Little-Known or Forgotten Racing/Driving Games

[Sonygamer455]

What a fascinating thread! Surprised I didn't see it sooner.

Several forgotten racing games I could note, but I think I will start with this one:

Racing

Such a creative name for a game. Not much I can say about this very obscure game really. My brother got this game a long time ago when he was pretty young and sadly it was scratched all to heck and we never got it to work. However, I did play it on my PC years later, if you know what I mean, I didn't play it much though. It is on PSN, but I never see anyone talk about this game, let alone mention it pretty much anywhere. I'd be surprised if anyone here knows about it besides me.

 

[Stephan]

Anybody played Crash N Burn (PS2 and Xbox)?

To me this was underrated. You have 4 cars to choose from (Compact, Pickup, Muscle, and Sports) and yet the car customization is great. It's on par with NFS Underground 1's car customization in terms of body mods. The physics were decent at the time (enough to be decent for a demolition derby game) and the tracks were ok was well. Oh and also not to mention the soundtrack as well.

 

[glassjaw]

Regarding C1 Grand Prix, plenty of menu translations can be found on the internet here. I would really love to play that game someday, it has some really cool and original features.

Vanishing Point is my pick of the day. I played PSX version. The physics was not good, going around corners precisely was mostly a matter of luck, but the soundtrack and mood of the game were awesome. It also had "stunt driving", which basically combined elements from GT licences and real life gymkhana events. Video of the gameplay here:

Had VP on Dreamcast. It received a lot of praise at the time but I honestly think it's awful. The physics are a nuisance, the track design is bland and the racing just isn't fun. You end up spending more time trying to keep the car going in a straight line than anything else.



Lately I've been playing a lot of Sega Rally 2006. This tends to be the forgotten entry in the franchise, mostly because it was released exclusively in Asia, and partially because it wasn't particularly well received. I actually think the game is really solid. It can't compare to the original of course, but there are a lot of things this game gets right. The physics are great for an arcade racer, and I'd argue better than Sega Rally 2's. The car selection and course design could use some expansion, but at least you've got the four tracks from the original Sega Rally as well as the Celica, Delta and Stratos (along with the music!). Unfortunately, the career mode - in addition to being slightly annoying for anyone who doesn't know Japanese - is quite bland and repetitive, and also very hard.

Overall though, I would say this is a very respectable entry in the series, even moreso than Sega Rally 3/Revo, which was also good but didn't feel like Sega Rally to me. Even better, if you bought a first run copy, SR2006 came with a port of the arcade original. Which, up to that point, had never been released for home consoles. The Saturn and PC ports were a reasonable approximation with inferior hardware, but this is true 1:1, at 60 FPS with precise analog controls. It's the best version of SRC that's ever been released, and that alone makes both games worth picking up.

 

[Cowboy]

I think some of us can remember this game:

DT Racer was one if the first PS2 games I owned, and after having it for about ten years, I finally got the hang of the driving physics. It's a fun game, being kind of a Burnout/Gran Turismo like title.

 

[JR98]

Anybody played Crash N Burn (PS2 and Xbox)?

To me this was underrated. You have 4 cars to choose from (Compact, Pickup, Muscle, and Sports) and yet the car customization is great. It's on par with NFS Underground 1's car customization in terms of body mods. The physics were decent at the time (enough to be decent for a demolition derby game) and the tracks were ok was well. Oh and also not to mention the soundtrack as well.

I mentioned it ages ago, one of my favourite games on PS2. The damage on the cars was also amazing, and I thought there was more than 4 cars but that's probably because of the amazing car customization

Crash & Burn (PS2)

This was quite possibly my favourite PS2 game.

 

[glassjaw]

View attachment 603464 View attachment 603465
Both of these were really fun.

I'll go to bat for Beetle Adventure Racing, since it looks like nobody else did. Honestly one of the best racing games on N64 if not the best, which I know is empty praise on a system that had barely any racing games. But it was incredible fun, mostly due to the course design. The game had maybe like seven or eight tracks, but they were massive with so many different paths and shortcuts, places to discover and things to pickup. Some of the best environment design I've ever seen. You could spend hours driving these courses and still find something new. And the multiplayer battle mode was a blast too. My only issue with it was, if I remember correctly, this game is hard. I never finished it and I sunk a ridiculous amount of my childhood into it. The name is a shame because it comes off as a bargain bin advergame, but EA really outdid themselves here.

