Little-Known or Forgotten Racing/Driving Games

[SuperShouden]

Super Trucks Racing, Viper Racing, NASCAR Dirt to Daytona, Test Drive: Eve of Destruction (they need to make a PS3 version of this), Leadfoot, Powerslide...Most things by Monster Games inc and Ratbag Games.

The creators of Super Trucks Racing also did a Sport Truck Racing game, but it's rare and the reviews are very mixed.

 

[Northstar]

NASCAR Dirt to Daytona,

This was my first NASCAR game, I would say it's probably still my favorite console NASCAR game as the career mode was really fun even though it didn't have many real drivers. I really wish they would have gotten the license instead of EA.

 

[Tornado]

Ahhhh... time for a bump.

Two Neo-Geo racing games that is apparently little-known:

[Youtube]GgyCPL6y3Z0[/Youtube]

Neo Drift Out (sequel to Drift Out '94 that JohnBM01 mentioned )

I loved Neo Drift Out when I was growing up. Great fun.

 

[Golfman]

Here's a few you may have forgotten about:

Jaguar XJ220, on the Sega Mega-CD. By Core Design. It had a great soundtrack.
F1 Challenge, on the Saturn. By Sega. It also had a great soundtrack by Richard Jacques.
Super Trucks, on the PS2. By Jester(the makers of the Music series). Probably the only true simulation of truck racing done on console.

 

[MagpieRacer]

A quick one from me:

Total Drivin'


Had many disciplines such as rally, dakar, touring, and sports cars, lots of tracks which were great to drive and was a lot of fun.

 

[tankuroded]

Bump again .

Super Drift Out: basically a (unoffical) Drift Out '94 home port (because both were all based in 1994 WRC season)



Drift Out ['91]: the original DriftOut, with cars from 1991 WRC season 👍
(note: the stage in the video is not the startup race)



And yes, this is most rare (). Namco's 500GP. It's long video, so skip to 6:32 for gameplay.

 

[JohnBM01]

It makes no sense to bump an old thread without anything truly useful. Returning to my YouTube roots, I still somewhat seek rare racing titles. I have not given up my YouTube playlist which bears the same name as this thread. Here are some titles I've been able to find, and both of these games are with formula cars:

F1 Super Lap - 1992, Sega


Come on now- doesn't this game look bloody brilliant for its time? This is the sequel to "F1 Exhaust Note."


"Slipstream" - Capcom, 1995


Unless you're from Brazil, I bet you didn't know that Capcom created a racing game LONG before getting the MotoGP license or Auto Modellista. Slipstream was Capcom's vision of what Formula 1 racing should be like. There are basically four F1 cars, each with two variations.


I actually tried to find more than just games with formula cars. Two others I wanted to make note of were Formula 1 Championship Edition (long-forgotten PS3 title) and a Japanese game called Cyber Formula: Road to the Infinity. APEX is a forgotten racers for the XBOX. Two other games to randomly throw out are WRC Rally Evolved (which would have been GREAT if sold in the United States) and GTC Global Touring Challenge.


Remember- this post is not just about good past racing games, but racing games that are purely forgotten or little-known. Rare racing games are also the name of the game.

 

[lbsf1]

It makes no sense to bump an old thread without anything truly useful. Returning to my YouTube roots, I still somewhat seek rare racing titles. I have not given up my YouTube playlist which bears the same name as this thread. Here are some titles I've been able to find, and both of these games are with formula cars:

F1 Super Lap - 1992, Sega


Come on now- doesn't this game look bloody brilliant for its time? This is the sequel to "F1 Exhaust Note."

That is amazing considering that this game was released in that year as well. Such a huge difference.

 

[Crispy]

F1:CE was my first PS3 game, back when I was a NFS player so I couldn't control the cars at all! A couple months ago I went back to it. Such an amazing game. It really feels better than the current F1 games.

I also remember the Tokyo Extreme Racer series. I have TXRDrift, TXRZero (Greatest intro of a game ever, well besides Halo 3), and TXRTHree.

