Little-Known or Forgotten Racing/Driving Games

[CarBastard]

picked up a copy of this today for $2.

pretty fun game, I like the rally stages

You just piqued my curiosity but, sadly, I no longer have a PS2 and my laptop/toaster can't even work the PS2 emulator properly. Ridge Racer 4 is the only Namco racing game I've ever played but it's seems to me that R:Racing is perhaps a slightly more grown-up version of RR4 albeit with some of the elements that made me love it's predecessor: great BGM music and lovely girls implemented in a very classy way instead of the StreetRacingSyndicate way .

SRS wasn't bad, although it certainly could've used a bit of polish, but by God did that "girlfriend" part of the game made me cringe.

 

[glassjaw]

Has anybody played Scud Race aka Sega Super GT (for US and EU versions)?

When I first played this back in 2004, the graphics were great at that time for a 1996 game. Physics were like Daytona and Outrun but in a different way. It also features the BPR car series and you have 4 cars to choose from (as seen at the top).

I'm glad there's still some Scud Race pods around in my local arcade shops but age has worn them down. The brakes do not work plus sometimes the wheel gets stuck for unknown reason.

Absolutely. Favorite game of all time. The combination of the setting (mid '90s GT racing), the track design, the perfectly tuned physics and the music make it absolutely everything I ever wanted from an arcade racer. It's criminal Sega never delivered a port. For those interested, I wrote more on it here.

Anybody remember this arcade game?

Le Mans 24 is interesting because at first glance it seems like it would follow by Scud Race's example, but it couldn't be a more different game. It was developed by AM3, who also were responsible for Sega Rally Championship, although Tetsuya Mizuguchi (who directed SRC as well as Rez, more notably) did not work on this one. In brief it doesn't look anywhere near as good as Scud Race (honestly has more visually in common with Model 2 games than Model 3) and the physics are wonky as all hell, especially if you attempt to play via a pad. I've heard the cabinet itself is a better experience, but even so I think there's a reason you never hear anyone talking about this one. It misses the mark set by Sega's other arcade racers. Which is a shame cause the car lineup is great (Skyline GT-R LM, Ferrari F40, McLaren F1, 911 GT1, Sauber C9 and 787B, along with an unlockable 917) and of course who wouldn't want to race on a miniaturized Le Mans with full day/night cycles and weather?

However, as a brief aside I just saw that exact Le Mans 24 flier on eBay for $10 and figured it'd make some great wall art! Should be getting it today.

 

[Wolfe]

You just piqued my curiosity but, sadly, I no longer have a PS2 and my laptop/toaster can't even work the PS2 emulator properly. Ridge Racer 4 is the only Namco racing game I've ever played but it's seems to me that R:Racing is perhaps a slightly more grown-up version of RR4 albeit with some of the elements that made me love it's predecessor: great BGM music and lovely girls implemented in a very classy way instead of the StreetRacingSyndicate way .

If it makes a difference, it was also a GCN and Xbox game.

Also, a "classy" depiction of women?

Spoiler

There's a shower scene in the story mode, because Japan.

 

[CarBastard]

If it makes a difference, it was also a GCN and Xbox game.

Also, a "classy" depiction of women?

Spoiler

There's a shower scene in the story mode, because Japan.

Well, it was classy at least in RR4, with Reiko Nagase in the intro and the lovely-fictional Sophie Chevalier as your team manager for the Micro Mouse Mapi team (the closing scene of her storyline gave me dem feelz). I'd have to examine the scene in question, you know, just for educational purposes , but I stand by what I said. I mean, SRS was a new low in the depiction of women in racing games. When I played SRS for the first time a few months ago, I couldn't see those videos without thinking "Poor girl, she thought Hot Import Nights or NOPI were gonna last forever and now she's proably working at a laundromat in a shady part of town to make ends meet".

 

[glassjaw]

If it makes a difference, it was also a GCN and Xbox game.

Also, a "classy" depiction of women?

Spoiler

There's a shower scene in the story mode, because Japan.

Completely forgot about that. Also, let's not forget the gratuitous cleavage shots of the two rivals, that were prominently featured on both sides of the box for people who couldn't take the hint that this game had WOMEN.