 

[Stephan]

I think some of us can remember this game:

View attachment 606212

DT Racer was one if the first PS2 games I owned, and after having it for about ten years, I finally got the hang of the driving physics. It's a fun game, being kind of a Burnout/Gran Turismo like title.

View attachment 606214 View attachment 606215

There was DT Carnage....

Same physics of DT Racer I think? There are new cars in DT Carnage, a story mode, and the introduction of offense and defense skills, weapon system, and driver progression.

 

[Tornado]

Since it was basically Need for Speed III with some kart racer trappings, I never understood why it stayed an N64 exclusive.

 

[Stephan]

I mentioned it ages ago, one of my favourite games on PS2. The damage on the cars was also amazing, and I thought there was more than 4 cars but that's probably because of the amazing car customization

There is one thing I don't get it though. I'm already done with Career Mode (all races and championships in 1st Place) but the game shows that I'm at 87℅ complete. Is there something else I'm missing? I still have the game and my save.

 

[JR98]

There is one thing I don't get it though. I'm already done with Career Mode (all races and championships in 1st Place) but the game shows that I'm at 87℅ complete. Is there something else I'm missing? I still have the game and my save.

I never got very far when I had it, so don't know what's exactly required for 100%

 

[Wolfe]

...Honestly one of the best racing games on N64 if not the best, which I know is empty praise on a system that had barely any racing games...

AeroGauge
Automobili Lamborghini
California Speed
Cruis'n USA
Cruis'n World
Cruis'n Exotica
Excitebike 64
Extreme-G
F-ZERO X
Mario Kart 64
Multi-Racing Championship
Off-Road Challenge
Ridge Racer 64
San Francisco Rush
Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA
Top Gear Overdrive
Top Gear Rally
Top Gear Rally 2
Wave Race 64

Off the top of my head...I suppose some of these qualify for mention in this thread, then. I owned or had rented every one of these; the N64 kept me well satisfied for racing games.

Beetle Adventure Racing is one I don't remember playing, but I did try Penny Racers once, and I now know it's a Choro Q game. Large and somewhat-open-ended tracks were a big part of the appeal of Rush 2 to me. Painting and tweaking a vehicle and then exploring the maps, zooming off of jumps and looking for secrets, was an experience ahead of its time.

 

[Tornado]

Compare that list to a similar list of racing titles available on the PSX and strip the ones that aren't really the same type of game and his statement seems pretty accurate.

 

[glassjaw]

AeroGauge
Automobili Lamborghini
California Speed
Cruis'n USA
Cruis'n World
Cruis'n Exotica
Excitebike 64
Extreme-G
F-ZERO X
Mario Kart 64
Multi-Racing Championship
Off-Road Challenge
Ridge Racer 64
San Francisco Rush
Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA
Top Gear Overdrive
Top Gear Rally
Top Gear Rally 2
Wave Race 64

Off the top of my head...I suppose some of these qualify for mention in this thread, then. I owned or had rented every one of these; the N64 kept me well satisfied for racing games.

Beetle Adventure Racing is one I don't remember playing, but I did try Penny Racers once, and I now know it's a Choro Q game. Large and somewhat-open-ended tracks were a big part of the appeal of Rush 2 to me. Painting and tweaking a vehicle and then exploring the maps, zooming off of jumps and looking for secrets, was an experience ahead of its time.

My mistake!

Barely any good ones.

 

[Wolfe]

Subjective quality or the PSX's large volume of software (and shovelware) doesn't change the fact that racing games were a staple in proportion to the N64's own library. Racing games were not one of the genres the system lacked. Fighting games or RPGs, on the other hand..

I also forgot Hydro Thunder, an evergreen classic (and coincidentally a better port on N64 than the PSX version).

 

[glassjaw]

My last response was a joke, but seeing as how this is still a point of contention...

Rolling Start, which specializes in this sort of thing, shows 332 racing games for PS1. For N64, they've got 65. Even the Dreamcast, which was around for three years (at best) compared to the N64's seven, had 57.

Compared to other systems, and considering the amount of time it was on sale, it didn't have many racing games. I'm sorry I didn't list those qualifiers, but then I never imagined I'd have to argue semantics over this.

 

[Sonygamer455]

I think some of us can remember this game:


DT Racer was one if the first PS2 games I owned,

Funny, I was just thinking about this game. My brother used to have it years ago. It came from a 3 pack Wal Mart used to sell. I hated all of them too.

and after having it for about ten years, I finally got the hang of the driving physics.

Wow, first you managed to beat the challenge series in MW 2005, now this? You must be a legend.

