I need a new racing game

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GTP_BaldurKn / BaldurKn / BaldurKn-UK
What do you recommend I get ? GT5:P is getting rather old now, I need to tracks :crazy:

I have been looking at:
Midnight Club: LA
Ferrari Challenge
Dirt
Grid

Do you have any recommendations for me ?

Thank you for your time 👍
 
Now take Ferari Challenge for a spin, and wait for the SuperCar Challenge at the end of the May/June.

Aviod both Dirt/Grid at all costs if you're even slightly intrested in simulations.
 
I've been having a blast with Burnout Paradise City. While not technically a Racing Sim, nor particularly difficult, it is a "Fun" car game. It gives a break from the tense racing that is found in the GT games. And it's usually in the "used" section fairly cheap. The DLC is enjoyable and adds even more fun to the game.

The online races are usually competent and can be enjoyable. I've had fun with those as well.
 
He didn't ask for a sim, just a racer.

Grid and Dirt have both good damage and car models, but pretty shallow physics on the driving side, alot of cars feel similar but there's a definate difference between them.

LA brings free roam and street racing to the table which none of the others do, a race editors means limitless amounts of tracks, cruising with friends online is fun to and you can go from cruise to race in an instant. A few technical problems can spoil the experience though.

FC is a good solid sim and if you like GT you will probably enjoy FC if you don't mind using Ferraris.
 
Great feedback thanks.

Yeah I don't mind if it is a sim or arcade I got GT for the REAL simulator :)

I just need some variations, a new challenge if you know what I mean.

Dragonistic you seem to have them or at least tried them all I am kind of leaning towards Grid vs MC:LA would you say either one of them has an edge? I guess you leaned towards the race editor as well as the free riding, but giving that they are both arcade racers is one of them more realistic or more of a challenge ?
 
Grid and MCLA are both challenging I find, both in different ways. Grid on the harder settings gives you really really fast opponents who put in damn good laps that really challenge you, whereas LA gives you the perils of the traffic and shortcuts which can often be your downfall, and sometimes gives unfair opponents.

The main difference of course is that Grid is on a track, LA is in an open city. Grid will also be cheaper to buy.
 
Thank you for you input.

I guess I'll try Grid out first then :)
Cheaper indeed and I like racing on tracks...
 
I would agree if it's a sim you want, FC is definately the one to go for, Grid is a more action packed driving experience on a track for sure, at the expense of realism. It's not like a 200mph drift round every corner type of realism, but what you see in gameplay videos kind of some it up.
 
Ferrari Challenge and F1:CE are the only other racing games worth playing for the fun of "racing". For the many other things you can do with "car games" I think Burnout Paradise is the best out there. Grid is in between, therefore fails at both ends.
 
Here's my take in GRID:

Although this game isn't on top anyone's list especially when it comes to physics and handling but GRID has one of the best graphics in a racing game and despite the arcade handling, the cars in the game has better suspension modeling than even Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. It has quite a deep and satisfying gameplay with career mode that provides enough multi-disciplined racing events that spanned over three continents. Then there's the groundbreaking Flashback that allows you to replay the last 10 seconds of your race (leading to a crash or something you would like to rectify).

Race_Driver_GRID_Codemasters_Glu_Mobile-0.png


The car list in GRID:

  • DALLARA FORMULA 3*
  • FJ 1000*
  • BMW 320si
  • CHEVROLET CORVETTE C5-R*
  • CHEVROLET CORVETTE C6-R
  • CHEVROLET CAMARO CONCEPT
  • CHEVROLET LACETTI
  • MAZDA 787B
  • MAZDA RX-7 FD3S
  • TOYOTA SUPRA
  • TOYOTA COROLLA GT-S (AE86)
  • TOYOTA SOARER (JZZ30)
  • SUBARU IMPREZA
  • PONTIAC GTO
  • NISSAN 350Z
  • NISSAN SILVIA
  • NISSAN SKYLINE GT-R Z-TUNE
  • NISSAN R390 GT-1
  • TVR TUSCAN CHALLENGE*
  • PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR*
  • PANOZ ESPERANTE
  • SPYKER C8 SPYDER
  • LAMBORGHINI MURCIELAGO RGT*
  • ASTON MARTIN DBR9
  • SALEEN S7R
  • COURAGE C65*
  • COURAGE LC70*
  • LOLA B05/40*
  • LOLA B06/10*
  • FORD MUSTANG GT-R CONCEPT
  • FORD MUSTANG BOSS 302
  • DORAN RACING JE4*
  • DODGE VIPER SRT10
  • MOPAR DODGE CHARGER SRT8 DRIFT
  • DODGE CHALLENGER CONCEPT
  • KOENIGSEGG CCXR
  • KOENIGSEGG CCGT
  • PAGANI ZONDA R
  • AUDI R10 TDI*
  • CREATION CA06/H-JUDD*
  • JUPITER EAGLERAY MK5*
  • HONDA NSX-R
  • PLYMOUTH AAR 'CUDA

