By Jamie Lambert
The racing genre has come a long way over the years. With the latest titles now producing virtual cars that look almost photo realistic it is becoming easy for petrol-heads to get their fix from the gaming world. But with realism taking over it's also important to look back at the genre's past and find the games that can be considered the most fun. Here's our top five.
The racing genre has come a long way over the years. With the latest titles now producing virtual cars that look almost photo realistic it is becoming easy for petrol-heads to get their fix from the gaming world. But with realism taking over it's also important to look back at the genre's past and find the games that can be considered the most fun. Here's our top five.
Need For Speed: Underground 2
2004 was a much simpler time, when racing games didn’t take themselves too seriously and EA couldn’t stick DLC onto everything they released. Underground 2 was in no doubt a flawed game, but it offered so much more than racing games had ever offered before. Masses of vehicle customisations are available, along with a huge open-world that was almost unheard of in the genre before and a wide variety of race types.
The game has a very pick-up-and-play feel to it, as the controls are responsive and easy to get used to. It also has a very solid difficulty level, though the differences between the three difficulties are vast. Since you’re always driving at night, the gameplay depends on the setting being well-lit, and this is certainly achieved. The lighting effects are not only gorgeous but they work perfectly with the game’s theme, and are incorporated in the navigation between various landmarks. For its age, Underground 2 looks absolutely fantastic, with light reflections that seem highly realistic for the day.
The main career is well paced, giving you chance to upgrade your car’s visuals or performance between every other race. You never really feel like you’re not progressing. Having to drive between different shops on the map also gives a sense of size to the game, and having areas blocked off with large red crosses teases you for what you know will be unlocked later on.
All in all Need for Speed: Underground 2 is nicely designed, well controlled and absolutely stunning considering its age. If you can look past the shameless product placement and occasionally sketchy AI, there are hours and hours of fun to be had with this game.
The game has a very pick-up-and-play feel to it, as the controls are responsive and easy to get used to. It also has a very solid difficulty level, though the differences between the three difficulties are vast. Since you’re always driving at night, the gameplay depends on the setting being well-lit, and this is certainly achieved. The lighting effects are not only gorgeous but they work perfectly with the game’s theme, and are incorporated in the navigation between various landmarks. For its age, Underground 2 looks absolutely fantastic, with light reflections that seem highly realistic for the day.
The main career is well paced, giving you chance to upgrade your car’s visuals or performance between every other race. You never really feel like you’re not progressing. Having to drive between different shops on the map also gives a sense of size to the game, and having areas blocked off with large red crosses teases you for what you know will be unlocked later on.
All in all Need for Speed: Underground 2 is nicely designed, well controlled and absolutely stunning considering its age. If you can look past the shameless product placement and occasionally sketchy AI, there are hours and hours of fun to be had with this game.
Mario Kart 7
Mario Kart is a quite possibly the greatest party game series ever created, and the reason that I’ve chosen its seventh iteration rather than number eight is that I feel the 3DS version is a much more multiplayer experience. MK8 focuses on online play, but playing online doesn’t have the same feel as playing in the same room as your seven other competitors. Seeing the frustration on your opponents’ faces as you send them barrelling off a cliff with a red shell, or kicking your rival’s shins to put him off as you try to overtake them – Having the local multiplayer aspect is so much more involving and fun. Granted, MK8 does have local multiplayer, but having four people on one screen rather than eight all playing on their 3DSes doesn’t quite have the same effect.
The addition of glider and underwater sections add another level of depth to the racing, and as a whole it feels nice to play. It has the usual “Easy to play, Hard to master” gameplay, and doesn’t change the Mario Kart formula that we’re used to. Carrying on the Download-play multiplayer that Mario Kart DS introduced means that anyone with a 3DS system can join in without owning the game. The online multiplayer is generally very good and has very little lag. The battle modes are as fun as always and the main VS mode is just as fun and competitive. No games party is complete without a match of Mario Kart, and MK7 is the best of all of them.
The addition of glider and underwater sections add another level of depth to the racing, and as a whole it feels nice to play. It has the usual “Easy to play, Hard to master” gameplay, and doesn’t change the Mario Kart formula that we’re used to. Carrying on the Download-play multiplayer that Mario Kart DS introduced means that anyone with a 3DS system can join in without owning the game. The online multiplayer is generally very good and has very little lag. The battle modes are as fun as always and the main VS mode is just as fun and competitive. No games party is complete without a match of Mario Kart, and MK7 is the best of all of them.
