Arcade-style racing games

[electricmastro]

Racing games that take place in "realistic" environments, but don't necessarily follow real-life physics and take on a more arcade-style whimsical approach. Some of my favorite series of such games would have to include:

OutRun

Burnout

Midnight Club

FlatOut

Top Gear

Rush

Cruis'n

Asphalt

[Reaperman]

How did we never get a sequel to Split/Second?  Still on Steam, well worth it. It's big problem is that it's from the 'brown and gritty' years.  There's even this kind of 'donkey kong on wheels' explosive barrel-dodging minigame mode. I basically stop progressing in the game when that unlocks (early in season2), and just keep playing donkey kong over and over again for high score. --that's not a fail, I guess, but it means I've only ever gotten about halfway through the game's main campaign.

 

I really miss the pre-paradise Burnout games, especially Burnout Takedown, and it's well known that I think (Rush 2049se) is as close as it gets to a perfect game.

 

 

Edited June 22, 2022 by Reaperman

[Tanooki]

Screamer 1 and 2 for PC (DOS CD releases, they're GoG.com games these days) was the closest thing to Ridge Racer/arcade racer the PC got in that period(year or two around those.)

 

See for yourself

#1 - https://www.gog.com/en/game/scream

#2 - https://www.gog.com/en/game/screamer_2

Edited June 22, 2022 by Tanooki

[Reaperman]

4 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

Screamer 1 and 2 for PC (DOS CD releases, they're GoG.com games these days) was the closest thing to Ridge Racer/arcade racer the PC got in that period(year or two around those.)

Whiplash gets pretty close to Ridge Racer from that era too--I have lots of good memories of that one. Track gets a little crazier on Whiplash, jumps/loops etc.

 

OOh, jumps and loops reminds me, I forgot the extreme g series.  The first one came out at exactly the right time to make the n64 have some kind of value to me ?, but really the 4th one, XGRA is probably objectively the best. 

Edited June 22, 2022 by Reaperman

[Tanooki]

I know it's out of consideration maybe due to how basic (early polygonal dos game) it is, but Broderbund had STUNTS.  That thing basically out tricked Hard Racin and Hard Drivin, fantastic game and had its own course maker that was pretty robust (like the fzero one on 64dd good.)

[electricmastro]

1 hour ago, Reaperman said:

How did we never get a sequel to Split/Second? 

 

 

I heard that it was said to not to have done as well that it could of since it released around the same time as the more popular Blur and ModNation Racers, basically oversaturation.

[Reaperman]

22 minutes ago, electricmastro said:

I heard that it was said to not to have done as well that it could of since it released around the same time as the more popular Blur and ModNation Racers, basically oversaturation.

Blur--I remember BLUR!  It's one of only a select few games where watching the ad made me decide never to play the game.  

 

'it's a kart racer for REAL DUDES, not widdle kids, so instead of showing even one second of gameplay, we're going to talk about ball-hair'

 

 

Edited June 22, 2022 by Reaperman

[electricmastro]

33 minutes ago, Reaperman said:

Blur--I remember BLUR!  It's one of only a select few games where watching the ad made me decide never to play the game.  

 

'it's a kart racer for REAL DUDES, not widdle kids, so instead of showing even one second of gameplay, we're going to talk about ball-hair'

 

 

Probably a prime example of the assumed mindset in the 2000s and early 2010s of the gaming public mainly wanting modern and gritty games as opposed to nostalgic and colorful, as if there was not much room for the latter.

Edited June 22, 2022 by electricmastro

[Flojomojo]

I think Pole Position was the first driving game to emphasize your time rather than strictly having to stay on the road. I appreciated that you didn't EXPLODE for going off the track .... unless you hit a billboard. 

 

I remember reading that Ed Logg used the same physics engine as Hard Drivin' for San Francisco Rush, but messed with the gravity to make sure you caught maximum air. The long-running Asphalt 8 game on mobile is the heir apparent to that great game, and the Apple Arcade version doesn't have micro transactions. 

 

Please add Need for Speed to the list of fun arcade racers. The modern NFS games don't have much in common with the 3DO original, but they're still lots of fun, especially the many flavors of Hot Pursuit. 

[electricmastro]

4 minutes ago, Flojomojo said:

Please add Need for Speed to the list of fun arcade racers. The modern NFS games don't have much in common with the 3DO original, but they're still lots of fun, especially the many flavors of Hot Pursuit. 

Is Need for Speed more realistic simulation oriented or whimsical arcade? I see categorizations go back and forth.

[Flojomojo]

It's definitely not realistic, but it's less wacky than some on your list. 

 

<--more realistic --- less realistic -->

Gran Turismo ... Need for Speed ... Cruis'n

 

Like Burnout or Midnight Club. 

[electricmastro]

14 minutes ago, Flojomojo said:

It's definitely not realistic, but it's less wacky than some on your list. 

