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Racing Games Shining Brightly So Far This Generation

Perhaps you haven't noticed, but most of the high-profile racing games of this generation have turned out beautifully. If you're a fan of the genre, this is probably the rejuvenation you've been waiting for since the '90s.

Think about what we've seen. Wipeout HD is not only stellar but it also represents a departure from the standard racing games and although it wasn't exactly in the limelight (mainly because it was only a downloadable title), it remains one of the most intense experiences of the generation. But it hardly ends there. EA goes and overhauls their long-running – and laboring – franchise, Need for Speed , and the result is Need for Speed: SHIFT , one of the more original and dynamic racing productions that's bound to give you sweaty palm syndrome. Even before this, we had Burnout Paradise , which was a God-send for arcade-style racing fans everywhere, and have you seen the amount of extra content for that game?! Off-road aficionados got a great sequel in MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and there's little doubt that DiRT 2 is one of the best racing experiences of the generation. Most recently, Forza Motorsport 3 is dragging down very high review scores and Gran Turismo 5 will likely set the simulation bar again when it arrives March. Oh, and let's not forget about GRiD , which is yet another solid racer. Really, it's almost tough to find a racing game that hasn't been worth playing in the past few years (not counting a few of the low-budget no-name ones).

We all have our favorite genres but if you're a racing fan, you have no excuse to not be happy. There's just so much in the way of quality these days, and you owe it to yourselves to give one or two a try.

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te la meti 14
te la meti 14
14 years ago

i see Forza Motorsport 3 as in the same level of Gran Turismo 5

Qubex
Qubex
14 years ago

Either you posted this on purpose to start world war three, or you have absolutely no clue what you are talking about… have you thought about flying Finnair?

Q!

"i am home"


Last edited by Qubex on 10/8/2009 11:32:49 PM

Wage SLAVES
Wage SLAVES
14 years ago

Lol! Nice, Qubex!

Hexen
Hexen
14 years ago

"i see Forza Motorsport 3 as in the same level of Gran Turismo 5:Prologue"

Fixed it for you.

giant123
giant123
14 years ago

uhh anyone else notice that fm3 and nfs:shift are the same game?

Banky A
Banky A
14 years ago

No, Forza doesn't have the Japanese flavor and class, so it loses ^_^

Jokes.

SILVERAMMO
SILVERAMMO
14 years ago

then you are a fool

te la meti 14
te la meti 14
14 years ago

world war three ?

te la meti 14
te la meti 14
14 years ago

ben should get Forza Motorsport 3 when it comes out hes always talking about getting a new xbox game i think he would be impress with the game

Victor321
Victor321
14 years ago

Very logical choice, and I wholeheartedly agree with you. But with all the PS3 exclusives coming out, IP or Established, I don't think he'll have money to spare! Lol

te la meti 14
te la meti 14
14 years ago
bomba2812
bomba2812
14 years ago

i am an FPS fan but i loved burnout paradise and big surf island was awesome

yak4life85
yak4life85
14 years ago

Exactly. Same comment ^^^


Last edited by yak4life85 on 10/9/2009 3:19:59 AM

nickert0n
nickert0n
14 years ago

Is it worth the price point? My step son wants it badly but I don't play burnout anymore (Got really bored of driving around when I have done everything and I suck so hard at the open world races).

fluffer nutter
fluffer nutter
14 years ago

Burnout Paradise is definitely worth the 19.99. Massive re-playability on that one. Get it. Play online, too. Just do it.

___________
___________
14 years ago

still have to say burnout paradise is the best racing game i have played.
NFS shift the best sim i have played.
its forgiving unlike another title.

BIG_E
BIG_E
14 years ago

Real life isn't forgiving hence the label sim
im shore if you drive your cars like fool,ends in a fiery mes.GT is the game of choice for men
that wish to improve on real life skills.Play your forza3,need for speed,& burn out paradise
fun but child's play.

___________
___________
14 years ago

yes but a game is meant to be fun.
i find it hard to have fun if im doing the same sh*t for 6 hours.
could use the same argument for opperation flashpoint dragon rising but fact is games are games there meant to be fun.
its hard to have fun when your doing the same thing over and over and over and over again.

mike rlz
mike rlz
14 years ago

sigh. when will it end?