Burnout 3: Takedown
Burnout 3 became massively popular quickly after its release, and rightly so. In the same way that mega-realistic racing games are huge at the moment, the PS2 and Xbox had a massive range of arcade racers, that focused less on realism and more on being fun. Burnout 3 is a prime example of this.
As shown by the title, Burnout 3: Takedown has a massive focus on “Takedowns” which involve slamming another car into a wall, car or pillar and sending them flying, giving a satisfying slow-mo of them falling to their inevitable doom. On paper it sounds like it would only get in the way of gameplay and interrupt the flow of the race, yet it’s managed in a fantastically clever way, so you never feel like you’re missing out on any racing whilst you watch a fellow driver plummet into a nearby building.
A bunch of race types make the gameplay fun and varied, and guaranteed you will find a favourite. One of the modes has you trying to take out as many other racers as possible under a time limit, and another requires you to throw your car into a junction and wreck as many people’s lives as possible. Besides this, there is the expected standard race type, and one-on-one races.
When racing in Burnout 3 you get a massive sense of speed. An almost-constant speed boost makes the races feel seriously fast, and the only time that the flow of the race is cut is when you mash your own car up. This gives an incentive not to crash, which is often surprisingly difficult to do.
The brilliant sense of speed, the fun physics and the fantastic soundtrack make this worthy of a place in this list.
As shown by the title, Burnout 3: Takedown has a massive focus on “Takedowns” which involve slamming another car into a wall, car or pillar and sending them flying, giving a satisfying slow-mo of them falling to their inevitable doom. On paper it sounds like it would only get in the way of gameplay and interrupt the flow of the race, yet it’s managed in a fantastically clever way, so you never feel like you’re missing out on any racing whilst you watch a fellow driver plummet into a nearby building.
A bunch of race types make the gameplay fun and varied, and guaranteed you will find a favourite. One of the modes has you trying to take out as many other racers as possible under a time limit, and another requires you to throw your car into a junction and wreck as many people’s lives as possible. Besides this, there is the expected standard race type, and one-on-one races.
When racing in Burnout 3 you get a massive sense of speed. An almost-constant speed boost makes the races feel seriously fast, and the only time that the flow of the race is cut is when you mash your own car up. This gives an incentive not to crash, which is often surprisingly difficult to do.
The brilliant sense of speed, the fun physics and the fantastic soundtrack make this worthy of a place in this list.
Forza Motorsport 3
The first thing that strikes you when booting up Forza 3 is how clean and uniform everything feels. The menus are clear and precise, and the voice over is professional and soothing. When in-game, the level of detail put into everything is extremely impressive- both the car interiors and the landscapes stretching out around the tracks. The massive amount of cars to choose from, the copious amounts of customisation options and the amount of freedom given when deciding how you will go about the main season mode make this racer a different experience for every player.
The handling of the cars and feedback from everything that happens feels very realistic, making the game fantastically immersive. Forza 3 introduced a rewind system, meaning that if you crashed or made a mistake that would otherwise cost you the race, you could rewind a few seconds and sort it out. This, along with a bunch of other assist features, makes it much more accessible to new players, as they were optional features that the more experienced gamer is unlikely to use. A solid, suitable soundtrack works well alongside the fast and adrenaline-pumping gameplay, and if it doesn’t suit your tastes then your own music can be used instead.
The online aspects are certainly enjoyable for the most part, however if you expect other players to race fair then you can think again. The online races are really fun, and the competition is usually pretty damn tough. There is also car design sharing, so if you don’t have time to mod out your car visually or you just aren’t creative enough, you can use somebody else’s design instead.
Forza Mortorsport 3 is a welcome addition to any gamer’s collection, as it is easy to get the hang of and has huge replayability value.
The handling of the cars and feedback from everything that happens feels very realistic, making the game fantastically immersive. Forza 3 introduced a rewind system, meaning that if you crashed or made a mistake that would otherwise cost you the race, you could rewind a few seconds and sort it out. This, along with a bunch of other assist features, makes it much more accessible to new players, as they were optional features that the more experienced gamer is unlikely to use. A solid, suitable soundtrack works well alongside the fast and adrenaline-pumping gameplay, and if it doesn’t suit your tastes then your own music can be used instead.
The online aspects are certainly enjoyable for the most part, however if you expect other players to race fair then you can think again. The online races are really fun, and the competition is usually pretty damn tough. There is also car design sharing, so if you don’t have time to mod out your car visually or you just aren’t creative enough, you can use somebody else’s design instead.
