Current best driving racing game available for PS3

[Spagetti69]

Whilst the wait for GT draws ever nearer/farther depending on point of veiw.
I was wondering what GT planeteers think is the best out there at the moment.
Could be a useful thread for peeps lookin to tide themselves over till daddy comes home.
For me it's F1 championship edition released way back when. Good challenge and options. Nothing comes close as yet in my book.

If I've posted this where I shouldn't have I apologise and mods feel free to move.

 

[paulpg87]

f1 for sure

 

[Northstar]

There aren't any that I've really enjoyed on the PS3. F1CE is good, but it got old. I've heard SCC is good but I'm not a big fan of importing things.

I however have gotten into PC sims though, mainly GTR Evolution.

 

[analog]

The only racing game from a different developer i still occassionally play is the first Dirt game ( Dirt2 doesn't seem to be really worth my money ) as it mainly offers fun in those forms of racing GT doesn't offer.
When i drive the rally cars in Dirt i constantly compare them to PD's standard and they fail miserably.
The sort of cars Codemasters does seem to get spot on are those Dakar trucks and buggies, pick ups and some SUV's.
Don't know if that's due to not being able to compare them or that they accidentally are more convincing to drive, all those vehicles tend to be more floaty IRL and therefor lend themselves better to the somewhat floaty physics of Dirt.

 

[drivatar]

If there's only one to choose: GT5P - the only driving simulator delivering 60fps on PS3.

Second choice: Supercar Challenge

 

[Tomaz]

GT5p and Dirt 2.

 

[Shokz]

The only racing game from a different developer i still occassionally play is the first Dirt game ( Dirt2 doesn't seem to be really worth my money ) as it mainly offers fun in those forms of racing GT doesn't offer.
When i drive the rally cars in Dirt i constantly compare them to PD's standard and they fail miserably.
The sort of cars Codemasters does seem to get spot on are those Dakar trucks and buggies, pick ups and some SUV's.
Don't know if that's due to not being able to compare them or that they accidentally are more convincing to drive, all those vehicles tend to be more floaty IRL and therefor lend themselves better to the somewhat floaty physics of Dirt.

I suggest you do try out DiRT 2 then; i was pretty sceptical, but i got it on PC and it actually turns out i like it more than the first.

I know it isn't really a "driving" game, but i love WipEout HD Fury.

 

[Krymzen18]

I'm a big fan of Supercar Challenge at the moment. With the wheel, the driving feels like GT4, just with smoother FFB. It's AI levels are tough though... so do expect to be winning races constantly offline. I'm not sure how big the online community is though.

Another choice would be Dirt, as people have mentioned. Not a simulation routed game, but defo enjoyable. I've never played F1:CE, but been told thats a good one. Then theres GT5p of course.... but that's been played to death, more than once.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

Whilst the wait for GT draws ever nearer/farther depending on point of veiw.
I was wondering what GT planeteers think is the best out there at the moment.
Could be a useful thread for peeps lookin to tide themselves over till daddy comes home.
For me it's F1 championship edition released way back when. Good challenge and options. Nothing comes close as yet in my book.

If I've posted this where I shouldn't have I apologise and mods feel free to move.

The trouble with any question that asks "What's the best (fill in the blank) Game?" is that the criteria for what is the best is mostly subjective based on each person's own personal preferences regarding that type of game, and racing games are no exception. There are those that love "fun" arcade style racing games, and others that prefer hardcore simulation style racing games.

I don't know if it will help, but here are all the racing games that I am familiar with that are available on the PS3 ranked from best to worst by Metacritic, which goes around and collects the results of reviews from multiple sources and then comes up with an average score for each game.

Just keep in mind, even though the ranking is based on multiple reviews and not just one or two reviewers, clearly as the results show, the reviews are still very much subjective, and thus many, including myself, would disagree with how many of the games are ranked.

That having been said, here are the results:

1. WipEout HD Fury
2. Burnout Paradise
3. GRID
4. DiRT 2
5. WipEout HD
6. Need for Speed SHIFT
7. Pure
8. DiRT
9. MotorStorm
10. MotorStorm: Pacific Rift
11. Midnight Club: Los Angeles
12. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue
13. OutRun Online Arcade
14. Ridge Racer 7
15. Sega Rally Revo
16. Need for Speed Carbon
17. MX vs. ATV Reflex
18. Formula One Championship Edition
19. Need for Speed ProStreet
20. SBK 09 Superbike World Championship
21. Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli
22. Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
23. GTI Club+ Rally Côte D'Azur
24. GripShift
25. Superstars V8 Racing
26. MX vs. ATV Untamed
27. Full Auto 2: Battlelines
28. Fuel
29. SuperCar Challenge
30. NASCAR 09
31. MotoGP 08
32. Fatal Inertia EX
33. Baja: Edge of Control
34. Need for Speed Undercover
35. NASCAR 08

* Just wanted to point out that MotoGP 09/10 does not come out until next week which is why it is not on the list.

Personally, like you, F1CE is still one of my favorite racing games for the PS3. I just wish more people had discovered how great this game was 2-3 years ago instead of waiting until lately. Otherwise maybe Sony would have maintained the NA F1CE servers and perhaps even held onto the F1 license and made more F1 games. *sigh*

I also really enjoyed the first DiRT, especially for the accurate WRC style point to point racing, and the very challenging damage effects when set to advanced.

Ferrari Challenge is also a very good racing game, and it doesn't hurt if you really like classic Ferrari's. 👍

For more on the fun arcade side of things, it's very hard to go wrong with Burnout Paradise and both MotorStorm games. I find them all very entertaining, and easy to just pick up and play and have fun.

Any way, I hope this list of racing games comes in handy and that you have lots of fun no matter what you end up playing.

