This is normally a bumper time of year for previews, as the news from E3 makes its way to the printed page. However, 2007 saw the debut of the revamped E3 Media And Business Summit, a much smaller event taking place in July rather than May, so it was up to the summer releases to keep players interested. Fortunately, they were up to the job.
On the Xbox 360, Forza Motorsport 2 received scores of 5/5 from 360, 9/10 from Edge, 9/10 from Official Xbox 360 Magazine and 8/10 from games™ – enough to claim pole position for the month. The official magazine felt that it was “not that innovative, but what you’re getting instead is a super-slick, very well presented and polished racing game”. Edge opined that it “fails to present a convincing model for how the offline sim-racing game can move on” but that its “core driving is so perfectly built, and its online integration so well formed”, that it earned its high score. For Xbox 360 owners who wanted to take their racing off-road, Colin McRae: Dirt offered a suitable alternative. It received 8/10 from the official magazine, which felt it to be “a great all-round arcade racer”, but games™ wasn’t quite as impressed citing its “anaemic online options and unfocused single-player structure” and lack of terrain deformation, scoring it 7/10. It also received 8/10 from Edge, 4/5 from 360 and 7/10 from X360. Surprise Xbox 360 package of the month was Wartech: Senko No Ronde, a one-on-one competitive shoot-’em-up that received 4/5 from 360, 8/10 from games™, 7/10 from X360 and 7/10 from Edge. 360 praised Ubisoft for publishing the game, which it noted had “thankfully been left untouched”, but games™ worried that the £50 price point may put players off “such a niche and potentially short-lived title”.