Scarecrow
Scarecrow
14 years ago

Segat Rally Revolution!!!! <3

But yes it's been a sick generation for racing fans.

Motorstorm being the most original and most engaging of them all, imo

Hands down the nicest newest racing ip this generation. Rally fans should not pass up on this one.

Gran Turismo 5 will be the the culmination of it all. Once GT releases it'll be the shining star! Really hoping for awesome rally too!

Banky A
Banky A
14 years ago

Sega Rally Evolution's demo was fun 😉
And do you want rally fans to look into Motorstorm or Sega Rally? It was cool but purposely arcade.

Hope GT5 has new physics engine for WRC. The rallying in GT4 was so stupid – but fun. It was sort of just 'extreme sliding' 24/7. And the AI Renault Turbo can somehow beat my Lancia Delta S4 Rally car.

=D

/rant

www
www
14 years ago

"SEGAT" Rally Scarecrow?

You been playing SFIV too much and using Sagat too much innit?

Scarecrow
Scarecrow
14 years ago

HAHA! Yeah noticed that a while ago lol

Ahem, but no no, I don't use Sagat at all actually. My mains are: M. Bison, Chun-Li, Sakura, and Rose (in that order respectively).

That said, Sega Rally Revolution is a whole lotta fun. It almost feels like the old Gran Turismo games. And that in itself ain't a bad thing.

nickert0n
nickert0n
14 years ago

Motorstorm: Artic Edge for the PSP is no exception either, beside motion control which I dont use on either Motorstorm on the PS3 the PSP racer has EVERYTHING and amazing graphics that will stun you they were able to pull of on the PSP. Definitely check it out if you are a Motorstorm fan you will love it.

frylock25
frylock25
14 years ago

i played the hell out of burnout paradise twice. played it when it came out and then again started over and played again just a week ago. easily like 120+ hours between both times.

off topic. i have been tryin to get in the playstation store and it says its not available in my region. home is also not working. i am not sure it if is just me. i am hoping its just down for some reason…


Last edited by frylock25 on 10/9/2009 3:10:47 AM

yak4life85
yak4life85
14 years ago

Same here I played Burnout Paradise a lot when the game came out. Had like most of the online challenges 2-8 players completed. But then they added trophies so I restarted a new save. That game has I think almost 100 trophies now with all the dlc released for it. That's were a big chunk of my 375 trophies came from. Big surf island was the best along with the bikes.


Last edited by yak4life85 on 10/9/2009 3:23:30 AM

Qubex
Qubex
14 years ago

I am sad to say you are locked out like me, we have lost access to all those resources now 🙁

Q!

"i am home"

fluffer nutter
fluffer nutter
14 years ago

I don't know if this helps but I had the same problem two nights ago. I wasn't sure if they were doing maintenance because I got a maintenance message this morning but… the night I had issues, I pulled out the hard drive, tried to connect, with no success, then tried again with the hard drive re-installed and bam. I was in. Try it or just try again in the morning. Ignore me, if you'd like. I like crab meat.

A2K78
A2K78
14 years ago

I'm still waiting for Polyphony/Sony to announce Tourist Trophy 2, a game like it predesessor which will clearly raise the bar on motorcycle even more.

In the end I'm amazed how a PS2 title like Tourist Trophy is still much better than games such as SBK 08, MotoGP7, MotoGP 08 and MotoGP 091/10.

coverton341
coverton341
14 years ago

Tourist Trophy FTW! So much better than the MotoGP installments. I would love to see another Tourist Trophy come out of the wordwork soon.

Banky A
Banky A
14 years ago

Give me a next gen (this gen) WRC game and I will agree ^_^
But so far, noooo they just don't want to make a WRC game do they LOL.

GT5 is my last hope or I'll have to look back at the PS2 and PC rallies.

In other news – Forza Motorsport 3 got 9.4 from IGN, US and UK.
The game looks great! And i hope GT5 has customization as good as FM3.

nickert0n
nickert0n
14 years ago

I have a theory on why GT5 was released delayed.
They were planning on x-mas however due to Forza's/Mucrosoft's smug additude on being better (they launched multiple surveys after E3 and bribed with free liveries on which game was going to be better) Polyphony decided to let them release their game so they can see the feature sets and if there are any ideas in FM3 they wish they had, they still have some development time to include them in their game. Rather smart I say.