It's a fun game, being kind of a Burnout/Ridge Racer like title.

Fixed.

 

[Tornado]

I'm sure the fact that the N64 might have had a similar amount of games proportionately is probably of little consolation to someone who actually owned one and basically missed out on every big name and innovative game the genre had.

 

[rom30s]

I don't get it why Genki didn't release an NA/EU version of C1 Grand Prix. Should this have been released worldwide, then this would have been easily the best game that Genki has ever made. I mean this game combined the elements from Tokyo Xtreme Racer and Kaido Racer and making into a legal street racing game with TXR and Kaido Racer elements. Not to mention a good livery editor plus you can even edit your garage.

The car list is also interesting as well. You even have minivans in the game as well.[/QUOTE]



This and other great titles like D1 professional drift has tempted me to either source a Japanese PS2 or get a mod chip for my PS2.

 

[Stephan]

This and other great titles like D1 professional drift has tempted me to either source a Japanese PS2 or get a mod chip for my PS2.

I still have that game. The Survival mode is very hard especially if you face the top D1GP drivers such as Manabu Orido, Masato Kawabata, Yasuyuki Kazama, Nobushige Kumakubo, Nobuteru Taniguchi, Ryuji Miki and even Keiichi Tsuchiya himself serves as the final boss I think.

 

[Wolfe]

@glassjaw -- I wasn't looking to start an argument; I had figured the emoticon in the first post would indicate so. I apologize for not indicating my last reply was meant more for @Tornado.

I'm sure the fact that the N64 might have had a similar amount of games proportionately is probably of little consolation to someone who actually owned one and basically missed out on every big name and innovative game the genre had.

That the PSX has more games, that the N64 didn't have Need for Speed or Gran Turismo, or your personal estimation of the games on each platform has no bearing on my comment that the N64 had more than barely any racing games.

I'm intimately familiar with the experience of owning a Nintendo console that lacks racing games to play, and the N64 was not that.

 

[Tornado]

that the N64 didn't have Need for Speed or Gran Turismo

Or Test Drive (7 titles). Or TOCA (3 titles). Or F1 games (5 titles). Or, for the most part, anything that required much in the way of production values, because typically the only company who was willing to risk more than the bare minimum on the N64 was the one who sold the thing.



And no, the fact that it had barely any racing games is why it had barely any racing games. I'm sorry you were stuck with an N64 for that console generation, and I'm glad you were able to make the most of it with trash like Cruis'n USA and Off Road Challenge (both of which I am intimately familiar with and were every bit as bad as the shovelware PSX game at the top of this page), but there's no reason to pretend you had a breadth of options to choose from on the system. A system can't miss out on literally all of the heavy hitters in the genre (aside from the odd pity releases like Ridge Racer 64) which all played a part in pushing the genre to its peak during the PS2 generation, and then reasonably claim to be a staple genre on the system; and since you brought up games like Mario Kart 64 and F-Zero X to bolster your point I'm pretty sure you had to knew that.

If you wanted pure arcade games full of made up cars with middling production values? The N64 was probably fine. All the ports of interchangable Midway arcade games you could ever want.
What if you didn't? Hope you like Beetle Adventure Racing, because that was about all there was that was directly comparable to anything on the PSX; and glassjaw isn't out of line in the slightest for pointing that out.

 

[rom30s]

N64 vs PS1 this argument is funny, I feel like im back in 1998 in primary school hearing this.

then again the argument never ends, now being xbox vs playstation.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

Well, I just skimmed the thread and now I think I can give my insight. There's quite a few of the games mentioned that I actually have played and I own.

Penny Racers (PS2): In the US, this is actually called "Gadget Racers". It's actually the first in a racing game series developed by Takara called "Choro Q HG". Yeah, kinda an odd name of a series. Anyway, my earliest memory of this game was playing it at a friends house shortly after his mom bought him a new PS2 and before I got mine. We played mainly 2 player and I had fun with it to a point that I picked my own copy out at a Gamestop my dad took me when I was little. It was addicting to me, the physics were quite good for an arcade racer, the challenges and races were fun, the small cars were cute, I loved the soundtrack, and I had a lot of laughs. Really, this is a silly game; you can even drive a chicken leg in it.


Corvette Evolution GT (PS2): I got this thinking it was a sequel to the "Corvette" racing game and it wasn't. Though I did like the car selection and the gameplay style. Though I had a hard time adjusting to the physics and I recall some of the car models in this game being horrible. Really, this game had one of the worst models of a C6 Corvette I have ever seen.