And the recent 8 Ball DLC cars:

McLaren F1 GTR – The McLaren F1 GTR wrote itself into the history books as the only GT car to ever win Le Mans outright in the modern era and is considered one of the finest examples of automotive engineering in history.

TVR Cerbera Speed 12 – The TVR 12 smashes past 60 MPH in just under 3 seconds. Production models were planned, but they were considered too powerful to sell to the general public.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X – For over a decade the Evo has been billed as a supercar slayer – now the Evo-X in GRID lets you unleash its sledgehammer aggression in the Pro-Tuned class.

Honda S2000 – This roadster is heavily modified for drifting and has become a cult-favourite thanks to its award winning engine.

Nissan GT-R (S-G2008) – One of the world’s hottest cars makes its debut in Race Driver: GRID in its fully tuned racing spec.

VW Nardo – This powerful concept car made real from VW uses its 600BHP engine to rocket to 60MPH in 3.1 seconds.

Pontiac Firebird Trans AM – The 1971 racing edition of this true American legend is a worthy addition to GRID’s exclusive group of muscle cars.

Volvo C30 – Adding to Race Driver: GRID’s touring car roster comes the C30, Volvo’s agile, cutting edge hot-hatch straight from the STCC grid.

The Tracks:
  • Circuito del Jarama
  • NĂĽrburgring GP circuit
  • Donington Park
  • Istanbul Park
  • Milan
  • Le Mans*
  • Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
  • Okutama Grand Circuit*
  • Yokohama Docks
  • Shibuya
  • Mount Haruna
  • San Francisco
  • Washington DC
  • Detroit
  • Long Beach



The game supports the Logitech G25 wheel for both the PC and the PS3. I find that on the PS3, it would not work right out of the box, so after a few trial and error this is my setup:

I think I've come up with a pretty good setup for GRID for those using the G25. I'm able to win "Savage" Mode races without problem and it handles the DBR9 pretty successfully. You don't get the kind of FF games/simulator like GT5P provides and I wasn't expecting it.


FF Setting (In order)

  • 50
  • 60
  • 60


  • Deadzone- 0
  • Steering Saturation- 25%
  • Linearity- 1
  • Accelerator Pedal Deadzone- 10%
  • Accelerator Pedal Saturation- 85%
  • Brake Pedall Deadzone- 15%
  • Brake Pedal Saturation- 85%


  • 900%- ON


Turning off the Assistance: TCS and ASM ( I usuall keep the ABS ON), makes the driving more enjoyable. As long as you accept that this is not a sim, you might enjoy the racing experience in GRID.

Lastly and perhaps the best feature of GRID is the crash modeling. I have never seen a crash made so realistically and while you have the option to turn off damage, it's the only way to enjoy this game. While there is no weather effect, there is night/day cycle which works great especially at Le Mans 24 hour Race.

GRID is perhaps the most misunderstood racer in recent years. But if you happened to have the PS3 or the PC version and also a good steering wheel (G25, recommended) and once you dialed in the most comfortable setting (as I did with mine), it's a truly enjoyable racer. Even I am guilty of not giving this game what it deserves: a bit more time, patience and the right wheel FFB setting.


3371481560_9934408a26_o.jpg


3370660499_64f3592085_o.jpg


3371481936_a8d221e5d2_o.jpg


I've been a few online races and unlike most other racers (GT5P, FCTP), there seems to be no lag at all.
And I've been doing a few test to see how good the physics is despite other people's reaction towards the game. The cars in GRID does not center pivot, in fact, it behaves better than the cars in Gran Turismo 4. For example in GT4, with N3 tires, go onto the flat straight of Fuji or HSR with all aids of. Stop the car. Turn the wheel all the way to one side. Mash the gas. The car SHOULD light the tires and spin on a dime. Instead it spin lazily 180 degrees and then dirves into a wall. I'm happy to say that with GRID, the car behaves accordingly:

