Playstation 2 Racing games

  • Thread starter LoudMusic
  • 30 comments
  • 945 views
LoudMusic

LoudMusic

10,687
United States
Everywhere
I was at CompUSA today, and swung by their game section to see what else was out for PS2 right now. Man what a selection! There were over 10 times as many games for PS2 as there were for XBox and GameCube put together! Plus all the PSOne games too, and they're going for $10 to $15 now. If I wasn't on my lunch break I might have shopped a little longer and actually bought some stuff.

What I was mainly interested in were the racing games. Of course we all know and love Gran Turismo 3. It's amazing, no argument there. But what else is really good? I was thinking about getting a formula 1 game, and maybe an off road type thing. I also want Simpson's Road Rage -really bad-.

Any suggestions? Here's an old list from Sony's website:

http://www.scea.com/games/racing_genre.asp?gcg=&gty=ps2

I have no interest in sports games, except SSX Tricky. It looks good, and having played SSX at a friend's house, I think it could be a LOT of fun.

Questions, comments, observations?

~LoudMusic
 
A couple of games I would suggest:

Burnout - What a brilliant game, man I like crashing into things at high speeds LoL!!!

WRC - Another good game, out on PAL release but I don't know about the States
 
Check out Tokyo Xtreme racer Zero, that was a great one, and it has tons of depth, and car modeling in line with GT3. (no licensing, so they are codenamed, but trust me that all are real.)
Prepare for some late night swear sessions though... :rolleyes:
 
Originally posted by Tom McDonnell
Check out Tokyo Xtreme racer Zero, that was a great one, and it has tons of depth, and car modeling in line with GT3. (no licensing, so they are codenamed, but trust me that all are real.)
Prepare for some late night swear sessions though... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Now see, a friend of mine gave me Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero. I played it for about an hour and passed it on to someone else. I just couldn't get into it.

I was thinking more along the lines of Formula 1 games. There are a few out, what do you guys think of them?

~LoudMusic
 
Originally posted by LoudMusic


Now see, a friend of mine gave me Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero. I played it for about an hour and passed it on to someone else. I just couldn't get into it.

I was thinking more along the lines of Formula 1 games. There are a few out, what do you guys think of them?

~LoudMusic
Click to expand...

I don't like any F1 games that are out in the UK, you may have some better ones out in the States, but I've played a couple and I don't think much of them.
 
Originally posted by Brian P


I don't like any F1 games that are out in the UK, you may have some better ones out in the States, but I've played a couple and I don't think much of them.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, that's what I was afraid of. I think we're all spoiled to GT3's quality. Maybe I'll just run the Formula GT Challenge.

~LoudMusic
 
That's a tough one, because there really hasn't been a good F1 game in quite a while. I have Formula one by 989 studios (Sony game) and it's not really worth the money. It's difficult to control (not quite as bad now that I have a wheel, but still wonky) and the graphics are.... how do you say in Spanish.... El Stinko.
F1 2001 by EA might be a better bet, it was rated higher around the PS2 type websites as well. It's going to be tough going to those games though, after GT3, because they push 22 cars, GT3 only needs to push 6. That's why the graphics aren't going to be nearly as impressive.
 
Originally posted by Tom McDonnell
That's a tough one, because there really hasn't been a good F1 game in quite a while. I have Formula one by 989 studios (Sony game) and it's not really worth the money. It's difficult to control (not quite as bad now that I have a wheel, but still wonky) and the graphics are.... how do you say in Spanish.... El Stinko.
F1 2001 by EA might be a better bet, it was rated higher around the PS2 type websites as well. It's going to be tough going to those games though, after GT3, because they push 22 cars, GT3 only needs to push 6. That's why the graphics aren't going to be nearly as impressive.
Click to expand...

Yea, but more cars is definitely a bonus. There needs to be a happy medium. I think 12 cars would be a blast, and shouldn't be too much trouble for a PS2. And F1 2001 is the best so far?

So you guys that have played Burnout, is it worth the $50?