I kinda feel Halo: ODST has become forgotten. Usually a Halo game has people talking a year, two, usually three years after the games release. Here we are just past two years and nobody talks about it, plays it, or anything. Of course it wasn't the great of a game. A good story overshadowed by a short Campaign. A great game mode (Firefight) overshadowed by the lack of Matchmaking for it. And a whole game overshadowed by one large problem. For all it had, it was just an expansion. I could imagine $40.00 for it, like Halo Anniversary, but $60.00 for an added four hours? Not enough. Seemed like an extra funding project for Halo Reach.

 

[AOS-]

Elasto Mania.... that was a silly game that gets extremely technical.

 

[JohnBM01]

I kinda feel Halo: ODST has become forgotten. Usually a Halo game has people talking a year, two, usually three years after the games release. Here we are just past two years and nobody talks about it, plays it, or anything. Of course it wasn't the great of a game. A good story overshadowed by a short Campaign. A great game mode (Firefight) overshadowed by the lack of Matchmaking for it. And a whole game overshadowed by one large problem. For all it had, it was just an expansion. I could imagine $40.00 for it, like Halo Anniversary, but $60.00 for an added four hours? Not enough. Seemed like an extra funding project for Halo Reach.

All due respect... the post is on little-known or forgotten RACING/DRIVING games. How did "HALO: ODST" get here? Just sayin'...

 

[Crispy]

All due respect... the post is on little-known or forgotten RACING/DRIVING games. How did "HALO: ODST" get here? Just sayin'...

I had a dumb moment in there! Sorry for the mistake, I hope it doesn't happen again!

 

[MagpieRacer]

Network Q RAC Rally - 1996

This was a rally game based on the British Rally Championship, was really reeally good fun. Stages were very long which was unheard of in rally games of the 1990's. Brings back many memories watching the video.

 

[AOS-]

D1GP and Auto Modellista.

 

[SuperShouden]

I totally forget what game this was in, but, I remember a game where the names of the players were interactive to the point where as a car got damaged, the name above the car could get damaged as well...or was than an FPS...I don't know, but it was a cool mechanic that I wish other games would implement.

 

[Submerged]

Damn!

I remember Network Q Rally! That brings me back. Didn't play it, but knew mates who had it. Was pretty tricky at the time with a keyboard though.

 

[Deko Wolf-GTPT]

I totally forget what game this was in, but, I remember a game where the names of the players were interactive to the point where as a car got damaged, the name above the car could get damaged as well...or was than an FPS...I don't know, but it was a cool mechanic that I wish other games would implement.

Was it R: Racing Evolution? The opponents had a bar above their cars showing the "heat/pressure", the longer you hang behind them, and trick them with overtaking maneuvers, the quicker the bar fills. Once filled to the max, the driver does a mistake, usually resulting going off the track.

The game had a really interesting gameplay. Even a story to go with. The game also used the chat system found in Ace Combat 4. Where at times, you could hear other drivers talk over the radio, mostly complaining about your performance.
It also featured a settings menu, where you could adjust everything from downforce, to suspension, brake balance, etc...You could also "evolve" your cars, as you could buy performance packs that made the car better.

The batch of cars was interesting too, it went from LMP, to Super GT, WRC, drag and classic cars. Even featured the monaco and suzuka. 👍
I really enjoy that game. Still have, and I still give it an occasional spin.
Not sure about this, but I think this was made by the same team who makes the Ridge Race series. This was their taking on real racing.

In my opinion, the best "racing" game that I've seen in my generation.


...not to mention the super hot main characters!

 

[C-ZETA]

I've got a good one. GT Advance - the whole series, that is - for GameBoy Advance. Despite the name it has nothing to do with the GT here, although all the cars in all of the games are Japanese. There isn't a whole lot of good footage anywhere, but trust me, it's by far best if you play it for yourself. I particularly like the 2nd one - entirely rally based, and the Japanese version had special unlicensed versions of European cars. Most underrated gaming series ever to be truly honest.