R: Racing Evolution (PS2): I rented this back when I had gamefly and I recall having fun with the game, thought I didn't play it that much unfortunately. I might go look for it later on and buy it.

DT Racer: The Enzo like car on the cover drew me into getting this for my PS2 and I played it a couple of times before shelving it. Then, I eventually sold it to gamestop for a few dollars. I was a kid when I played this and I couldn't get past the physics. So, I just called it quits after trying it a couple of times.

-----

Now, here's a title that I'm not sure how known it is.

This was one of the most fun racing games I played as a kid. Also, it's the only Hotwheels game I ever played. Though granted, I enjoyed it more for battle mode than for the racing. I loved the multiple arenas that you could battle hw cars in along with the powerups. My friends and I had quite a few fun nights battling each other in this game. I recently bought it at a game shop and it's still quite fun, though the physics aren't the best.

 

[Wolfe]

...Hope you like Beetle Adventure Racing, because that was about all there was that was directly comparable to anything on the PSX; and glassjaw isn't out of line in the slightest for pointing that out.

I missed the part where glassjaw compared the game to the PSX library, or the part where I confronted him out of interest in a PSX vs N64 pissing match.

Chill out. I have no energy for this, and this thread is no place for it.

 

[Matej]

Is DT Racer on PS2 really that bad? I watched some quality videos of both single and multiplayer mode and it seems there are many elements one should look forward to in this game. The handling may not that good (based on car motions during the play), but I'm sure there are worse examples out there, some of which were mentioned in this thread specifically.

Sense of speed, for instance, is brilliant and as a supporter of 2P modes I strongly admire additional 2 AI opponents to keep two players entertained.

 

[Tyger]

Had VP on Dreamcast. It received a lot of praise at the time but I honestly think it's awful. The physics are a nuisance, the track design is bland and the racing just isn't fun. You end up spending more time trying to keep the car going in a straight line than anything else.

I can understand why some people dislike it but I enjoyed it a lot, and the DC version is definitely the best looking if you have a DC. The physics are far from realistic and kinda harsh, but it was real heart in the mouth stuff, and I loved that some of the tracks were a bit of a rollercoaster, you could risk taking the crests fast but would lose a lot of grip. I seem to remember it was pretty much based on overtaking as many cars as you could, in the same style as older games like Top Gear? The stunt courses were fun too, although a bit surreal at times.

 

[glassjaw]

This was one of the most fun racing games I played as a kid. Also, it's the only Hotwheels game I ever played. Though granted, I enjoyed it more for battle mode than for the racing. I loved the multiple arenas that you could battle hw cars in along with the powerups. My friends and I had quite a few fun nights battling each other in this game. I recently bought it at a game shop and it's still quite fun, though the physics aren't the best.

Never played this but it reminds me: Hot Wheels Turbo Racing was an absolute gem. Also EA-produced, like Beetle Adventure Racing (and, as fate would have it, another one of the N64's best racers). I never put it together until now but EA did some excellent work with multiplatform racing games.

But yeah, Turbo was fun as hell. Much of the praise I directed at BAR I could repeat here. Just a really inventive, solid arcade racer with unexpectedly amazing music. It was all licensed, but EA took excellent care in curating the soundtrack. Primus, Meat Beat Manifesto, Mix Master Mike, Metallica, Reverend Horton Heat, even Link Wray. It was weird and all over the place but so, so, SO good.

 

[Wolfe]

I would not have expected that a Hot Wheels game could be any good, but I actually got a copy of Turbo Racing as a gift back in the day and it was surprisingly fun.

 

[Downhill Dino]

Is DT Racer on PS2 really that bad? I watched some quality videos of both single and multiplayer mode and it seems there are many elements one should look forward to in this game. The handling may not that good (based on car motions during the play), but I'm sure there are worse examples out there, some of which were mentioned in this thread specifically.

Sense of speed, for instance, is brilliant and as a supporter of 2P modes I strongly admire additional 2 AI opponents to keep two players entertained.

Sort of related but driving backwards on the oval course and ramming an AI at high speed (with boost/nitrous) could send you to the map cieling. The game's a little frustrating with its physics, as you seemingly slide for no reason. Racibg felt more like an effort to see if yoy could go through the race undamaged rather then win. Really the only downfall of the game, just didn't feel right.

 

[rom30s]

this was a great game, I loved the physics of the cars.

it had a great selection of cars as well, except even though the bug eye wrx is on the cover Ive never seen it in the game.

Im pretty sure this game is a console version of the arcade game battle gear.