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With the steering wheel, the FFB lacks dampeneing which means that it feels somewhat raw unlike for example GTR2 oe even GT5P. The steering with the FFB set to just above average (at 70),feels spot on. Driving the Koenigsegg CCX with the traction off (the car doesn't come with traction control). it feels exactly as what the reviews about the car say: powerful yet untamed, rough around the edges but a blast to drive. With the CCXR, you get the benefit of the big rear spoiler and in GRID the car becomes more driveable.
I rememeber when I used to have this love/hate sentiments towards this game. With the steering wheel in place the hate has withered to be replaced by complete awe at how well the game translate the whole concept of racing. I've never had so much fun driving in a game before even if in the back of my mind I know that the physics isn't all right and the sense of speed is closer to and arcade NFS game than it is to true simulator like GTR2. If anything it's taken me back to when I first started playing video game: it isn't so much about reality that it s about immersing yourself into a completely different experience while having so much fun doing it.

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Do you have any recommendations for me ?

It's such a personal taste based on a lot of different subjective criteria, but as others have mentioned, as far as a very pleasant contrast to GT5P, I have really enjoyed Burnout Paradise, and as far as a very good sim game that when first came out was very underrated IMO is Formula One: Championship Edition.

Also MotorStorm: Pacific Drift is a great game that I have only barely scratched the surface in terms of gameplay, so definitely add that to your short list... it is especially fun to play it with friends! 👍

I had a great time playing DiRT as it has very well thought out gameplay modes with excellent simulation except for the driving physics which are VERY floaty for a simulation, but more realistic than a pure arcade game. The crash damage graphics and physics are excellent, and if you set the options for it, can severely impact the performance of your car, adding to the realism... something GT5 desperately needs to add IMO.

I also recently bought Ferrari Challenge based on recommendations... and Amazon had it on sale for less than $15 brand new, but I have yet to play around with it enough to have a reasonable opinion about it.

If it helps though, Metacritic compiles numerous published reviews and gives games an average score based on that, as well as links to those reviews for specific reasons why it received the scores it did at the time it was reviewed.

So if it helps, here is how Metacritic ranked all the racing games that I am aware of for the PS3:
  1. Burnout Paradise
  2. GRiD
  3. MotorStorm: Pacific Rift
  4. MotorStorm
  5. Pure
  6. DiRT
  7. Midnight Club: Los Angeles
  8. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
  9. Ridge Racer 7
  10. Stuntman: Ignition
  11. Sega Rally Revo
  12. Need for Speed Carbon
  13. Formula One Championship Edition
  14. Need for Speed ProStreet
  15. Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli
  16. Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
  17. MX vs. ATV Untamed
  18. Full Auto 2: Battlelines
  19. The Wheelman
  20. NASCAR 09
  21. Moto GP 08
  22. Baja: Edge of Control
  23. Need for Speed Undercover
  24. NASCAR 08

I Left out PSN games like:
  • Calling All Cars
  • Championship Sprint
  • Fatal Inertia EX
  • Gran Turismo HD Concept
  • GripShift
  • GTI Club+: Rally CĂ´te d'Azur
  • PixelJunk Racers
  • Smash Cars (coming soon)
  • Toy Home
  • WipeoutHD (great racing game... but not cars)


Basically there is no shortage of racing games for the PS3, in which you'll likely find a lot of contrasting personal opinions about, but maybe this will give you some more to think about and help you find some great games. 👍
 
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If you want a game that is similar to GT5, in physics get Ferrari Challenge.

If you want Arcade, then get Burnout paradise, while it is far from realistic, the game is top quality and without doubt one of the best PS3 games aviable. There is tons of stuff to do in single player, and endless hours of fun when playing online multiplayer.
 
I vote for Midnight Club and Ferrari Challenge. But really like someone else said it just depends on your personal preferences.
 
Wow thank you all for your input.

I pulled the Grid demo of PSN and tried it tonight and I must say I wasn't very impressed. My DFP only turns 90° and the turning part of the game is very off to me, guess that is arcade for you :indiff: Then because of the über speed I couldn't really see the next corner that well in cockpit view(the only one I will ever use in a racing game) and that bothered me a lot. The graphics were very nice but because of the cockpit view and the über speed they began to blur uncomfortably for me. The sound of this game though is amazing !
But I remember now why I haven't played another racing game other than GT for a decade or so :dopey:

This left me to lean towards Midnight Club now, I think that the customization part and the cruising part are going to appeal to me, since I have gotten a run down memory lane of arcade racing tonight I don't think I would like very much an arcade racer that has not so much more...

