Retro Rewind - Retro Racing Titles Reviewed and Revisited

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I have finally got around to getting my capture card working with my old fat-boy PS3, being a launch model its capable of running PS, PS2 and PS3 titles.

As such its time to start putting together some content on titles from my past to see if they stack up, or if the memories are rose-tinted to the extreme.

Index

Auto Modellista - PlayStation 2 (2002)

Retro Review

Colin McRae Rally - PlayStation (1997)
Retro Review

Driving Emotion Type-S - PlayStation 2 (2000)
Retro Review

Enthusia Professional Racing - PlayStation 2 (2005)
Retro Review

F1 Championship Edition - PlayStation 3 (2007)
Retro Review - Demo

Gran Turismo - PlayStation (1997)
Retro Review

Gran Turismo HD Concept - PlayStation 3 (2006)
Retro Review

Le Mans 24 Hours - PlayStation 2 (2001)
Retro Review

Mille Miglia - PlayStation (2000)
Retro Review

NFS: Shift 2 Unleased - PlayStation 3 (2011)
Retro Review

R: Racing Evolution - PlaySation 3 (2003/2004)
Retro Review

Race 07 - PC (2007)
Retro Review

Toca: Touring Car Championship - PlayStation (1997)
Retro Review

TOCA Race Driver 3 - PlayStation 2 (2006)
Retro Review

WRC 4 PC (2013)
Retro Review

Full Retro Rewind Video Playlist
 
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And it’s been ordered, along with a few more :cheers:

Reinstalled it on my PC (Steam) after a long, long time. It's no longer available for purchase since Bizarre Creations went belly up, but it's still available for existing owners. It's amazing that after so many years it still hasn't lost its gloss. Graphics are aging, but still ok (and certainly on par with a certain F&F game that released not so long ago hahahaha :lol:). Running 75FPS/1440p here on a fairly old PC.

Can't play multiplayer anymore though as that requires an account of some sorts, which I don't have or forgot what it was. Note: you can still play LAN.

EDIT: Hah, mangaged to guess my online account. Not that there are players. :lol:
 
TOCA: Touring Car Championship - PS1 (1997)

Retro Review

Time for another Retro Rewind, and in this video, we rewind to 1997 and the British Touring Car Championship, with the licenced game of the series. One of what I consider to be the holy trinity of titles that launched sim racing on the Playstation, TOCA edged out Gran Turismo in Europe by a few months to be one of the first titles of a new genre.

 
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Any requests welcome, keep in mind that I may have to pick a few up (most are cheap so its mainly finding them), and I'm PS1, PS2 and PS3 only at the moment.

Ooooo, just remembered, I think F1:CE has a demo available. It does indeed, its not on the store, but I downloaded it back when it was released, so I still have it (along with the RR7 demo) on my download list.

Two more to take a look at while I wait for PC3 to release at midnight.
 
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If you have it.

Ferrari challenge on PS3. That was a pretty good game at its time.

They also made Supercar Challenge. I dident play that much though.
Yeah especialy with a wheel. The force feedback on those games where amazing.

Which reminds me! Sega Rally on ps3 was the best force feedback-ed game ever! It was incredible how much that game gave the arcade feel at home, with a proper wheel. Maybe it nice to Review that game!
 
If you have it.

Ferrari challenge on PS3. That was a pretty good game at its time.

They also made Supercar Challenge. I dident play that much though.

Eutechnyx was on a roll back then. Too bad AutoClubRevolution never took off.
 
I was gonna throw in one of my personal favorite racing games from back in the early 2000s but then realised it was Xbox exclusive.

Racing Evoluzione. One of Milestones early games, you had to create your own car brand and build cars from blueprints, manage a dealership, race your cars. Had to start off with an old style garage dealer and build up. Was so good.
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I was gonna throw in one of my personal favorite racing games from back in the early 2000s but then realised it was Xbox exclusive.

Racing Evoluzione. One of Milestones early games, you had to create your own car brand and build cars from blueprints, manage a dealership, race your cars. Had to start off with an old style garage dealer and build up. Was so good.
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Shame, as it looks like something different and interesting.
 
F1 Championship Edition (2007)

Retro Review - Demo Copy


Man this game had such a sense of speed. It was intense. And I really do like the cars and sounds in this game. This was my first ps3 game and thus HD game. It blew me away.

One thing I hated were the oil spils.
 
Going to have to queue these up and get ready for some nostalgia.

For recommendations, I have these (and why I think they might be worth your time):

Driven to Destruction (Test Drive: Eve of Destruction in the US) (PS2) - I cannot recommend this game enough to fans of Wreckfest, and there is a lot I wish BugBear would flat out steal from this game. The list of race/derby types will make Wreckfest fans drool, and it had a similarly cool (but more American-leaned) selection of unbranded iconic vehicles.