~LoudMusic
 
The 989 Studios game was okay, but the real issue was the difficulty level - it was fine with ABS and Traction control, but once you got to the third difficulty level (been a while since I had it out) both ABS and TC came off, and the opposition stepped up quite markedly.

Of course, with the Fanatec wheel there was no analogue throttle, so that combined with the lack of TC made the cars almost impossible to drive consistently. I won a couple of races on the third difficulty level, and could probably have strung enough results to win a championship, but it was just too frustrating.

The first EA F1 game for PS2 was a shocker - it looked weird, and was odd to drive - very arcadey.

I've had a brief run at EA's 2001 F1 game with the GT3 wheel, and it seemed a lot better, but I can't offer too much comment based on four minutes standing up at a games shop.

The one I'm waiting for is the Codemasters game - can't remember the title, but in Australia it will be based around the V8 supercars, and given the excellent driving experience of the TOCA games this will be something to look forward to.
 
Ah man - there's no better feeling in GTA3 than squirming your way out of a rollover and then running away, hearing the car explode as you do a runner.
 
Originally posted by vat_man

The one I'm waiting for is the Codemasters game - can't remember the title, but in Australia it will be based around the V8 supercars, and given the excellent driving experience of the TOCA games this will be something to look forward to.
Click to expand...

That'll be TOCA Race Driver, its where you play as a guy and work your way up through the different races.
 
Originally posted by LoudMusic


Yea, but more cars is definitely a bonus. There needs to be a happy medium. I think 12 cars would be a blast, and shouldn't be too much trouble for a PS2. And F1 2001 is the best so far?

So you guys that have played Burnout, is it worth the $50?

~LoudMusic
Click to expand...

Dude - bought Burnout tonight - first impressions favourable, handling through the GT3 wheel probably a bit light, but you don't want it much heavier 'cos you got to move that thing quickly!!

Plenty of big hits, too - you need to learn the tracks, as quite often you'll pick up a nice apex and find a tanker sitting across the intersection.

A nice touch is the insurance damage - the dollars mount up with each crash and the more of the car that gets hit (or cars you hit) the higher the $.

The replays are a bit odd - especially the blurry ones, but otherwise good - a nice touch is the replay of each crash. Fantastic...
 
Originally posted by vat_man


Dude - bought Burnout tonight - first impressions favourable, handling through the GT3 wheel probably a bit light, but you don't want it much heavier 'cos you got to move that thing quickly!!

Plenty of big hits, too - you need to learn the tracks, as quite often you'll pick up a nice apex and find a tanker sitting across the intersection.

A nice touch is the insurance damage - the dollars mount up with each crash and the more of the car that gets hit (or cars you hit) the higher the $.

The replays are a bit odd - especially the blurry ones, but otherwise good - a nice touch is the replay of each crash. Fantastic...
Click to expand...

That looks like a good review. I'll be adding this to my Christmas wish list (:

~LoudMusic
 
Originally posted by LoudMusic


That looks like a good review. I'll be adding this to my Christmas wish list (:

~LoudMusic
Click to expand...

I guess my only concern is longetivity - but it is dirty big fun.
 
Originally posted by LoudMusic


Is there decent car and track lists? And is it multi-player?

~LoudMusic
Click to expand...

Well, there's not a big bunch of cars to start with - they're all non-licensed but mysteriously look like production cars, but there are some bonus cars you pick up along the way, and there's only about four circuits or so.

There is a head-to-head game option, which I'm looking forward to - I have a payback saved up from TOCA 2 when a mate of mine unloaded me at the tricky first corner (down-hill v-fast right hander) at Brands Hatch.

You might be better to check reviews for commentary on the cars.

It's real edge-of-your-seat stuff, the AI cars react quite realistically (they flash their lights and try to dodge, often into your path) - the focus really isn't on extensive cars and tracks (although there is a bus you can drive!)
 
