in the story, we can select New Game. Completely eschewing the drawn-out videos of the previous installment, after a very short intro clip we are already into the game! While the first and second games are graphically very similar, the quality improvement in this game is apparent immediately. The original release was November 2001 (pushed back from a September release and with a changed cover after 9/11, but that is story for a different time), a year after the US release of the PS2. Not only were the FMV’s created in a completely different software, they are presented in high resolution: 512×240, compared to the usual 320×240.
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