Car games - Monday Open Thread
I grew up in the video game world. We played Oregon Trail on the early green screen Commodore PET's in my elementary school. I think I started out with Pole Position as my first racing/car game. I played Spy Hunter at the roller skating rink, and eventually moved on to Out Run.
As time passed the games continued to improve along with the technology behind them. In the late 90's I was almost addicted to Need for Speed II. In the early 2000's it was The Simpson's: Hit & Run. My roommate at the time & I spent every free waking moment the first week we got Hit & Run trying to get new cars in the game. To the point we had blisters on our fingers. Soooo not kidding.
New games now are so realistic in graphics and game play that after playing for a while it is almost hard to go back to driving my slow old beater of a van. Have you SEEN Forza Motorsport 4? They've even included the Tesla Roadster! Play this thing on a big screen in HD & you'll want to fall over from the motion graphics if you try standing while playing (...so I've "heard").
What car games have you played and really enjoyed over the years? Still play any of them today? I've given up playing video games for the most part, I guess for me it was part of growing up & having a family. But don't for a second doubt that I'm looking foward to Mario Kart when he gets just a little bit older!
As it is every week, this is the lint bin to collect your thoughts on things that might not fit in other threads.
Al on October 03, 2011 at 05:04 AM
Dont Get Me Wrong, Im Not "That" Guy Who Always Complains About Graphics, But Gran Truismo Looks A 1000x Better. But, Whatever Rotates Your Tires.
Anthony Cagle on October 03, 2011 at 08:42 AM
The only car-related game I ever played was Spy Hunter, but it was never one of my favorites. I suppose one might consider a tank vaguely car-related, and I love love loved Battle Zone. I got a remanufactured Atari a couple of years ago that had Battle Zone with it, but it didn't work like the original. . .that is, all my old tricks with the arcade version didn't work, so I got blasted early and often.
Spy Hunter did, however, dramatically increase my appreciation for an oil-slick equipped car.
Chris Hafner on October 03, 2011 at 08:52 AM
I'm a big Forza fan. We have a league here at work and have been breathlessly awaiting the debut of Forza IV, and I have to say this trailer for it has me absolutely gobsmacked. It features Jeremy Clarkson at his best and really sums up everything about Car Lust (in fact, he even uses the term "automotive lust").
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvimE0aNFOg
I'm a racing game devotee from way back. I enjoyed Enduro on the Atari 2600 (much more so than Pole Position), Sega Turbo in the arcades (again, more so than Pole Position), I raced the awful Ford Simulator on my old IBM PC back in the 1980s, fell absolutely in love with Test Drive III on our old IBM 386, then the various Papyrus Indycar and NASCAR racing sims that are much missed. Sports Car GT followed a bit later, and of course I enjoyed the little bits of Gran Turismo I played (I never had a Playstation), and Project Gotham. But Forza III was pretty much perfect, and I can't wait for Forza IV.
Chris Hafner on October 03, 2011 at 08:55 AM
Oh, and Spy Hunter was fantastic too. I can still happily fire up an old computer or an emulator and play Spy Hunter for entirely too much time.
That Car Guy on October 03, 2011 at 09:26 AM
I still play Goldeneye. There's not many cars there, but you can smush a few in the Streets mission.
Vie on October 03, 2011 at 10:06 AM
Yeh Forza 4 looks entertaining, and if its anything like 3 it will be a better game than GT5, but I'll lay money down that GT5 is a better simulator than Forza 4.
Plus having the Tesla is nothing new, GT5's had it for a while - and thankfully its not one of the legacy models so it actually looks good in the game.
Chris Mallow on October 03, 2011 at 10:45 AM
I still remember hunting down Pole Position on my trips to the arcade...the voice of the vaguely-Japanese-sounding lady who said, "Prepare to qualify" still mesmerizes me.
Chris Mallow on October 03, 2011 at 10:46 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUU_F9TvXco
tigerstrypes on October 03, 2011 at 02:05 PM
THIS.
I've commented this before, but dammit, I'll say it it again.
My first car videogame was the arcade version of Out Run at a local Pizza Hut.
The first arcade videogame I beat was its off-shoot, OutRunners. With the pink Cadillac!! It too was located at said Pizza Hut.
http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/1/13154/959841-gb.png
While Cruis'n series were OK, especially Cruis'n Exotica, it was Initial D ver.2 that opened a new chapter in automotive knowledge and entertainment for me and I haven't looked back.
Due to the waning condition of the Initial D arcade machines, I jumped over to the other side and played Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune. There was more to it than just raw horsepower. This was my car for the most part:
http://www.bandainamcogames.co.jp/am/english/aa/wanganmaxi3/special/sp3_popup.php?view=pop_nissan_40.jpg
I took pride in beating over-powered cars with only handling as my trump car, but as real-life opponents got tougher, I had to pump up the boost. I even bit the bullet and got a more"tuner-friendly" car, an STi because it had a 6-speed. It got really hard to beat guys that basically lived at the arcade.
While the rest of the modern world got newer versions, we only got closed-down arcades and broken promises.
At home I grew up with LEGO Racers 1 and 2, my first real-car racing simulator Need For Speed Porsche Unleashed, Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 and Need For Speed Underground. all for PC.
When we (finally) got the PS2, I played GT4. It was too much work for so little satisfaction. Plus my memory got erased, TWICE. Got ripped off when I traded it in. Burnout Revenge and Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero were more fun.
Lee Sullivan on October 04, 2011 at 08:49 AM
Big "Night Driver" fan, way back in the day.
Now, I play iRacing exclusively, when I can find the time. A tad pricey, but so worthwhile. There's nothing like it.
Cookie the Dog's Owner on October 06, 2011 at 08:34 AM
Just discovered that the "Junkyard Find" column at The Truth About Cars did a photo essay on a Monza wagon identical to the one I had.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/06/junkyard-find-1979-chevrolet-monza-wagon/
The author pronounces it "The Most Terrible Station Wagon Detroit Ever Made," and I couldn't agree more. I'd shout "Kill it with fire!" but by now it's already been fed to the electric arc furnace. Good riddance!
That Car Guy on October 07, 2011 at 01:10 PM
There's only one thing worse than a Monza Wagon... a Vega Wagon with the original 2.3 Litre aluminum engine and a 2-speed automatic.
I see why they totalled that Monza Wagon... there's a small dent in the passenger's front fender: http://images.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/06/DOTJ-79MonzaWagon-20.jpg
Joey on November 11, 2011 at 11:56 PM
cruisin usa N64,Driver, need for speed PC, mario kart Wii I need to get a new computer or game station as i am unable to play new race games.
Tera on November 16, 2011 at 03:12 AM
I have to say, I loved Need for speed underground 2..And still put it in for a little bit of a chill out game :) (soundtrack is funky too!) My son is 2, and is currently obsessed with cars! So, NFSU2 and Mario kart is great to put on to keep him entertained, And to make me giggle at watching him try to use the xbox controller like daddy does :P