 

[GumShoe]

Network Q RAC Rally - 1996

This was a rally game based on the British Rally Championship, was really reeally good fun. Stages were very long which was unheard of in rally games of the 1990's. Brings back many memories watching the video.

Oh boy did I love that game. Had a non-FFB Mad Katz wheel, I played that game non-stop for a long time!

Absolute classic.

 

[SuperShouden]

Was it R: Racing Evolution? The opponents had a bar above their cars showing the "heat/pressure", the longer you hang behind them, and trick them with overtaking maneuvers, the quicker the bar fills. Once filled to the max, the driver does a mistake, usually resulting going off the track.

The game had a really interesting gameplay. Even a story to go with. The game also used the chat system found in Ace Combat 4. Where at times, you could hear other drivers talk over the radio, mostly complaining about your performance.
It also featured a settings menu, where you could adjust everything from downforce, to suspension, brake balance, etc...You could also "evolve" your cars, as you could buy performance packs that made the car better.

The batch of cars was interesting too, it went from LMP, to Super GT, WRC, drag and classic cars. Even featured the monaco and suzuka. 👍
I really enjoy that game. Still have, and I still give it an occasional spin.
Not sure about this, but I think this was made by the same team who makes the Ridge Race series. This was their taking on real racing.

In my opinion, the best "racing" game that I've seen in my generation.


...not to mention the super hot main characters!

No...I remember playing this game and not even noticing this destructive player name feature until I drove over a letter and was like "wait..did I just drive over a letter? Does that mean the names are...oh yeah, they are...that's freakin' awesome!"

 

[JohnBM01]

The GT games on the Nintendo systems is really Nintendo's only exclusive racing offerings outside of the Mario Kart series. I remembered playing GT Cube, and what I didn't know was that GT Cube (a Japanese-exclusive title) would be launched in the US as GT Pro Series with the Wii. I actually would play the heck out of the GT Advance games if I had a Game Boy Advance.

Here are a few more videos of racing games not well known to many of us:

Cyber Formula: Road to the Infinity (200?, PS2)



This title figures to be an also-ran in the PS2 gaming realm, considering (then) SquareSoft made "Racing Lagoon," a pretty interesting title that never(?) found its way to the United States:

Driving Emotion Type-S (2000, PlayStation 2)



By the way... someone mentioned Motorhead for the PlayStation 1. That game has some very cool music from what I've heard in a video. I also noted this game was made by Gremlin, which I know better for lovely titles like the Top Gear (Top Racer) series, the Lotus games for the Genesis/Megadrive and PC, and stuff like that.

 

[SuperShouden]

Vanishing Point was also a good racing game for the PS1. It didn't have anything at all to do with the movie, or a real damage model, but the vehicle line-up was actaully pretty cool and one the first few to include SUVs and trucks outside of an off-road game. It also had some creative side games like long jump and capture the flag that were fun and I remember playing this game with a friend and actually having a lot of fun.

Vehicle list:

Alfa Romeo GTV 3.0
Aston Martin DB7
Aston Martin V8
Audi TT Cabriolet
Audi TT
Austin Mini
BMW325i
Dodge Viper RT/10
Dodge Viper GTS
Ford Mustang Cobra R
Ford Explorer
Ford Taurus
Ford Focus
Ford Thunderbird
Ford Mustang Cobra
Ford Windstar
Ford Ranger
Lincoln Town Car
Jaguar XKR
Lotus Elise 111S
Lotus Elise
Mercury Sable Wagon
Lotus Esprit
TVR Cerbera
Shelby Cobra
Volkswagen Beetle
TVR Griffith
Volkswagen Golf
Toyota Supra
Volkswagen Microbus

So a lot of unique vehicles, a descent soundtrack and actually kinda fun...although...the stupid balloon popping game was rather annoying and totally ruined "99 Red Balloons" for me. Yeah, it was just a game mode where you to drive around an arena with an uneven floor popping 99 Red Balloons...listening to 99 Red Balloons....it was stupid. But, other than that...kinda fun.

