Hello fellow gamers, Danial here as usual for the newsletter on what’s been happening on the website and stuff. Halfway through the month and we’re still getting stuff sorted out as the festive season approaches.

Table of Contents

• …But FIRST

  • Driving A Kart IRL Kinda Does Feel Similar To Vide …

• The NEWS From Last Week

• Game Reviews

…But FIRST

Driving A Kart IRL Kinda Does Feel Similar To Video Games

So after five years of racing virtually on almost the top level of the racing game echelon with determination, a bunch of controllers and a toy steering wheel, I finally decided to try out actual go-karting on a local track. And pardon me if this sounds like those LinkedIn posts about how the differences between the virtual world and real one could affect the B2B model, it is quite a rush to feel the actual speed of a machine that you haven driven multiple times over in a video game.

For context, I just gotten my driver’s license a year ago and while I would love to say that the likes of Gran Turismo or Forza sorta helps with getting to grips with an actual racing machine but one thing that's lacking in these racing games is a thing scientist call “Gravitational Force”, where your body reacts towards the forces that you are pushing, and games can’t replicated that on a gamepad.

Like driving in games really doesn’t prepare you for stuff like the steep incline at the exit of an Expressway that shifts your body down, or getting hit by the G-forces of spinning the kart on exit because you, the driver, forgot it just rained. They can’t teach you those on the virtual stuff yet unless you spend way too much money on something that you can just spend on driving the actual friggin’ thing. 

Though, some lessons and habits that I have picked up driving these pretend race cars does translate over to the real deal. Like how to catch the kart from a half-spin by regulating the throttle and brake, essentially initiating a drift to keep yourself on the road. It was scary and heart pumping, mind you, but the fact that I could keep going like usual after that, it’s something I could attribute to me doing it many times before. Just brush off that mistake and go again.

And it is fascinating to see how those who have fully transition from sim racing to an actual driver, the likes of Gran Turismo commentator and former shed dweller Jimmy Broadbent and even some guy from Netherlands that has won a racing category 4 times already, called Max Emillan Verstappen or something, being the examples that uses their tools into fine-tuning their actual driving and in return, see them excel in both categories.

While I won’t be going all-in at becoming an actual racer anytime soon, but it is nice to remember that old Gran Turismo Sport slogan of “Driving is For Everyone”, where just getting to experience the adrenaline thrill just for a moment, be it virtually or in real life, is always incredible no matter how young or old you are.

The NEWS From Last Week

Here’s some of the news from last week:

• We got a surprise release for the incredible Death Stranding: Director’s Cut for the Xbox, releasing in a time where a certain nation is divided, again.

• Take-Two Interactive have finally revealed that they have sold off the Indie label Private Division to some other third party.

• And last week also marks the release of the new PlayStation 5 Pro console. Friend of the channel, Najmi aka The Kampung Nerd has his first impressions about the new machine on his channel.

Game Reviews

Just one latest review coming in hot from yours truly, as we whittle down our backlog en-route to our GOTY listicle.

I reviewed the latest in the Call of Duty franchise, Black Op 6, with the usual causality of reviewing a “schüt” game. Along with Meck giving his first impressions of Lego Horizon Adventures, which might actually nail it.

So that about wraps it up for this week! For all the news, check up our website on the link below.

And help us improve the newsletter by filling this form. Your feedback will help up us grow and improve together.

If you’ve been forwarded this email, click this to subscribe and receive the next issue straight to your inbox.

Play games and have fun,

—Danial and the Gamer Matters Team