Forza Mortorsport 3 is a welcome addition to any gamer’s collection, as it is easy to get the hang of and has huge replayability value.
Star Wars Racer Revenge
Unfortunately, I have a bit of a soft spot for Star Wars games. Okay, so I avoid any of the more recent tragedies that are Kinect Star Wars and the Force Unleashed games, but back in the day LucasArts released some true works of art. One of such masterpieces was Star Wars Racer Revenge.
Racer Revenge is a sequel to the game Star Wars Episode 1 Racer, which had a very similar concept but was let down by its lack of difficulty and horrible sound design. The sequel, however, massively improves on the pod-racing gameplay with gorgeous environments, superb sound design and tons of character. Racer Revenge is set 8 years ahead of its predecessor, with an expanded cast of playable racers. Each character has their own unique pod racer with unique set of stats and racing style. Some racers are much faster but have a slower repair, or have a high defence but low acceleration.
The gameplay is quite unique compared to other racing games. There’s much less focus on getting out in front of the pack and winning a clean race, but instead you’re rewarded for destroying other pod-racers. Before each race, you’re shown “Watto’s bribe”. This means that the more opponents you take out in the race, the more bonus credits you get. These credits can be used to upgrade your vehicle between races. When smashing into other racers, your own pod takes no damage, but when you’re smashed into you take damage and they don’t. With the amount of collisions on the track, you would be lucky to finish the race without the repair system. In the bottom-left corner of the UI are two gauges which represent the damage on each of your engines. If one of them is destroyed, you’re out of the race entirely. Holding down the L2 button allows you to repair it, but at the cost of speed: Your pod is drastically slowed down whilst you’re repairing. This control system makes the entire experience much more immersive and exciting, and also gives a higher level of difficulty to the racing. The two-player local multiplayer is just as expected, and continues to be just as fun and impressive.
The races are extremely high-speed and require full concentration and quick reflexes, and since the AI are certainly not stupid, finding shortcuts in the tracks is necessary to win. The majority of the tracks are recognisable as they are almost all part of the already-established expanded universe of Star Wars, though to anyone that is not familiar to the series the courses are still totally impressive. There are also many racers to be unlocked throughout the game, and to reach 100% completion Racer Revenge will take a lot of time.
Though it has its flaws, unique gameplay, gorgeous courses and damn difficult AI make this game simply the best racer I have ever played.
Racer Revenge is a sequel to the game Star Wars Episode 1 Racer, which had a very similar concept but was let down by its lack of difficulty and horrible sound design. The sequel, however, massively improves on the pod-racing gameplay with gorgeous environments, superb sound design and tons of character. Racer Revenge is set 8 years ahead of its predecessor, with an expanded cast of playable racers. Each character has their own unique pod racer with unique set of stats and racing style. Some racers are much faster but have a slower repair, or have a high defence but low acceleration.
The gameplay is quite unique compared to other racing games. There’s much less focus on getting out in front of the pack and winning a clean race, but instead you’re rewarded for destroying other pod-racers. Before each race, you’re shown “Watto’s bribe”. This means that the more opponents you take out in the race, the more bonus credits you get. These credits can be used to upgrade your vehicle between races. When smashing into other racers, your own pod takes no damage, but when you’re smashed into you take damage and they don’t. With the amount of collisions on the track, you would be lucky to finish the race without the repair system. In the bottom-left corner of the UI are two gauges which represent the damage on each of your engines. If one of them is destroyed, you’re out of the race entirely. Holding down the L2 button allows you to repair it, but at the cost of speed: Your pod is drastically slowed down whilst you’re repairing. This control system makes the entire experience much more immersive and exciting, and also gives a higher level of difficulty to the racing. The two-player local multiplayer is just as expected, and continues to be just as fun and impressive.
The races are extremely high-speed and require full concentration and quick reflexes, and since the AI are certainly not stupid, finding shortcuts in the tracks is necessary to win. The majority of the tracks are recognisable as they are almost all part of the already-established expanded universe of Star Wars, though to anyone that is not familiar to the series the courses are still totally impressive. There are also many racers to be unlocked throughout the game, and to reach 100% completion Racer Revenge will take a lot of time.
Though it has its flaws, unique gameplay, gorgeous courses and damn difficult AI make this game simply the best racer I have ever played.
I Feel the Need...
Yet another Top Five completed and I'm ready to step on the gas.
I have no doubt that we will have some differing opinions out there. What adrenaline pumping racing games do you enjoy the most?
We hope to see your comments below!
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