By the way those of you that own Midnight Club have played it with DFP ?
 
if you are using a wheel the only options I would go for would be Ferrari Challenge and F1:CE. Both are very good.
 
I find it hilarious that people actually use GT4 and 5 as a standard for "realistic racing simulators" If you have ever driven a car with more than a couple hundred HP you'll know what I'm talking about. Grid isn't the perfect game but it cuts it closer. OOOOPS did I do that again first time back in months and I bet I get black listed again I insulted the almighty Gran Turismo. Seriously though Codemasters does a lot better nailing high speed physics. But then again what do I know, decades of hotrodding and racing cars means nothing here up against the word of a handful of hard gamers here who have somehow become the undisputed "authority" on video game racing simulators. I guess back over to the Sony forum for me.
 
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Thank you for your perspective. Everybody has a right to their opinion, even though it is a wrong one :) just kidding...

I have driven cars that are powerful, the most powerful one being Audi S8 V10 444 BHP and while I share you opinion that you get a better sense for the speed you are driving at in Grid for example the overall physics thing is just way off, then I am talking about braking, weight shifting, G-force all that stuff, in Grid you can just release the gas for couple of seconds and your ready for a 90°turn on the spot ! To me personally that is why I feel that GT5 is THE real simulator here... but hey to you that is just a wrong opinion :) lol
 
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I play MCLA on a G25, it restricts you to 90 degrees but it's pretty good overall, surprisingly so for an arcade style game rather then a sim. Grid is much better on a controller then it is on a wheel, LA is much the opposite.
 
As somebody who has owned all of the games mentioned in this thread....the only ones i have kept are Ferrari Challenge and F1CE.

Grid bored me after a month so i exchanged it. Too easy.
Same with Dirt.
Midnight club got ridiculously hard at about 60% in, and then i just got bored of repeating races. Mostly because the cars are boring to drive. It's fun for about 3 weeks. Also the online was very unstable for me, i could hardly ever stay connected. And i am in London with a great connection.

I highly recommend FC. It's amazing and the online community is really well knit.
 
What scares me about Ferrari Challenge is the car list. Doesn't it get boring driving the same cars over and over and racing those same cars again ?
 
I'm not really one who needs a lot of cars. I could do with the cars in GT5P no problem. There are only 23 or so cars in FC (50 if you count all the different paint jobs of the 430). There is a lot of variety in the cars that they do have. The classic cars drive a lot different than the newer ones which drive a lot differently than the race cars. Heck even the race cars drive differently from the other race cars. I would say that despite having less cars, the variety in how the cars perform is greater than in GT5P.
 
Well i would say not buy Ferrari Challenge, buy Super Car Challenge its coming pretty soon and it will have the same content as Ferrari Challenge + little bit more and hopefully a better game all over. Hope the team of ferrari challenge fix whats wrong in supercar challenge then it could be a very good game :)

Also if you like offroading, super chaos and adrenaline, go for motorstorm pacific rift!
 
I wouldn't wait for SCC - it could be a while still, & of course, will be full price when it comes out.

Given that FC & F1CE are very cheap to buy, I would choose either (or both) of those. Both are excellent & very challenging games - the fun is not in the collisions, damage or "special effects" but in the actual racing. Neither of them have a lot of cars (certainly not compared to the GT series), but they do have a great selection of tracks, which to me is the most important thing...
 
WipEout HD is a lot of fun for $20. The demo unlocks to the full version. With the new patch out, there's no shortage of players.
 
What scares me about Ferrari Challenge is the car list. Doesn't it get boring driving the same cars over and over and racing those same cars again ?

Not really. Each of the cars acts fairly differently. The F430 Challenge car is the medium range racer that you can hop in and take for a simple spin. Then there are the high range cars like the 550 GT and 575 GTC going to the F333SP and FXX. Those each act a little different, taking into account their racing nature and their performance. There are also the weaker cars. You know, the old 250 Testa Rossa with its mile long braking zone, or the 348 with it's mediocre performance.

Basically, because of the fact that there are less cars, that gives each one even more replayability.
 
Do you have a decent spec PC?
There are enough mods for rFactor/GTR2 to last a lifetime before you can drive them all. And the online communities for racing are huge.
 
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