Car collections in games, what we like, what we dislike...

[BKGlover]

I found myself musing on this lately. GT7 is being played because I have a plan for my collection at the moment, but I don't think GT has ever been the best. While looking at the collection book one evening, I thought about how the older games were, and then thought "...Why isn't this able to screen the garage?"

Now I know everyone plays differently, so I'm just looking to see what GTP thinks on a near purely subjective matter. Doesn't even have to be all encompassing, have a single feature you liked or disliked? Cool, let's hear it. Just be aware that a clash of ideas is likely, and no one idea is absolutely good or bad.

My picks: Burnout Paradise and Enthusia.

Paradise has flaws, moreso now with the remaster, but one thing I enjoy still about the base game is the game saying "Hey... Fresh wheels just came out... Go get 'em!". Are the AI hard to take down, not really... but at times I does feel like a Tom & Jerry chase when I'm locked into the chase and forget the toll booths yet again, or getting juked and pancaking into a truck... or when you aren't thinking about it and here comes a van at mach 3. Frustrating at times, but for me less irritating than the stunt runs and marked man. Eventually you take down the majority of the roster, and once you run the wrecks through a repair shop (another detail I appreciate), you can then toy with colors all you want.

Enthusia... I'm not as well versed in, sadly, but the point systems are interesting, handling takes learning, but the notion that you have starters, and can acquire the rest by racing and being vaguely competitive, meaning you can't just be lazy if you want to get anything but also don't have to win every race. The downside is that it is a roulette chance that could land on a car you already own, and as you don't own the cars you don't get multiples, so that's frustrating, and at the same time amazing that it hasn't been zombified into a modern gacha game, but I still think of it highly because it makes it easy to think about on the collection side.

 

[EngieDiesel]

Enthusia... I'm not as well versed in, sadly, but the point systems are interesting, handling takes learning, but the notion that you have starters, and can acquire the rest by racing and being vaguely competitive, meaning you can't just be lazy if you want to get anything but also don't have to win every race. The downside is that it is a roulette chance that could land on a car you already own, and as you don't own the cars you don't get multiples, so that's frustrating, and at the same time amazing that it hasn't been zombified into a modern gacha game, but I still think of it highly because it makes it easy to think about on the collection side.

The lottery system that Enthusia uses is pretty unique though as it isn't just a simple wheelspin, it's influenced by the car you use in a particular race as that affects the field makeup (weaker cars usually make the more unusual and desirable models appear, so you want to work harder to earn them), and this also connects with the ranking and car tier systems that both make you decide what you want to go after and whether it will be competitive for the types of races you have available in a particular tier. Plus moving to a new car can actually be a setback due to the drive-to-upgrade system that's present, so there's even more thought in what cars to pursue rather than merely filling the toybox.

Lately I've been really appreciating all the unothodox structure Enthusia does, especially in the face of more directionless modern sandbox racers. It's tricky to understand all the moving parts but it's really compelling when you get how it all fits together.