I left for Leipzig on Friday afternoon (September 28th). Prior to this trip I had never been to Europe other than a 6 hour stop in Frankfurt on the way to India thirteen years ago. Prior to the trip I asked my co-workers who had been to Germany about the city, but no one had ever been to Leipzig. There definitely was some mystery as to what lay ahead in the city where I would be spending time with Need for Speed: Most Wanted.
Day 1
9:00AM. All the press gathered in the hotel lobby to wait for the shuttle to pick us up and drive to the day's events.
The next two days would take place at the Porsche factory located just outside the city of Leipzig, about a twenty to thirty minute journey. Since Leipzig was part of East Germany you do see a good mix of old and new architecture around the city. Apparently money has poured into the city for the past ten to fifteen years to rebuilt and upgrade the city's infrastructure.
The day started with everyone heading to the Porsche test track. The media was split into two groups with one driving the Porsche cars around the test track for an hour or so with the other group getting to drive the Porsche SUVs on an off-road track.
Our group drove the cars on the test track first. There was a driving instructor who drove in the lead car with the media following behind in a variety of different Porsche models. For the hour we got to drive three different Porsches. I got to drive three different 9/11 models. I was never much of a car guy but getting behind the Porsches really gave me an appreciation for automobiles. There's just an awesome sense of power you feel when your driving a Porsche.
The test track was made up of horizontal curves and straight flat sections. The instructor we were with was adamant about leaving small gaps between the cars and travelling faster and faster. There was only one hiccup during my driving when I briefly lost control going a little too quick around a short curve and hit one of the pylons onto the road. Every time we came past this point the pylon was simply lying in the middle of the road as a reminder of my reckless driving. The instructor wasn't too pleased after we pulled into the pit. Thankfully that wasn't the stupidest act of the day as one journalist nearly crashed into a tire wall going through a curve.Once we were done on the track we jumped behind the wheel of a Porsche SUV called a Cayenne. This was probably the slowest part of the day. We travelled on a gravel/dirt road and the instructor was showing us how versatile and rugged the vehicle was. We were able to climb hills at 80 degree inclines and drive along roads with a super elevation of 1/1 m (45 degree angle), and drive through water. One of the most impressive parts of the tour was going down steep inclines. This part was fun but nowhere near as fun as driving a Porsche 9/11 at high speeds. At inclines greater than 12% the car would automatically do everything for you. Going down a steep hill would just require you to keep your hands on the wheel while the car would navigate its way slowly down the hill. Once we were finished with the off road portion, it was lunch time.
After lunch we rode along with professional drivers around the test track. One porsche was a police vehicle while the other was a car trying to "evade" the police. The professional drivers were driving at much higher speeds than we were earlier in the day and were drifting around the track. They let us record the whole experience It can be viewed right here:
Afterwards we headed inside for some hands on time with the game's single player campaign.
Day 2
We started the morning with some hands on time with the games multiplayer modes. My hands-on experience with the multiplayer can be read in the preview.
Afterwards we got a guided tour of the Porsche factory. No cameras or video were allowed during this part of the tour.
The Porsche factory tour was quite interesting. The Germans have a very different philosophy about work than North Americans do when it comes to car making. The workers in the factory work as part of a team and there really is no assembly line. Instead each worker is familiar with doing several jobs in case one of his team members is absent. Each car is referenced to a customer ID with each customer requesting a specific level of customization so almost every car in the plant is different.After the tour we headed back with some more hands on time with the the single-player game.
At the end of Day 2 I was exhausted and ready to come home. Looking back Leipzig was an interesting experience. It's hard to believe 10 years ago when I started writing for The Armchair Empire I would be travelling apart from my normal day job to cover video games.
- Siddharth Masand
