Favorite racing games?

[bigDstars]

What is your favorite racing game? I just got my step-dad hooked on Playstation one's GT2. I'm going to get him a PS2 and GT3 for his birthday. Anybody race online against friends with any systems? Any games / systems let you design your own track (MSR would be cool before the track day)....

Do racing games help anyone with their autocross or track racing???

Thanks...

[black roadster]

Grand Prix on my Atari 2600.

[redbullforbreakfast]

Grand Prix on my Atari 2600.

As long as we're getting nostalgic...

I was addicted to RoadBlasters for the NES when I was 4.

You might want to check out the X-Box too, from what I hear Sega GT 2003 is pretty close competition for GT3, and I think has online multiplay support. Plus, you get all sorty of vintage Mazdas, I think even a Cosmo R100!

[Adam Payrot]

I was bored so I went out and got a Dreamcast for $20. Tokyo Extreme Racer, Sega Rally 2, and Sega GT are the only games I have, but they're all I need. TER is extremely addicting.

GT2 for Playstation is about the only other game I play. Still need to get a PS2 for GT3.

[Kestrel]

PS2 with GT3 is the best, particularly when combined with a wheel and foot pedals. I've "bolted" my wheel on a wooden TV tray (so that I don't have to hold it in my lap), and it works great. It even teaches you to be smooth, 'cuz if you jerk the wheel around the TV tray will move.

The other racing game for PS2 that is pretty good is Grand Prix Challenge. The racing dynamics aren't as good/fun as GT3, but you get to drive the "real" F1 courses. I like to run the next F1 course leading up to the F1 race -- that way I can really get a feel for the race. For example, I'll be running 50 to 80 laps (not all at one sitting) of Imola during the next week or so. It makes watching the race much more absorbing... I mean, I kinda know where the braking points are, what the line to the next corner is, etc.

I'm still waiting for a good autocross racing sim for PS2. There is apparently a fairly decent PC based racing sim that has an autocross "section" called Live for Speed. I've downloaded the demo version, and the racing dynamics seemed very good, but the demo version does not have the autocross course portion. Apparently you can actually design your own AX course ! On the downside, it doesn't have a very big selection of cars.

[bigDstars]

Thanks guys; Kestrel, that's the kind of response I was fishing for. If you could design your own course, you could set up a course like MSR and practice before going out there. I really like the idea of running laps on the Grand Prix course before watching the actual race too...

If you knew how an autocross layout was going to be, and ran it for a couple of days before race day, I would think that could be beneficial....

I also think getting online to race friends could be a ton of fun...

[Kestrel]

I also think getting online to race friends could be a ton of fun...

Live for Speed fits that bill... there is apparently a large community of online people that race each other through LFS. Get the free download, and give it a try. I'd like to know what you -- or any of our other MME friends -- think!

[tailchaser]

My absolute favorite driving/racing simulation is Viper Racing - when paired with a good wheel and pedal set. The car behaves as it should. The force feedback provides meaningful sensation of what's going right and what's going wrong (or, since you're driving Vipers, about to go very very wrong). The game is old. The graphics are pretty. The tracks are evil with nifty little bumps parked 2.3 feet in to EVERY braking zone to make sure you are penalized heavily for late braking (read: "500hp John Deere). Did I mention that the sound effects are incredible? Alas, the tracks aren't real world, the selection of 4 cars has gotten dull, and the AI is just a bit too rough, and I don't play it anymore. I'll probably find it again someday. It works under 2000/XP just fine.

My favorite racing game that I play frequently has been (for a looooong time) Microprose Grand Prix (pick your version... 4 is the "current"). Look for Geoff Crammond in the title. Unlike many racing sims, this game is playable by anyone. It has "driving aids" that are truly useful. If you've never seen the track before, you can turn on "automatic braking", and, by god, you'll get around the track without visiting the great green beyond. It also works well when controlled with the keyboard - the emphasis is on braking points and turn in, the computer takes care of the rest. Nice, since it can be played on a laptop just about anywhere. Or, it works well with wheel and pedals. Very well. Add to that a HUGE enthusiast community that updates tracks, car performance, liveries within days of races being run, and it's a just purely incredible platform. GP1 will run on just about any hardware you're likely to have as long as you remember what DOS is. You'll need a hardware based sound card if you want sound. It appears periodically on the "abandonware" sites on the web. GP4 seems to run quite happily on my 1GHz desktop and even laptop. It's $15 from ebay.

My favorite "vaguely resembles driving a car" game is GT2 (not 3) on the PS2. 3 doesn't even vaguely resemble driving a car. You can't see, and the cars float all over the track. 2 is fantastic. Let's hope they're using UNIX style version numbers and 4 will be a stable production release where 3 was still in development.

[Kestrel]

My favorite "vaguely resembles driving a car" game is GT2 (not 3) on the PS2. 3 doesn't even vaguely resembel driving a car. You can't see, and the cars float all over the track....

I like GT3 (on PS2), and find it a very engaging -- and reasonably realistic -- racing simulation. I don't care for the "bumper car non-penalty driving" (you can use walls and other cars to help you go faster, since real damage is not registered in the driving dynamics), but I typically use the game in "Free Run" mode. This way, I run as long as I'd like, constantly trying to get a better time.

I believe that playing GT3 has made me a better driver. It teaches you proper racing line, shows you the cost of braking too late, and gives you a feel for throttle steering and trail braking. Is it a perfect simulation of all these skills? Nope... but it is a nice "primer" for this advanced track racing stuff. I'm still waiting for the "perfect" race simulator -- I suspect that the perfect simulator will require at least a 180degree screen and a racing seat on pneumatic lifters to give that real feel. Until then, I think GT3 on PS2 is about as good as it gets -- at least for $300.00 or less (for the console and game and pedals/wheel).

But YMMV :) ...

[chucka]

favorite racing games

ps2 gt3 (hopefully gt4 before the end of the year)
ps2 atv offroad fury 2 (not car, but the best motorcross game made imho)
ps2 MX unleashed (i think thats the name, same makers of offroad fury)
xbox motogp 2 (great online racing game)

thats it for me.

[tailchaser]

I believe that playing GT3 has made me a better driver. [/color]

I like GT3 as well... It is a good driving line simulator, but GT2 did a better job of feeling like driving a car. I'm sure it's just a perspective thing with me and the minute differences in camera angle. A big part of it is in the changes to two player split-screen...

Any PC you're likely to own at the moment will play F1 GP2 or 3 quite well. Steering wheels/pedals are nice, but not at all necessary. For $10-$15, for 2 (DOS/9, 3 (Win 98/XP) or 4 (ME/XP, but >700MHz processor), I highly recommend picking one up. 1 is free if you know where to look/are a real cheapskate and will run beautifully on a 486-100.

Moto GP2 on Xbox

Moto GP/GP2 rock! I took a long hiatus from 2 and got BURNED by the physics update... I spend most of my time now driving off the edge of the track since you have to brake SOOOOO much sooner. Oh, well. I had top 100 times on every track for a loooong time in both editions (yes, sadly, even after the shortcutting craze took over in GP 1 - I am suitably ashamed).