Even weirder, they put one of the characters on the box of Ridge Racer DS, a more or less straight port of RR64 that had no characters in it whatsoever

 

[CarBastard]

Completely forgot about that. Also, let's not forget the gratuitous cleavage shots of the two rivals, that were prominently featured on both sides of the box for people who couldn't take the hint that this game had WOMEN.

Even weirder, they put one of the characters on the box of Ridge Racer DS, a more or less straight port of RR64 that had no characters in it whatsoever

Still, nothing will ever be as bad as this:



@24:15 you get pretty much the idea. No game will ever have a command such as "Space bar: Hook-up" again, never will the association between women and cars be as cringeworthy .

 

[Stephan]

Still, nothing will ever be as bad as this:



@24:15 you get pretty much the idea. No game will ever have a command such as "Space bar: Hook-up" again, never will the association between women and cars be as cringeworthy .

As much as I am one of those people who likes girls/women in a racing game, SRS really took it too far. Sure R:Racing Evo had women characters as main characters, at least they have a purpose in the game plus they play an important role in R:Racing's story mode while SRS on the other hand used girls as hook-ups and nothing more. Plus not to mention that short clips of the girl dancing that you unlock in SRS when you complete missions involving them.

Also have we forgotten that Juiced 2 had women also but with HIN sponsorship? I had a hard time playing it on my PS3 because when I choose a race on thr career race screen, you will see HIN girls.

Now why is it hard to play? Because imagine choosing a race on career mode with someone watching (e.g parents, friends, cousins, or even your gf) and they see girls on it and they be like; "What is this? I thought its a racing game but with girls?, etc.".

NFS also had girls but at least they weren't that bad unlike SRS. This all started in Underground where you have Samantha and Melissa. Then came U2 where you have Brooke Burke as Rachel and Nikki. Then you have MW where Mia assists you and you also have 3 Blacklist members who are girls (BTW Izzy's actress is Rosa Mendes who happens to be a WWE diva). You also have Carbon in which one who happens to your ex and a crew leader. Then Undercover came and this is where they utilize Maggie Q well as the antagonist Chase Linh. And this continued in The Run where they once again acquired a celebrity named as Christina Hendricks who plays as Sam Harper who assists Jack Rourke (Sean Faris Vampire Diaries anyone?) in winning The Run.

So we would not see NFS utilizing girls again until the 2015 release where they feature Amy and Robyn who plays a role in the five disciplines in NFS2015.

BTW, are there any racing games out there (without counting the game adaptation of movies about racing) that uses well known celebrities? So far only NFS was able to do that.

 

[BKGlover]

As much as I am one of those people who likes girls/women in a racing game, SRS really took it too far. Sure R:Racing Evo had women characters as main characters, at least they have a purpose in the game plus they play an important role in R:Racing's story mode while SRS on the other hand used girls as hook-ups and nothing more. Plus not to mention that short clips of the girl dancing that you unlock in SRS when you complete missions involving them.

Also have we forgotten that Juiced 2 had women also but with HIN sponsorship? I had a hard time playing it on my PS3 because when I choose a race on thr career race screen, you will see HIN girls.

Now why is it hard to play? Because imagine choosing a race on career mode with someone watching (e.g parents, friends, cousins, or even your gf) and they see girls on it and they be like; "What is this? I thought its a racing game but with girls?, etc.".

NFS also had girls but at least they weren't that bad unlike SRS. This all started in Underground where you have Samantha and Melissa. Then came U2 where you have Brooke Burke as Rachel and Nikki. Then you have MW where Mia assists you and you also have 3 Blacklist members who are girls (BTW Izzy's actress is Rosa Mendes who happens to be a WWE diva). You also have Carbon in which one who happens to your ex and a crew leader. Then Undercover came and this is where they utilize Maggie Q well as the antagonist Chase Linh. And this continued in The Run where they once again acquired a celebrity named as Christina Hendricks who plays as Sam Harper who assists Jack Rourke (Sean Faris Vampire Diaries anyone?) in winning The Run.

So we would not see NFS utilizing girls again until the 2015 release where they feature Amy and Robyn who plays a role in the five disciplines in NFS2015.

BTW, are there any racing games out there (without counting the game adaptation of movies about racing) that uses well known celebrities? So far only NFS was able to do that.

