Explain the various racing games to me

The Game Room
1

I haven’t played much in the way of racing games. I know there are many games and series of games out there, and I’m wondering what the strengths and weaknesses of each are, and what I might like.

I’ve been playing Race Driver: Grid lately and I like it more than I thought I would. Where does it rate on the realism scale? How does it compare to the various other series like Gran Turismo, Forza, PGR, etc?

I think racing on realistic racetracks is the least interesting venue - street races are somewhat more interesting. My favorite tracks are street races up country or mountain roads (like the Togue races in GRID) or outdoor tracks like you’d find in rally racing, made up of dirt, mud, gravel, etc.

A damage model is definitely important to me - I like the ability to cause damage and also to weigh the risks of slamming the guy next to you in a wall vs the possibility of having it crush your wheel well and leave you with a gimp wheel for the rest of the race.

I have and have enjoyed FlatOut 2 which I know is completely an arcade/demolition racer rather than a serious racing game, but it’s a lot of fun making a mess of the destructive environments, and where crashing into your opponents is helpful and rewarded. The rally type tracks are often very pretty and interesting too - although the various street races the game also features are pretty boring. The multiplayer is almost a great game, except that the car balance sucks and for races you’ll always take a certain car and for demolition derbies you’ll always take another.

I also really like Need For Speed: Most Wanted, which isn’t a pure arcade game but I don’t get the impression it’s a serious racing game either. And for that matter the racing parts are pretty boring. But the police chases are very well done and a lot of fun.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the various racing games? What might I like?

2

If you liked FlatOut, you should check out the Burnout series, which heavily influenced Flatout. It’s street racing on crowded streets where wrecking and taking out other drivers is part of the scoring. It’s total arcade racing but has a great sense of speed and danger as you fling yourself through the various tracks. The latest incarnation, Burnout Paradise, actually takes place in an open city so there are no traditional race circuits, only point to point rallies across a fully mapped out city. But if you’re in it for the wrecks, no game does it better. Racing online is also a snap and there’s a pretty big community playing it. (“Crash Mode” which was regrettably left out of Paradise is still one of my favorite modes in the earlier Burnouts.)

You didn’t mention what platform you are looking for… But if you have a PS3 I’d also recommend Wipeout HD. It’s future racing in the year 2300 or something so you’re in antigravity sleds whipping around a roller coaster track, but the sense of speed is incredible as you try to blow the other racers away. It’s an outstanding ride.

If you like offroad at all, take a look at the Motorstorm series. There is no traffic as races take place in the boonies but it’s “yee-ha” racing at its best and with motorcycles, ATVs, dune buggies, rally cars up to big rigs all going kaboom as they run into things.

3

I’m looking for PC. I also have an Xbox 360 so I’d consider it there, but unless it’s an exclusive or there’s a way better online community, I’d rather have it on the PC - since I use the 360 controller to play racing games on either platform and I’d rather have the better graphics/framerates/etc.

4

For the ultimate racing experience, I’d recommend GTR2 on the PC with a force-feedback steering wheel. The comprehensive physics modelling combined with force feedback makes for a visceral experience.

http://www.videogamer.com/pc/gtr_2/review.html

5

I second ElectricZ’s recommendation - Burnout Paradise was released for PC in February (it’s been available for 360 since launch) - I have this game on PS3, and it is very fun. A ton of unlockables, fun gameplay dynamics, some exciting online roadraces, and when you get bored, just find a stunt run and let 'er rip.

6

If you can find a copy, NASCAR Racing 2003 is still the best around. There are literally thousands of mods available. The maker of the game ever released the development program so anyone can make any kind of car or track of your choice. I have about 40 different racing series in the game, another 20 not installed yet, over 300 tracks with that many more available for download on the net. My favorite time killer is to race Indy cars at Big Balls Raceway, a 1.66 mile figure 8 race track. Cars qualify at 230 mph per lap and it’s not unusual to race through the intersection at 260 mph. Needless to say, the crashes can be rather spectacular.