Banky A
Banky A
14 years ago

*Sorry for double post*

Yeah Ben you gotta' play Forza 3. It sounds like it's the most awesome console racing game right now.

Then give us your personal impressions in a Weekly Update. Or something 😉

frylock25
frylock25
14 years ago

speakin of racing… is it possible to purchase one digital copy of gran turismo, have more than one psp, up to 5 it says. and so then basically you have 5 copies of the game?

so then say i buy a psp go and have my psp 2000 then buy gt psp wouldnt i be able to put it it on both with the digital copy?

nickert0n
nickert0n
14 years ago

Yes.

www
www
14 years ago

Yes true but its unfortunate I can't get any of these, I was personally eyeing DiRT 2 but this holiday season has too many great games so I should wait for GT5 next year.

Kingharris
Kingharris
14 years ago

Dont really buy racing games, another thing that 5 of the 6 games listed in bold there are made in the UK 🙂

Imagi
Imagi
14 years ago

One thing that does not shine so brightly is the lack of splitscreen in a number of racing games this gen.

nickert0n
nickert0n
14 years ago

I was throughly please the Motorstorm Pacific Rift has up to 4 players split screen.

I hate how all games now pretty much lack split screen because the graphical requirements can only sustain one environment.

mexgeo86
mexgeo86
14 years ago

What ever happened to the 'Top Gear' series from the SNES days? I miss that.

As far as current racing games, for me it starts and ends with GT.

tridon
tridon
14 years ago

I'd really like to see the next installment in the RIDGE RACER series. The first PlayStation had 4 installments while the second system only had 1. =(

Snaaaake
Snaaaake
14 years ago

You need coolin'…..baby I'm not fooling!!!!
I'm gonna get that……Gran Turismo 5!!!!!

Orvisman
Orvisman
14 years ago

I have Wipeout HD, but I think I'm going to pick up the Asian disc version coming out soon so I have a physical copy.

Also, have you noticed if you wait long enough now these game companies are rereleasing their games with the DLC included: GTAV, Fallout 3 GOTY, LBP GOTY, Star Wars The Force Unleashed, and now Midnight Club Los Angeles.

Now, I'll have to repurchase them because I'd prefer to have the game and DLC on one disc instead of split between disc and HD.

Maybe I should just wait a year to buy any game to avoid having to repurchase games I already own.

nickert0n
nickert0n
14 years ago

I think the extra year with the game is worth it if it is one you really want but yes if I am not foaming at the mouth over a game I wait for it to either A) drop in price or B) Hit GOTY edition.

Infact I did fwait for Fallout 3 to hit GOTY before buying but now that Demon Souls was released and I have read the reviews, I don't want Fallout 3 lol. Guess its better that way anyways because I hate publishers who do timed exclusivity to the 360 and then act like its all good Playstation you know we love you.

Troy Powers
Troy Powers
14 years ago

No mention of my beloved Midnight Club. 🙁

BeezleDrop
BeezleDrop
14 years ago

I'm completely satisfied with WipeoutHD, plus with The Fury Expansion I just bought I'm set if they ever decide to release GT5. Is midnight club really any good Troy? I never even considered trying it.

@Tridon,
I remember the first few Ridge Racers on the PS1, with that guys ridiculously cheesy voice, haha. I think Ridge Racer has had its time in the sun, if they can offer more innovation, and optimal graphics they could have a chance. It seems the trend these days in a racer has to look great, have damage, and live up to GT5 standards.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

Burnout Paradise is truly one of the best games of this console generation. Though I still prefer the original game without the additional color saturation and n00b friendliness of the updates.

Wipeout HD/Fury truly rocks and needs a BD release.

Can't wait for Gran Turismo. Shift is alright, the demo is fun. But I've poured hours, days and weeks of time into GT3 and GT4. I need me some GT5.

Oh, and folks need to go back and look at Ridge Racer 7 again, it's a lot of fun, and looks fantastic.


Last edited by TheHighlander on 10/9/2009 11:39:10 AM

tlpn99
tlpn99
14 years ago

Did anyone try that Race Pro on the 360 ? I have it and think it is just ok. What does anyone else think of it ?

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