Don't forget Karol Monroe from ProStreet.

Celebs? I've only got cameos coming to mind, and all GT. I'm freezing, so that doesn't help, but I imagine you can find them in blockbuster titles.

 

[glassjaw]

As much as I am one of those people who likes girls/women in a racing game, SRS really took it too far. Sure R:Racing Evo had women characters as main characters, at least they have a purpose in the game plus they play an important role in R:Racing's story mode while SRS on the other hand used girls as hook-ups and nothing more. Plus not to mention that short clips of the girl dancing that you unlock in SRS when you complete missions involving them.

Also have we forgotten that Juiced 2 had women also but with HIN sponsorship? I had a hard time playing it on my PS3 because when I choose a race on thr career race screen, you will see HIN girls.

Now why is it hard to play? Because imagine choosing a race on career mode with someone watching (e.g parents, friends, cousins, or even your gf) and they see girls on it and they be like; "What is this? I thought its a racing game but with girls?, etc.".

NFS also had girls but at least they weren't that bad unlike SRS. This all started in Underground where you have Samantha and Melissa. Then came U2 where you have Brooke Burke as Rachel and Nikki. Then you have MW where Mia assists you and you also have 3 Blacklist members who are girls (BTW Izzy's actress is Rosa Mendes who happens to be a WWE diva). You also have Carbon in which one who happens to your ex and a crew leader. Then Undercover came and this is where they utilize Maggie Q well as the antagonist Chase Linh. And this continued in The Run where they once again acquired a celebrity named as Christina Hendricks who plays as Sam Harper who assists Jack Rourke (Sean Faris Vampire Diaries anyone?) in winning The Run.

So we would not see NFS utilizing girls again until the 2015 release where they feature Amy and Robyn who plays a role in the five disciplines in NFS2015.

BTW, are there any racing games out there (without counting the game adaptation of movies about racing) that uses well known celebrities? So far only NFS was able to do that.

I think it became clear after the mid-00's that nobody wanted that fluff anymore, so games got away from it...and then EA brought it (kind of) back with NFS 2015

 

[Marc30599]

Has anybody played Scud Race aka Sega Super GT (for US and EU versions)?

When I first played this back in 2004, the graphics were great at that time for a 1996 game. Physics were like Daytona and Outrun but in a different way. It also features the BPR car series and you have 4 cars to choose from (as seen at the top).

I'm glad there's still some Scud Race pods around in my local arcade shops but age has worn them down. The brakes do not work plus sometimes the wheel gets stuck for unknown reason.

Love this game they had one in Chuckee Cheeses and I would always use 90% of my tokens playing this game! Good times

 

[-Fred-]

BTW, are there any racing games out there (without counting the game adaptation of movies about racing) that uses well known celebrities? So far only NFS was able to do that.

Chris Helmsworth did narrative work in Forza 6, but he did not appear physically anywhere in the game, as did a bunch of others (Tanner Foust, Derek and Justin Bell, Matt Farah, etc...) but I think the digital modeling of a celebrity to sell more games is a fad that has thankfully passed.

 

[McLaren]

Still, nothing will ever be as bad as this:



@24:15 you get pretty much the idea. No game will ever have a command such as "Space bar: Hook-up" again, never will the association between women and cars be as cringeworthy .

Wooow. Been a long time since I remember watching one of these clips. Pre-nutty Tila Tequila in there as well.

 

[Stephan]

Anyone who played the original NFS game (Road and Track Presents: The Need For Speed) has played the PS1/Saturn/DOS version but did anyone played the 3DO version?

From I can see and played the 3DO version, this I can describe as the definitive version of RnTp:TNFS.

Graphics were ok and not as jagged as the PS1/Saturn/DOS version plus the FPS matches the speed of each car. Plus it also featured a rival who has cheesy comments about your driving.

 

[glassjaw]

Anyone who played the original NFS game (Road and Track Presents: The Need For Speed) has played the PS1/Saturn/DOS version but did anyone played the 3DO version?

From I can see and played the 3DO version, this I can describe as the definitive version of RnTp:TNFS.

Graphics were ok and not as jagged as the PS1/Saturn/DOS version plus the FPS matches the speed of each car. Plus it also featured a rival who has cheesy comments about your driving.