Originally posted by vat_man


Well, there's not a big bunch of cars to start with - they're all non-licensed but mysteriously look like production cars, but there are some bonus cars you pick up along the way, and there's only about four circuits or so.

There is a head-to-head game option, which I'm looking forward to - I have a payback saved up from TOCA 2 when a mate of mine unloaded me at the tricky first corner (down-hill v-fast right hander) at Brands Hatch.

You might be better to check reviews for commentary on the cars.

It's real edge-of-your-seat stuff, the AI cars react quite realistically (they flash their lights and try to dodge, often into your path) - the focus really isn't on extensive cars and tracks (although there is a bus you can drive!)
Click to expand...

Sweet! Buses! There's a bus factory in my town, Amtran (formerly Ward Bus Company) and I've always wanted to get in one of them and go smashing up the town (:

I'll probably rent the game before I buy it. There's no better review than first hand!

~LoudMusic
 
Originally posted by Brian P
A couple of games I would suggest:

Burnout - What a brilliant game, man I like crashing into things at high speeds LoL!!!

WRC - Another good game, out on PAL release but I don't know about the States
Click to expand...


Is burnout good?
 
Yeah Burnout is great, I rented it for a coupla days. You start off with about 3 tracks then unlock a load more by winning championships. You also unlock a face off option where you face a new car and if you beat it you can choose it to race in. I only unlocked the first one, which was a roadster, but theres more.
The best part has gotta be the HUGE crashes though.
 
Originally posted by Brian P
Yeah Burnout is great, I rented it for a coupla days. You start off with about 3 tracks then unlock a load more by winning championships. You also unlock a face off option where you face a new car and if you beat it you can choose it to race in. I only unlocked the first one, which was a roadster, but theres more.
The best part has gotta be the HUGE crashes though.
Click to expand...

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet - I like to make things go boom (: I wonder what it'll sound like with 600w of surround sound ...

~LoudMusic
 
Originally posted by LoudMusic


Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet - I like to make things go boom (: I wonder what it'll sound like with 600w of surround sound ...

~LoudMusic
Click to expand...

Much like a real-life car accident, I suspect.

It really is a bum-tightener - the cool thing is you get points for risk-taking behaviour, like near misses, slides and distance on the wrong side of the road.

It has a live counter for slides and being on the wrong side of the road - you really try to eke out the maximum as you see those little green numbers rack up - right into that truck.
 
Originally posted by vat_man


Much like a real-life car accident, I suspect.

It really is a bum-tightener - the cool thing is you get points for risk-taking behaviour, like near misses, slides and distance on the wrong side of the road.

It has a live counter for slides and being on the wrong side of the road - you really try to eke out the maximum as you see those little green numbers rack up - right into that truck.
Click to expand...

And you also get the Burnout meter where you get a that massive turbo. It goes up the more dangerous stuff you do (near misses, driving on the wrong side of the road and drift round the corners). But it goes down a hell of a lot if you crash, which I do a lot............ :eek:
 
Originally posted by vat_man


Much like a real-life car accident, I suspect.

It really is a bum-tightener - the cool thing is you get points for risk-taking behaviour, like near misses, slides and distance on the wrong side of the road.

It has a live counter for slides and being on the wrong side of the road - you really try to eke out the maximum as you see those little green numbers rack up - right into that truck.
Click to expand...

Do you loose the points if you mess up, like running into a truck?

~LoudMusic
 
Well, you get assessed for the insurance cost of the accident - you get replays of the crash from about four angles, and a red figure comes up with cost of the accident - I've cracked $100k after swiping a bus.

The costs for a particular race get tallied up at the end and there's a top ten for 'worst' drivers at each track based on the highest insurance claims.
 
If you like Formula 1, EA’s F1 2001 is quite worth it, I pretty much let GT3 collect dust after I bought it. It’s a little twitchy with the DS2, and little touches of the grass will drop your speed quite a bit, but it will make you a better driver. If you have a wheel, the Wingman Formula Force GP for example, you’ll get pretty smooth in just a short time.
 

Latest Posts

Back