 

[Momoniu]

no one could afford a ps3 2 - 3 years ago.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

no one could afford a ps3 2 - 3 years ago.

About 5 million PS3 were already sold prior to the release of F1CE, and there were close to 20 million PS3 sold prior to Sony shutting down the NA F1CE servers due to the lack of interest.

More importantly, dozens of PS3 games released around the same time out sold F1CE by a large margin. It's just a game that took a while for many people to discover.

Frankly, I mostly blame the demo for the lack of interest as it was a terrible demo that failed to properly represent the overall quality of the game, and some even suggested that the demo influenced many of the less favorable reviews when it first came out.

 

[scleeve]

I own/owned 30 of those 35 racers on that Metacritic list with weeks and months put into many of them, online and offline, and IMO the order of that list gives such an incorrect overall view of racers its unfair for people to base their purchase soley on such reviews. Most hardcore gaming critics who review them will spend most of their time on other styles of game likes COD2 etc and only want a pickup and play racer for short periods, i.e. arcade style to amuse them, as a result their limited time and lack of interest in the genre gives unfair scores. And then there's patchs that transforms the games (no excuse as they should of been better first time round) which are not looked at, although I understand that reviewers can't go back to games, and the lack of looking at the online side, more important to most than the offline.

I personally put racers into three categories (even using a G25 where you can)....Pure Arcade, inbetween, and Sim, and I play the racer which best suits my mood and how much time I have to adjust to it and play it.

For example anyone playing BO, Grid, Sega Rally, Outrun etc will know its pure arcade handling straight away but they are great fun, immediately put in NFS:Shift or the new Superstars V8 NC and with the right settings you notice the handling has moved on, there's more feel etc than said mentioned games and you need to be more carefull BUT they are certainly are no sim with still high levels of grip, then put in SCC or GT5P (with all assists off and low grip tyres) and you know you have something that's trying to be a sim with very carefull handling, braking and throttle movements required.

All the racers are enjoyable and rewarding in their own way, it depends what mood your in and what you want out of the game, easy pick and play or a difficult challenge.

I still use all sorts of racers, but "currently" my top choice in my own catergoies are:

Pure Arcade: Wipeout Fury (so fast, loads online and with own pumping music)
Inbetween: V8SS Next Challenge (awesome AI and toca style pack racing, tyre wear online)
Sim: SCC (more sim than than my well overused GT5P, to me the new scc patch has improved feel alot... G25 FFB)

GT5 will kick all of them into touch though. I can't see me playing anything else for some time.

 

[Hereward]

I order from Arcade - Sim

Burnout paradise
NFS Shift
Superstar V8 Next Challenge
GT prolouge
Supercar Challenge

F1CE is good but but if you ain't a F1 buff it gets tiresome plus the cars and teams are very out of date now, plus the poor online options really is it's achillies heel.
Any of the games above I would recomend.

 

[Tomaz]

Is it possible to buy new F1CE? Because I looked a lot of web-shops and couldn't find any copy of it. Any good web site from EU is welcomed.

 

[The Stalker]

Go for a copy of Superstars V8 Next Challenge. The AI is some of the best you'll see. The graphics might not be up to GT5P standard, but the physics model is better than average, and because it's not really a main stream game, it means the online mode isn't populated by a bunch of kids wanting to punt you off at every opportunity. It's a budget release too so can be had for around £30 new. If you were a fan of the original TOCA series, you'll definatly love this game.

 

[Spagetti69]

Thanks everyone for their input, especially nitrate for that comprehensive post of his.
Funny thing I picked up F1 champ edition for a fiver in an ex rental at blockbuster ( no case). Best racer on PS3 by a mile IMHO. Tough challenge and a pretty good five year career mode involving test driver roles and signing contracts for teams who give you targets to reach. Amazing for a game which is quite old now.

 

[dylansan]

If your PS3 can play PS2 games, Enthusia is still worth playing. I've got it running right now, and it's still a blast. 👍

 

[Spagetti69]

If your PS3 can play PS2 games, Enthusia is still worth playing. I've got it running right now, and it's still a blast. 👍

My PS3 doesn't but my PS2 does lol.

 

[drivatar]

Seeing the list from Metacritic I want to point to Baja: Edge of Control.
IMHO it's underrated a lot. Physics are interesting and environments different from the usual CMR style games. I had a lot of fun on Xbox360. I haven't seen the PS3 version but it's said to have some frame rate issues.

 

[Ibonibo]

If there's only one to choose: GT5P - the only driving simulator delivering 60fps on PS3.

Second choice: Supercar Challenge

👍👍👍
that would have been mine choice too. SCC can be a bit wierd (stupid ai) but overall fun to drive.
And dirt2 (me on pc) is funnier to drive than the first one. If you don't mind having an american finger in your eyes (heavily u.s. and a themed with high 5 and group hugging as someone suggested here)

 

[stevefoz]

For me scc is at the top for Physics , handling and a tough challenge
followed by gt5p with its smooth graphics good game .

just ordered Superstar V8 Next Challenge hoping its going to be a little bit like Scc

got NFS shift and completley hate it,,,, no sim quality at all.

 

[icelt]

IMHO F1:CE is the best racing game I've played this generation on either platform. The intensity and challenge of its offline mode is without compare.

 

[Golfman]

F1:CE. It was the first real racing game on the PS3, and is still the best. It may be old, but NO OTHER RACING GAME ON THE PS3 combines slick graphics, realism, AI and tense races the way F1:CE does. The only others worth bothering about are probably GT5P and the first Dirt game. Dirt 2 is arcadey rubbish, Grid is fun but limited, Motorstorm - dont even bother. And Ridge Racer? Belongs in the dark ages along with Daytona and Sega Rally.