I had the Saturn version. I don't remember much from the first NFS, honestly NFS II is where I really start paying attention to the series. The run of NFS II-High Stakes is amazing, and then HP2 later on being my favorite of the series and IMO one of the best arcade racers ever made.

 

[Matej]

Real shame NFS:HP2 on PS2 didn't offer simulation mode, that is what I especially loved about NFS titles on PS1. All vehicles handle as they have some sort of stability control prohibiting oversteer, not to mention overly excessive cornering speeds. I don't mind playing a good arcade game (HP2 was one, that's for sure), but older titles had something for sim fans as well, which was just amazing.

 

[glassjaw]

Real shame NFS:HP2 on PS2 didn't offer simulation mode, that is what I especially loved about NFS titles on PS1. All vehicles handle as they have some sort of stability control prohibiting oversteer, not to mention overly excessive cornering speeds. I don't mind playing a good arcade game (HP2 was one, that's for sure), but older titles had something for sim fans as well, which was just amazing.

The PS2 version offered "extreme" handling, but yeah I guess not really what sim fans were after. Though if you're looking for a sim experience out of NFS, I doubt you'll ever be satisfied.

 

[Stephan]

The PS2 version offered "extreme" handling, but yeah I guess not really what sim fans were after. Though if you're looking for a sim experience out of NFS, I doubt you'll ever be satisfied.

The only NFS that has come close to sim handling would be Porsche Unleashed or Shift 2 Unleashed (with the physics mod).

Talking about NFS, it seems that the Japanese versions of the older NFS games gets goodies such as Over Drivin (which has Nissans only and there's also Skyline Memorial which only features Skylines but uses the same game and it also features the R390 GT1 Race Car), also there's the Japanese version of Underground which replaces the Eastsiderz vinyl for the Skyline.

 

[glassjaw]

The only NFS that has come close to sim handling would be Porsche Unleashed or Shift 2 Unleashed (with the physics mod).

Talk about forgotten, I completely forgot about Shift. And that was only last gen! The path NFS has taken is so strange. They literally just bend to whatever is popular in the moment. The series could use some actual personality of its own.

 

[Stephan]

Talk about forgotten, I completely forgot about Shift. And that was only last gen! The path NFS has taken is so strange. They literally just bend to whatever is popular in the moment. The series could use some actual personality of its own.

Yep. Their problem is identity. The NFS series started as a supercar game like Test Drive then came the cops vs racers thing in NFSIII then came the FnF type of NFS and you also have sim NFS.

Ok back to forgotten racing games. Has anyone played Test Drive Overdrive?

This has to be the underrated Test Drive game. Car list is just like TD6 but lacks cars like the R390 GT1, AM Project Vantage, Toyota GT-One, and more. Has a story mode (the only Test Drive game to have a story mode without counting TDU and TDU2) and a decent soundtrack.

 

[Marc30599]

Yep. Their problem is identity. The NFS series started as a supercar game like Test Drive then came the cops vs racers thing in NFSIII then came the FnF type of NFS and you also have sim NFS.

Ok back to forgotten racing games. Has anyone played Test Drive Overdrive?

This has to be the underrated Test Drive game. Car list is just like TD6 but lacks cars like the R390 GT1, AM Project Vantage, Toyota GT-One, and more. Has a story mode (the only Test Drive game to have a story mode without counting TDU and TDU2) and a decent soundtrack.

I have been thinking about ordering this copy for my ps2 buuuut Idk since I won't really play my ps2 a lot after December when I finally catch up with everyone in terms of console generations

 

[glassjaw]

Yep. Their problem is identity. The NFS series started as a supercar game like Test Drive then came the cops vs racers thing in NFSIII then came the FnF type of NFS and you also have sim NFS.

Ok back to forgotten racing games. Has anyone played Test Drive Overdrive?

This has to be the underrated Test Drive game. Car list is just like TD6 but lacks cars like the R390 GT1, AM Project Vantage, Toyota GT-One, and more. Has a story mode (the only Test Drive game to have a story mode without counting TDU and TDU2) and a decent soundtrack.

I believe in the US this was just called "Test Drive." Played it once as a kid, remember literally nothing about it.

