Welcome to episode 5 of Dryve January (which has now leaked in February)! We're putting the pedal to the metal this month to provide you with reviews of popular racing/driving video games from throughout the years.

'Micro' is defined as 'one millionth the size of something' which, in reality, is pretty bloody tiny. Perhaps 'Centi Machines' might have been more accurate when it comes to the popular 1/150th scale model toy range but its nowhere near as evocative a name as 'Micro Machines' (1993, Mega Drive).

First released on the SNES in 1991, this game was ported nearly everywhere and its one that Fazz holds close to his heart from his childhood. It may be the reason he takes any crushing defeat in his stride nowadays... You've not been emotionally destroyed until youve been stuck racing through some baked beans residue on a breakfast table.

Across the way on the pod table, Rich tries to get to grip with Gravel (2018, PC). This off road, arcade racer landed more with a clunk than a splash critically but we're here to help you stop wondering if its worth paying £2.49 for the deluxe edition when you see it hanging around on digital storefronts. Surely its worth as much as a half pint of John Smiths down the local?

Lets find out together. Enjoy the pod

Welcome to episode 4 of Dryve January! We're putting the pedal to the (twisted) metal this month to provide you with reviews of popular racing/driving video games from throughout the years.

"You know, I have one simple request, and that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads"

We're sure this is what Rich will have been muttering under his breath when the laser on his PS2 had trouble playing The Simpsons: Hit and Run. Was this the untimely demise of the Dryve January schedule?!?

No! Our solution: Find a PS2 driving game that is dual layered and goes just as hard as Hit & Run. Enter Gran Turismo 4 (2004, PS2), the 4th best selling PS2 game of all time, to save the day. It's not often the hero of the hour arrives in a Honda Civic but we're pretty 'Z-spec' around here so its probably fitting.

Whilst Rich enjoys a PlayStation franchise that started 3 decades ago, Fazz checks out another series that burned brightest on the PS1 but seems to carry less influence in 2026... or does it?

Twisted Metal (1995, PS1) started over 30 years ago and has been rebooted a few times already. A recent, well received TV adaptation has led Fazz to try the series out for the first time, starting with its original iteration.

Can he see past the dated graphics & shoddy control system to find something that hits his Sweet Tooth?

Tune in to find out on this week's Living La Vita Loca podcast!

Welcome to episode 3 of #DryveJanuary! We're putting the pedal to the metal this month to provide you with reviews of popular racing/driving video games from throughout the years.

Which phrase is it that Rocky famously espouses in 'Rocky Balboa'?

"It's not about how hard you hit, its about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done."

We think this phrase perfectly describes our volatile & explosive racing pair this week...

First up, Rich provides fireworks for you with a rowsing review of Burnout 2: Point of Impact (2002, Gamecube). We discuss how much 'impact' this series' innovative crash mode had on the arcade racing genre in general and on therefore on Fazz's game of choice this week, Split/Second: Velocity (2010, PS3).

Oh and Burnout 3: Takedown (2005, PS2) is the best Burnout video game ever released. This is a fact. The internet says so. It accidentally steals the show! We're not sorry.

Enjoy the pod

Welcome to episode 2 of #DryveJanuary! We're putting the pedal to the metal this month to provide you with reviews of popular racing/driving video games from throughout the years.

This week, we're taking a view on a couple of early 2000's heavy hitters. Oddly enough, one entry has gone on to be an integral part of the biggest video game franchise ever witnessed whilst the other series hasn't had a fully realised home console entry in over 20 years...

Up first are Rich's initial thoughts on the newly released Analogue 3D which Fazz has been harassing him to share for a few weeks now. With that out of the way, we speed through his feelings on F-Zero GX (2003, Nintendo GameCube) which come hot on the heels of his glowing review of F-Zero X last week. Does the extra 'G' add enough G-uice into GX to best its N64 counterpart and, if so, why is there now zero F-Zero?