7

A timely thread! I’ve been looking for a good racing game along the lines of the only other one I’ve played: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, which is like ten years old now. It was awesome, I loved the natural surroundings and the ability to just “go for a drive” if I wanted. (And of course, chasing the baddies as a cop – or being one of the baddies pursued by the fuzz!) Unfortunately it doesn’t work for Vista, so I’m SOL.

Any recommendations for more up-to-date games along these lines? I’ve heard that recent NFS games aren’t nearly as good.

8

The police chases in Most Wanted are the best in the series by far IMO, although stupidly there’s no multiplayer hot pursuit mode, and you can’t play as the police.

9

What do the various major console racing sims (Forza, PGR, Gran Turismo) etc do well and badly? What is their aim and specialty?

10

Try DiRT. It was on sale recently on Steam - I see it now in the store for $19.99

It’s the continuation of the Colin McRae rally series. The game has a ton of drivable vehicles, damage modeling and a great variety of tracks. Actually, you have both circuit tracks (dirt and asphalt) and rally courses. The scenery is spectacular and you can drive all sorts of fun stuff, including those ridiculous rally support trucks.

The only downside is multiplayer - it doesn’t exist in any real sense, as all you do is drive and post a time and it gets compared to your opponent’s time. Weak.

I’ve got the game on the 360 and PC, and while having it on the big TV is fun for parties the game looks better on the PC.

11

Yeah, I’m excited about DiRT 2. They said they’re delaying the PC release for a bit to upgrade the graphics. It’ll be one of the first directx 11 games and they say they plan to make the best looking racing game ever.

12

It’s rather old but give 1nsane a try. It’s from Invictus & Codemasters and there are tons of fan-made vehicles & maps around.

13

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/1nsane

Available at GoG.com! Ten dolla.

14

Although it’s not a strictly “racing game”, GTA4 should get an honorable mention in this thread for its Multi-player racing. I’ve been hooked for months now. I hardly ever play SP or the other MP modes. Single-player doesn’t offer much in terms of racing (although it’s a fantastic game in every other sense). I think you can only run 10 races or so as part of the missions/story, but multi-player is where it’s at.

The upside …
Best controls/physics (that’s very subjective).
Always people to race with. 16-32 at a time (depending on console vs PC)
Liberty City. A real live city to race in. Such detail! Every pole, tree, sign, trash can, hobo, whatever. Courses vary from highway sprints to chaotic winding streets.
Top notch graphics … your machine will be the limit.
Customization. Set the time, weather, traffic level, pedestrian level, etc to change it up some.

The downside …
Not enough variety. There are only about 15 courses, and maybe 50 cars. The cars are split up by Class, with maybe 4-6 choices in each grouping (so 10-15 Classes). Most Classes are balanced pretty well, although there are some where only 1-2 cars are really able to win.
Not so many people to race with… there’s always a race going, but it often feels like it’s the same 50-100 players who keep it going. And we’re all getting pretty good by now.
Cheating … I consider this a downside of MP generally, not so much GTA4. Most of the cheaters are the griefer type who basically just crash the game by spawning trash, blocking the course, and overloading the software. Less common are speed-hackers, and they tend to get beat by good players anyway due to the nature of the tracks. More common than cheaters are plain old assholes who just drive the wrong way and interfere. There is a vote-kick feature to deal with both types of spoilers.

Of other recent race games, I have only tried NfS:Undercover, and I found the controls too stiff, and the map too boring. All the streets were huge, wide highway layouts as if nobody ever thought of driving under 200 mph. You just step on the gas and steer. GTA4 is laid out like a real city, with tight spaces, clutter to avoid, 90 degree turns, etc. You have to learn real control to make it. And don’t be afraid to use the brakes! The physics is just IMHO, but NfS felt like my car was made of solid lead, and it just didn’t move right. Liberty City has a bit less gravity, and it makes the controls very precise and responsive. You have to focus on maintaining good contact with the road, and not just pointing in the right direction.

15

Forzais the shit if you want a serious racing game. Forza 3 is out in October.