 

[yabiggoose]

I have Test Drive Overdrive on PS2 lol.

 

[FerrariF1GT]

Need For Speed GT

An arcade game based on the PC/GC/Xbox version of NFS Hot Pursuit 2. Very little information is known about the game, and I haven't found any video footage of the game in action. If there is, it's probably very low-quality and brief. I did see a cabinet of one of these a few years ago, but I didn't play it. I don't think there are many cabinets running this game left, and they've all moved on to Underground or Carbon.​

 

[Tornado]

Overdrive was weird. It played, controlled and even sounded a lot like they just made a PS2 version of Test Drive 5 or 6, which wasn't terribly out of the ordinary for an early PS2 game (that's essentially what GT3 was as well) and makes sense since Pitbull made it as well; but those two games had already had their teeth pretty thoroughly kicked in by NFS III and High Stakes; nevermind Hot Pursuit II. Really just the wrong game at the wrong time. Off Road Wide Open was a much bigger jump versus the Off Road games on the PSX.

 

[Matej]

Roadsters on PS1 or DC had huge potential. Renault Spider, pit work animation, car upgrades/tuning and 4-player racing were positive aspects. Unfortunately, handling was not good, or at least it seems that way judging the video below.

I'm surprised after this nobody tried to make a roadster-only driving game. There are bunch of classics we could drive around in open environment fashion.

 

[GTHuayra]

GT Advance series for the GBA.

I have a GBA at home, and apart from a couple games of Mario Kart, F-Zero and Mega Man every once in a while, it has collecting dust. But then on eBay, I found the first game (JP) and purchased it. It's basically a low-res, pseudo-3D Gran Turismo for the GBA. 45 JDM cars from the Daihatsu Midget to the the mighty 3000GT Turbo. I have sent away for the third game, which has 97 CARS (wow for a GBA game) including the ASL Garaiya! If you have a GBA or even a GBA emulator, do yourself a favor and get 1 & 3 (2 isn't up to much)

Note: If you buy or download the first game, make sure you get the JP version- Advance GTA. I've heard the other versions need a 16-digit passcode to save and load- yikes!

 

[JakeMR2]

GT Advance series for the GBA.

I have a GBA at home, and apart from a couple games of Mario Kart, F-Zero and Mega Man every once in a while, it has collecting dust. But then on eBay, I found the first game (JP) and purchased it. It's basically a low-res, pseudo-3D Gran Turismo for the GBA. 45 JDM cars from the Daihatsu Midget to the the mighty 3000GT Turbo. I have sent away for the third game, which has 97 CARS (wow for a GBA game) including the ASL Garaiya! If you have a GBA or even a GBA emulator, do yourself a favor and get 1 & 3 (2 isn't up to much)

Note: If you buy or download the first game, make sure you get the JP version- Advance GTA. I've heard the other versions need a 16-digit passcode to save and load- yikes!
View attachment 615095

View attachment 615097

I remember Ryno playing the GT Advance series they were interesting to look at.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

The 1st GT Advance was actually one of the first 2 GBA games I got. It was a Christmas present alongside my Gameboy Advance and Mario Kart: Super Circuit. I really enjoyed it, its physics weren't very good, but I didn't care. It felt the closest to playing a portable GT game for the longest time before PD released GTPSP.

Later on, I did eventually get the other 2 GT Advance titles with the original GT Advance and a Moto GP game in some combo GBA cartridge.

 

[rom30s]

road rage 3 the first game and i think only game that has a 91 ef9 honda civic sir hatch

 

[glassjaw]

Roadsters on PS1 or DC had huge potential. Renault Spider, pit work animation, car upgrades/tuning and 4-player racing were positive aspects. Unfortunately, handling was not good, or at least it seems that way judging the video below.

I'm surprised after this nobody tried to make a roadster-only driving game. There are bunch of classics we could drive around in open environment fashion.

I remember playing this on DC back in the day. Titus wasn't a particularly capable developer, but they managed something solid with Automobili Lamborghini on the N64. This was a step back from that. At least Lamborghini looked great and played decently, even if it was a bit boring. But Roadsters was right down there with Test Drive 6 in terms of quality (or lack thereof).