World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars 2002 (PS2) - I always find it a bit interesting to see people try out games like this that feature very specific cars that a lot of people around the world don't have any experience with. It had track progression, cockpit view, tear-offs, wing sliders, tuning, full hot lap/qualifying/heats race nights. It also had one of the more interesting career modes of its day, thanks to its race scheduling system where you had to decide between staying at home at tracks you have learned and know well for a measly $2000 for a win and staying in the local points championship... or travel to a newer track you don't know in your lower budget car to run with the Outlaws, hoping you can squeak into the A-main and earn more than that $2000.

Tokyo Extreme Racer 3 (PS2) - Arcade highway racer that had some really interesting stuff, from a huge opponent list, odd requirements to face some of the more secretive "Wanderer" opponents, an early livery creator system, and a huge dose of Japan-ness. The game even gives you a nerdy nickname based on how you drive, what you drive, and how often you win.


Sega GT and Sega GT 2002 are prime candidates for this :D. Look forward to seeing more.

I was gonna throw in one of my personal favorite racing games from back in the early 2000s but then realised it was Xbox exclusive.

Racing Evoluzione. One of Milestones early games, you had to create your own car brand and build cars from blueprints, manage a dealership, race your cars. Had to start off with an old style garage dealer and build up. Was so good.

When I saw he was taking requests I was going to suggest both of these. Racing Evoluzione was called APEX in the US, and it was a pretty awesome game. I remember picking it up blind just after I got my Xbox and being so happy with my purchase.

Shame they are both Xbox-only as I think they are interesting titles that are pretty overlooked.
 
Going to have to queue these up and get ready for some nostalgia.

For recommendations, I have these (and why I think they might be worth your time):

Driven to Destruction (Test Drive: Eve of Destruction in the US) (PS2) - I cannot recommend this game enough to fans of Wreckfest, and there is a lot I wish BugBear would flat out steal from this game. The list of race/derby types will make Wreckfest fans drool, and it had a similarly cool (but more American-leaned) selection of unbranded iconic vehicles.

World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars 2002 (PS2) - I always find it a bit interesting to see people try out games like this that feature very specific cars that a lot of people around the world don't have any experience with. It had track progression, cockpit view, tear-offs, wing sliders, tuning, full hot lap/qualifying/heats race nights. It also had one of the more interesting career modes of its day, thanks to its race scheduling system where you had to decide between staying at home at tracks you have learned and know well for a measly $2000 for a win and staying in the local points championship... or travel to a newer track you don't know in your lower budget car to run with the Outlaws, hoping you can squeak into the A-main and earn more than that $2000.

Tokyo Extreme Racer 3 (PS2) - Arcade highway racer that had some really interesting stuff, from a huge opponent list, odd requirements to face some of the more secretive "Wanderer" opponents, an early livery creator system, and a huge dose of Japan-ness. The game even gives you a nerdy nickname based on how you drive, what you drive, and how often you win.






When I saw he was taking requests I was going to suggest both of these. Racing Evoluzione was called APEX in the US, and it was a pretty awesome game. I remember picking it up blind just after I got my Xbox and being so happy with my purchase.

Shame they are both Xbox-only as I think they are interesting titles that are pretty overlooked.
Thanks, I'm actually looking for a copy of Tokyo Extreme Racer 3, as I remember playing that a lot back in the PS2 days, the other two are now on the search list as well.

Edit, sorry it was Extreme racer Zero, which got an EU release, which 3 didn't by the looks of it.

Edited again. Found a copy of Tokyo extreme Racer zero and driven to destruction, now both bought, I was also initially happy to find both Kaido Battle and Kaido Battle 2 for sale, but at £30 and £38 I quickly stepped back!!!
 
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Thanks, I'm actually looking for a copy of Tokyo Extreme Racer 3, as I remember playing that a lot back in the PS2 days, the other two are now on the search list as well.

Edit, sorry it was Extreme racer Zero, which got an EU release, which 3 didn't by the looks of it.

Edited again. Found a copy of Tokyo extreme Racer zero and driven to destruction, now both bought, I was also initially happy to find both Kaido Battle and Kaido Battle 2 for sale, but at £30 and £38 I quickly stepped back!!!

I started with Zero and it was great too, so it will do just fine. Shame you guys didn't get 3 though, it played just like Zero but had more content and minor features.

We got the 2 of the Kaido Battle games here in the States as Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift series, but for a combination of reasons I never ended up picking one up, so if you do manage to find a reasonably priced copy I'd certainly be interested in that too.
 
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