 

[Deko Wolf-GTPT]

I never understood "Total Immersion Racing"
Seriously...from all the reviews and trailers from the time, it got me thinking that the A.I. was like...super-duper hard and smarter than other games. But when I finally get to play the game I'm like....what?

Another loved/hated game, although remembered by many, and at the same time forgotten is the first real rival of the Gran Turismo Series...

Enthusia. Professional Racing

I admit, the bad things of this game overshadows the good ones. But still, it's a really, REALLY enjoyable game. It has a great collection of cars.
Not to mention the tracks, woow! Don't even get me started on that!
Every track (besides Nurburgring) are all original (made-up) but in real life locations. They are all really, really great tracks. And every one has it's own sound tracks. It even has a dakar inspired stage, and a touge stage with night/day variations.

I know most of you will remember this game, but if you think about it, a long time has passed by since it was released, and it quickly was crushed by GT4 (lauched on the same day! )

 

[Clark]

 

[Spagetti69]

Revs C64.

Featured Brands hatch and Silverstone.
Loved it.

 

[Bopop4]

I don't know what it is called but I remember renting a PS2 game when I was younger and you could make a custom car by choosing different body parts and then actually stretching and changing the shape of them. You could make a longtail supercar or a short little WRC type car. The racing was also pretty fun.

 

[SuperShouden]

I never understood "Total Immersion Racing"
Seriously...from all the reviews and trailers from the time, it got me thinking that the A.I. was like...super-duper hard and smarter than other games. But when I finally get to play the game I'm like....what?

Another loved/hated game, although remembered by many, and at the same time forgotten is the first real rival of the Gran Turismo Series...

Enthusia. Professional Racing

I admit, the bad things of this game overshadows the good ones. But still, it's a really, REALLY enjoyable game. It has a great collection of cars.
Not to mention the tracks, woow! Don't even get me started on that!
Every track (besides Nurburgring) are all original (made-up) but in real life locations. They are all really, really great tracks. And every one has it's own sound tracks. It even has a dakar inspired stage, and a touge stage with night/day variations.

I know most of you will remember this game, but if you think about it, a long time has passed by since it was released, and it quickly was crushed by GT4 (lauched on the same day! )

Yeah, Enthusia was touted as a GT killer and was released actually just days after GT4 was along side Forza 1. (Yes...in the amount of time PD created GT5, Forza has made 4 games...weird, huh? But both Forza 1 and Enthusia were released on March 5th, 2005 and GT4 was released on Feb. 22nd, 2005)

While Forza did eventually become a GT killer...or at least a major competitor depending on who you ask, Enthusia did not. It definitely had the potential to be one, but it's negatives were really apparent and bad. The car selection was just as quirky as Vanishing Point with minivans and SUVs along side supercars and race cars. And everything expect the really annoying leveling system was actually really cool...but seriously, you actually had to be a god at this game to play at the higher levels, because you'd get close and then lose 1 race and be knocked all the way back to a much lower level....and the system itself was rather confusing and even when you read on how it worked, you never really understood it. But other than that and the fact that every once and a while it would give the an impossible to beat opponent, kinda like the Vector LM Race Car in the 2 Hour Trail Mountain race in GT2. But seriously, I remember getting a car that should win and somehow the AI would bring out like an NSX or something and destroy me. And really, after you unlock the touge and dakar stages...nothing else really mattered. Seriously, the game is worth playing for those two levels alone. Makes me want to get out my PS2 and buy it again.

 

[Rykon Zero]

Hmm, I actually remember an old, old game I used to play, called Motorhead. I can hardly remember any of it, but it was a really profound game to me, while NFS:3 was accessible (though difficult) to my four year old self, Motorhead was impenetrable. We have the CD somewhere, but it's lost to my mind. Here's the link to the Wiki page and though it doesn't contain much information, it's all I could ever dig up about the game.

 

[Spagetti69]

Enthusia? Isn't that when people want to end it all?

 

[Rykon Zero]

No, that's euthanasia. Slightly, different, and you don't want to go mixing them up when you go to the nearest shopping center.