Next up, Fazz has flown over to Liberty City to visit the remastered version of a video game that is, to him, probably the most "important" video game of all time, Grand Theft Auto III: Definitive Edition 2021, PS5). Does that mean its actually worth playing through in 2025 or did you just have to be there?

Enjoy the pod.

Happy 2026 podfans and welcome to #DryveJanuary! We're putting the pedal to the metal this month to provide you with reviews of popular racing video games from throughout the years.

12 months ago, Rich threatened to derail our entire planned month of vehicular mayhem by "just reviewing F Zero games". He's here to make good on that threat starting off with F Zero X (1998, N64). What is it about F Zero that floats Rich's plasma-powered hovercar to such lofty heights? Lets hope hes full of energy in his review.

Fazz, meanwhile, chooses to keep things a little more grounded but only just. Why? Well, he's waging a war against gravity too but on motocross bikes and er, unicorns, in Trials HD (2009, Xbox Live), Trials Fusion (Xbox One, 2014) & Trials Rising (Xbox One, 2019).

Legend has it, he is on attempt #1876 of 'King of the Hill'... his own personal Everest. Trial(s) and Error? More like 'Error, error, error, error, error... controller smash'.

Enjoy week 1 of #DryveJanuary 2026!

Hi there...

Welcome. Come in. Take a seat. Relax. We've come a long way together in 2025...

- 50 episodes (thus far).

- Over 100 video games reviewed.

- Nearly 2 days worth of audio content (if "audio content" means "acoustic bile").

It's all here on an erotic but well maintained spreadsheet and we're about to grade the living shit out of it...

Yes, its back, our annual episode where we retroactively rank all of our video game reviews in each ridiculously, arbitrary score bracket and decide which video game will rule supreme.

Mmm. Glorious.

We bet you've never been so excited to find out which contestant will be crowned 'The best 3/10 video game that Living La Vita Loca podcast reviwed this calendar year'?

Gather your workbook documents of choice, surround yourself with auditing equipment and dive in with us. Conditional formatting has never been so fun!

Thank you for listening this year. Enjoy the pod!

Is there such a thing as a "Christmas Shoot 'em up"? Yes there is. Its called Deathsmiles II. Its very good.

Have we played Deathsmiles II for the festive season because that would be relevant and make sense? No.

Instead, have we picked 10 random shmups and distributed them equally between both co-hosts in an attempt to determine which video game would theoretically top the music charts as the equivalent of Christmas number 1? Yes.

Are we probably insane? Also yes.

Join us in this ridiculous 2 part exercise as we rank some of the best (and most average) shmups we've ever played:

- DoDonPachi DaiOuJou (2002)

- Darius Gaiden (1994)

- Earthion (2025)

- Danmaku Unlimited 3 (2017)

- Raging Blasters (2021)

- Andro Dunos II (2022)

- Raiden V: Directors Cut (2019)

- Crimzon Clover World EXplosion (2020)

- Thunder Force IV (1992)

- Radiant Silvergun (1998)

Merry Shmup-mas one and all!

Is there such a thing as a "Christmas Shoot 'em up"? Yes there is. It's called Deathsmiles II. It's very good.

Have we played Deathsmiles II for the festive season because that would be relevant and make sense? No.

Instead, have we picked 10 random shmups and distributed them equally between both co-hosts in an attempt to determine which video game would theoretically top the music charts as the equivalent of Christmas number 1? Yes.

Are we probably insane? Also yes.

Join us in this ridiculous two part exercise as we rank some of the best (and most average) shmups we've ever played:

- DoDonPachi DaiOuJou (2002)

- Darius Gaiden (1994)

- Earthion (2025)

- Danmaku Unlimited 3 (2017)

- Raging Blasters (2021)

- Andro Dunos II (2022)

- Raiden V: Directors Cut (2019)

- Crimzon Clover World EXplosion (2020)

- Thunder Force IV (1992)

- Radiant Silvergun (1998)

Merry Shmup-mas one and all!