 

<--more realistic --- less realistic -->

Gran Turismo ... Need for Speed ... Cruis'n

 

Like Burnout or Midnight Club. 

It's weird, since the original 3DO game really wasn't about racing, but more so mainly about casually driving and not getting in anyone else's way.

 

[akator]

The Ridge Racer series was one of my all time favorites.  This year I replayed PSP Ridge Racer 2 using PPSSPP with improved graphics and had a blast.  PS3 Ridge Racer 7 was the "modern" high point, beautiful graphics and settings, and the same fun arcade racing.  Sadly, Namco farmed development of the last RR game to Bugbear and it became just another gritty me-too Burnout wannabee, losing everything that made the series unique and fun.

 

Arcade racers don't get much love these days, thankfully we have so many excellent titles on our classic systems to enjoy.

[youxia]

I guess you could do some racing in Carmageddon too ?

 

 

[electricmastro]

43 minutes ago, youxia said:

I guess you could do some racing in Carmageddon too ?

 

 

Some might say this skews more towards games like Carmageddon and Twisted Metal, but I think it still ultimately has that racing feel:

 

 

[TheDevil'sCompass]

Enduro (Atari 2600)

Hang-On / Super Hang-On

[electricmastro]

Rumble Racing:

 

[Hwlngmad]

I need to try this one as it looks pretty cool.

 

[Steven Pendleton]

This thread suddenly reminded me of that horrifying... uh... noise... in the beginning of Amiga Out Run.

 

 

[homerj]

Hydro Thunder & Splashdown 2.  I’d say Rally Cross & Waverace but they probably lean more towards realism. 

[roots.genoa]

GTI Club ?

[+GoldenWheels]

I built a Fanatec setup, but was kind of ahead of myself--I didn't realize it was mostly supported by sim racers, and I don't like sim racers at all (frankly I've wanted an arcade driving set up my whole life and was gonna do the project come hell or high water).

 

Thank goodness for Need for Speed: PayBack. Awesome arcade racing, tons of cars, tons of visual customization, tons of gametypes (drag races, drift races, jumps, cop chases, ETC!), huge environment, etc etc etc. The story and characters are pretty cringe but that almost makes it better. This one game literally made my Fanatec investment worth it (in my mind anyway). Every time someone comes into my basement and is overwhelmed by their options...they almost always settle on the driving set up. And they have a blast.

[Rhomaios]

On 6/22/2022 at 4:17 PM, Flojomojo said:

Please add Need for Speed to the list of fun arcade racers. The modern NFS games don't have much in common with the 3DO original, but they're still lots of fun, especially the many flavors of Hot Pursuit. 

NFS Hot Pursuit II on the PS2 is one of my favorites, and the last game before they got silly with customization. Just give me some cool cars and let me drive! Instead of going forward, I ended up going backwards. There are a bunch of good arcade-style DC racers:

 

Crazy Taxi I & II

Metropolis Street Racer

Re-Volt (cart-ish)

Tokyo Xtreme Racer 1 & 2

Vanishing Point (underrated!)

 

Thinking about it, I wonder if something like NFS, Vanishing Point, etc. are less "arcade racers" and more "console racers," but they're definitely not sim racers or even sim-lites.

[Reaperman]

Lately, I've been playing Motorstorm: Pacific Rift for the very first time. 👍👍

 

The demo of the first motorstorm was an incredible nearly life-changing introduction to what 'next gen' meant on ps3, but after buying the full game, those demo levels were the absolute best part.  Boy howdy, did they fix that demo-too-good "problem" next time around, the Pacific Rift demo was so bad I never bought the game.

 

Until I found it at the thrift store for $4, and got around to playing it this week.  Holy jeez!  The game is thoughtfully divided into four basic track/scenery types: earth, air, fire and water--and you can pretty much imagine how each one plays. There is a lot of motorstorming action in this game.  So much that after one play session, I went ahead and ordered Motorstorm Apocalypse, which I've also never played.

 

The thing I like most about motorstorm is that it's a 'you have to stay flexible' racer, because there are many paths, and vehicle choice, as well as how you land that shaky jump you just took are THE big factors in which paths are viable. 🤣 The whole game is like walking on ice with your knees slightly bent.  The offroad nature, and tires that never fully hook up, removes much of the precision leading up to the big jumps, but while in the air, there seems to be a slight 'hand of god' making a little more of it work out than probably should.

[NeonSpaceBeagle]

I LOVE the motorstorm games ! There's even a late run PS2 game called motorstorm artic edge or something and it's really good.   I wish Sony would do a remaster compilation of all four for the PS5!  GT7 is trash, have it for PS4. A new Wipeout would make me buy a PS5 too but I jumped ship this gen to Xbox because Xbox has better racing games. 

 

Don't sleep on Redout II if u like wipeout and FZero type of games.