What has been your most favourite racing game?

[DaveMcDamage]

Hi everyone,

 

For me and no matter how many others there have been ever since, even from its own franchise, for me it will always be Forza Motorsport 2. 

 

Now I'm a big believer in that you can actually have too much choice to the point where it either becomes overwhelming or you never really invest due to the amount of content available. This for me is why Forza Motorsport 2 will always be the best racer. Yeah it had hundreds of cars, it wasn't sim heavy and allowed you to make even your most favourite and otherwise worthless cars become amazing with the upgrades and exaggerated tuning options. Even after a year or so the tracks never got boring and then you had the likes of the auction house and paint tool which were games in themselves, as well as investing in becoming a game tuner to then share or sell your proven time attack setups. 

 

I remember when Top Gear became globally huge and whilst the game never had the TGTT at the time, as a community we would watch, login to the forums and then meet online with gamers all around the world and we'd come up with out own competitions and shenanigans and it was pure gearhead fun. 

 

So even with all its content it was still restricted when it came to gamers creativity thanks to hindsight from what was currently available to us, as well as thinking out of the box to create content for ourselves.  So when they announced Forza Motorsport 3, it was like a gift from the gods. Except on arrival it didn't feel like that. There was nothing wrong with the game, new tracks, updated car roster, more mechanics and features etc etc. I think one problem is that Forza 2 never got the chance to fizzle out and was massively popular with an incredible user base throughout its entire release, unlike most games where by the end only a few remain. So when Forza 3 arrived it never felt new even though it was better in everyway, then the other problem was that the devs actually listened to fans and pretty much gave us everything we wanted and in doing so actually watered down our creative thinking and thats what I was getting at where some people can become overwhelmed and back off when actually given so much choice. Kind of like how infinite health or money might seem great in some games, but soon you realise it just wrecks the experience and you feel burnt out and unchallenged super quick. 

 

So no matter what anyone says about the Xbox Pleasefixme, it had some of the most amazing games of our time and Forza Motorsport 2 was right up there. Even none racing fans got into thanks to the likes of Top Gear and when those guys stick around even when the fad fizzles, you know you're onto something special. 

 

What racers did you guys love?

[erwint0920]

The Crew 2

 

Don't really have a specific reason for it but I just enjoyed that game the most.

Really hope their will be a The Crew 3 in tbe future.

[bayabug]

Need for speed most wanted (2005 obviously). For PS3 era its either NFS HP or Burnout Paradise

[sealightbreeze]

Honestly? I am not that much into racing games. However, the Mario Kart games are my favorite. I know they are not PlayStation, but they're my favorite racing game 

Edited December 15, 2021 by sealightbreeze

[DiamondAN-94]

Crash team racing nitro fueled is my personal favorite. When I first jumped into it I really didn’t care for the driving but after a few hours it felt very rewarding and satisfying. A close second is Star Wars racer revenge 

Edited December 15, 2021 by DiamondAN-94

[NMErickson]

Burnout 3: Takedown and Test Drive Unlimited 2. Probably spent more time in those two than all other racers combined. I used to like the NASCAR games and NFS: Most Wanted 2005 was great. Edit: it’s been cool reading these replies. Brings back memories and I realized how many I forgot about. I retract my statement about time spent because now see I missed a few faves. Ivan Ironman Stewart’s Super Off Road always at the arcades, Cruisin USA & World, the Road Rash series, Super Sprint, SW Racer Revenge, so so many. 

Edited December 15, 2021 by NMErickson

[Evil_Joker88]

I played a lot of racing games and deciding just on one isn't easy but if i have to it's GRAN TURISMO 3 on PS2. I played that career mode several times and played hundreds of hours. I played it mostly 4 of 5 years i had a PS2

 

Gran Turismo 3 looked awesome back then, had lots of cars and tuning options and the realism driving felt really good. The only negative thing was the lack of optical tuning - something NfS did always better in my opinion...

 

In terms of fun NfS Shift 2 is close behind and in technical features definitely better like Car Damage and Weather features and story.

[willmill97]

Motorstorm Pacific Rift & Motorstorm Apocalypse. 

 

Pacific Rift had a stronger single player and Apocalypse had a stronger multiplayer but I love them both dearly and if they were to ever be remastered I might just shit my pants. 

[Guardian_owl]

One of my favorites back in the day was the San Francisco Rush series and their masterpiece was Rush 2049. They added retractable wings to the cars so you could have some control when in mid-air doing big jumps. In addition to the futuristic tracks with lots of shortcuts there was a stunt mode that could be played with up to 4 players.

 

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by Guardian_owl

[EverythingOnFire]

Haven't played many; not really my thing. I've always been more into car combat. The Forza series does look appealing though, with all the great environments. I should give em a try.

 

Out of the dozen or so I have played over the years, I have to go with either Super Mario Kart or Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing.

[pinkrobot_pb]

I love myself a good racing game every now and then. I had a great time with Burnout Paradise on PS3 and Driver San Francisco was awesome too. More simulation oriented games like the PS3 NASCAR and F1 titles are very good games as well. I think it would be impossible to pick one as the best of all. It would definitely be a PS3 game though.

 

If we take PC into account then it's Indycar Racing 2. The game was released in 1995 and there are still modders active for it creating new tracks. That shows how good of a sim it was and how fondly it is remembered and still supported.

Edited December 15, 2021 by pinkrobot_pb

[Janire1911]

43 minutes ago, DaveMcDamage said:

Hi everyone,

 

For me and no matter how many others there have been ever since, even from its own franchise, for me it will always be Forza Motorsport 2. 

 

That's by far my favorite too, no other racing games have ever come close to beating it. That game just does pretty much everything right and it's such a joy to play. FM2 is also the reason why I haven't sold my Xbox 360.

[Joe Dubz]

Definitely a toss-up for me between Burnout 3 and Diddy Kong Racing! 

[mizimmer]

F1 World Grand Prix on the N64. 

 

This game had absolutely stunning graphics and was just a lot of fun. Being able to drive on all those iconic tracks of the 1997 season was a truly mind-blowing experience as a kid. I still remember the many, many times I would try to beat my personal best time on my favourite race track at Spa.

 

Additionally to the world cup they included several scenarios where you had to replicate real life moments of the 1996 season, e.g. win the race as Michael Schumacher starting from the last position. Those were very tough but highly motivating. You also had realistic simulated physics, highly customizable car setups and a split-screen mode to race agains friends.

 

A true masterpiece.

 

 

 

[reaperveteran86]

Ridge Racer Type 4 on the PSone. Best game in the series and one of the best arcade racers of all time in my opinion. Worth to play for the soundtrack alone.

 

[Pistol_WhippedXG]

I'm a huge racing game fan now, but for a long time I only enjoyed arcade racing. I've grown to really enjoy all types of racing games over the past couple of years. I'd say my absolute favorite would likely be Forza Horizon 3. Rather than just taking part in the festival as per usual, you were instead put in charge of it, and could customize race and championship events. It was such a different experience of freedom, that you rarely get in a racing game. Plus, Australia was a really nice location and the dlcs were top notch, each having almost 20 hours of content, which is rare. Still haven't played 4 or 5 yet, but eventually I will. 

 

Other than that, a few others of note would be Project Cars, Import Tuner Challenge, Flatout: Ultimate Carnage or Flatout 2 (They're basically the same game), Forza Motorsport 3 and Split/Second.

 

I remember trying Gran Turismo 3 when I was a kid and couldn't get into it, but I think it was just too realistic for me at the time, I pre-ordered GT7 as I enjoy simulation racing much more nowadays. 

[based_gigachad]

My all time favourite racing game has to be Burnout 3: Takedown on Playstation 2, closely followed by the original Forza Horizon on Xbox 360. The sequels to that never quite captured the same magic for me.

 

Nevertheless, I have sunk thousands of hours into many other racing games. Normally prefer the Arcade style ones but when it comes to more of the sim side I was absolutely in love with Gran Turismo 4 and haven't quite enjoyed any of the successors since, of course I hope 7 might change my mind next year.

 

I'm very excited for the new Test Drive Unlimited game, as the first two I absolutely adored at the time. I've also been incredibly keen on many Need for Speed games, though I would say I have more and better memories of Carbon as opposed to Most Wanted 2005 - and maybe Hot Pursuit 2010 more than both of those...

 

I'd also like to give honourable mentions to The Crew (the original I prefer to the second) and Race Driver Grid on the PS3, that one also being better than all of it's successors so far, and finally Wreckfest, which reminds me a lot of Demolition Derby (PS1) and Flatout 2 on the PS2 which I enjoyed hugely at the time.

 

EDIT: Have to mention Split/Second. I don't think I have ever enjoyed playing a game on split screen so much as that with my friends.

Edited December 15, 2021 by based_gigachad

[Deadly_Ha_Ha]

@Destructor-8 come put these children to bed with your KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

[Kwotey]

didnt play many this year but Hot Wheels Unleashed was a blast. Underrated gem

[IvoryRose88]

I liked Split Second the most. I thought it was just flat out fun as hell and i loved the idea of building up super meter to set off huge track changing events. Too bad company went out of buisiness.

[AihaLoveleaf]

Rage Racer is my old-school nostalgia pick. I enjoyed how cool and edgy the game was compared to previous entries, and the soundtrack is just excellent. Looking forward to eventually getting around to all the racing games I missed out on over the years to see if I can find a new favorite. 

[TheArcadeKid]

Racers are probably my favourite genre, so it's difficult for me to pick a single one. If I absolutely had to choose, though, it'd probably be Wipeout. Pure or Pulse on PSP, or Omega Collection on PS4. All are fundamentally great games that innovate on car-based racers in amazing ways. I'm particularly keen on the "side-shift" feature: hit the left or right air-brake twice and your entire ship "shifts" to the left or right. No matter how ridiculously fast you're going (and you'll be going plenty fast), you always feel like you're in control.

 

The spectacular graphics and fantastic soundtrack are the icing on the cake.

[Smashero]

Carmageddon and Skidmarks!

 

 

 

[DrBloodmoney]

I don't play a huge number of racers these days, but since no one has mentioned them, I'll give a shout out to probably the series I played the most - TOCA!

 

TOCA Touring Car Championship on PS1 was a beast of a game!

 

Not sure if it would technically count, but I also thought the PS3 Driver game -  Driver San Francisco - was a great single player driving game, and the multiplayer was legit good racing fun too

Edited December 15, 2021 by DrBloodmoney

[Condemned09]

Diddy Kong Racing is my all time favorite