What's going on with Xbox Racing Games?
 

So Xbox launched with Project Gotham Racing and it was good... and many are anticipating Project Gotham 2. Need For Speed wasn't winning much praise against the PS2 version. Rallisport Challenge was good, but you have to really like that type of driving. Sega GT 2002 didn't manage to meet expectations and instead met with mixed reviews. With a few exceptions, that's more or less it for the auto-racing games. Nothing that has yet to come close to dethroning Gran Tourismo as the king of driving games. This thread serves no other purpose than to discuss upcoming racing games on the Xbox. I'll kick it off with some screen shots. :)

February:

Colin McRae Rally 3
http://www.overgame.com/img_bd/4397/038485.jpg

Motor Trend Lotus Challenge
http://a333.g.akamai.net/f/333/7712/...00080299_2.jpg

Apex
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images..._screen002.jpg

March:

Mercedes-Benz World Racing
http://a333.g.akamai.net/f/333/7712/...00256945_2.jpg
Micro Machines
Fuel
Lamborghini
Pro Race Driver
Midtown Madness 3

April:

Midnight Club 2

Misc:

Street Racing Syndicate
http://a333.g.akamai.net/f/333/7712/...00211992_2.jpg
Total Immersion Racing
Starsky and Hutch
Moto-X
Flat-Out

midtown madness should be really good if it was done half as well as the PC games are done.

I enjoyed PGR and RSC but I'm really glad I only paid $20 for each. It takes a lot for a racing game to be worth $50. I think that's one of the reasons why people love the GT series so much. It's got 100s of cars, dozens of events, lots of tracks, rally racing, and more. Plus it's the most in-depth of all racing games. It's just not possible to spend more time with another racing game so why buy another racing game?

I've always wanted to try one of the Colin McRae games but compared to GT3 it's only half a game. That Motor Trend game sounds intruiging though. I assume it's gotta be detailed like GT3. Am I right?

Apex is getting mixed reactions - it's supposed to give GT a run for its money, but we'll see. I see jaggies. :/

I love racing games. These days they're probably my favorite genre. Xbox has great titles in PGR, Rallisport, and SegaGT2002. What bothers me about the Xbox is that there is no quality steering wheel - so I've been playing my Xbox racers with my control pad while having a lot more fun with my Logitech wheel on my PS2.

Logitech made a wheel for PS2 & Gamecube, but not for Xbox? What's up with that? I want them to make the same wheel for Xbox, or if possible make an adapter so the PS2 wheel will work on the Xbox.

Being a rally fan, I'm looking forward to Colin McRae over V-Rally 3. The V-Rally series has pretty unforgiving driving physics, and too many flips occur for it to be fun. Colin McRae is more like RalliSport Challenge, but it looks to capture the WRC feeling more with the in-cockpit views with the co-pilot and stuff. Plus the graphics look pretty stunning. Let's just hope it plays as well.

As for other driving games, I'm looking forward to Apex and Midnight Club 2, and hopefully Midtown Madness 3, because of their lush and realistic city environments. My favorite driving game of all time has to be Tokyo Highway Xtreme 2, because nothing beats a customized import speeding through the highways of Tokyo in the dead of night, with the buildings and landmarks of the city illuminating the streets. Plus it played pretty well too...I wish Genki would bring this series to the XBox, but it sounds like it died on the PS2.

Jeremy

I really liked Rallisport, but I hated Project Gotham.

To be honest, I'm not sure anything will dethrone Gran Turismo. They put a lot of time and effort into making that game a masterpiece. It will take a development studio putting in a year or two getting every detail exactly right. Most racing games I've played seem rushed to market, even Sega GT.

I think in time Xbox will get some solid racers, maybe not a GT3, but close enough to make it enjoyable.

I still pull PGR out now and then and give it an hour or two. I love that game. And custome coundtracks.. mmm..

Wow...I thought was the only one. I play Rallisport probably more than any other game I have and I never grow tired of it. I tried the demo of the Rally Fusion but just did not like the way it handled as much. Has anyone here played the game extensively or has owned it? I will probably pick it up when it hits $20 or below.

I never could get used to the handling on PGR. Rallisport just seems more fun to me. I am definitely interested in trying the Colin McRae game. A buddy of mine may buy an Xbox just for Midtown Madness. I look forward to some future Xbox Live racing games other than Moto GP (I think that is what it's called).

I have Need for Speed 2 and have really enjoyed it. It takes awhile to get used to the handling but once you get into it, it can get addictive (and those damn cops are relentless). I got Test Drive in a trade and have actually thought it was okay despite most people hating it. You just have to take it as it is...an arcade racer with a bad storyline with hip-hop music. I have liked Test Drive more than Burn-Out which was too easy in my opinion.

i really like rallisport... what about rally fusion? i was kind of expecting that to be a good game but it seems to be getting mixed reviews also.

I haven't played it yet but the game has an average score of 71% (<font color=blue>Gamerankings.com=</font=>=).

The lowest price so far is $24.97 (<font color=blue>KBToys.com=</font=>=).

Group S Challenge (capcom) looks to be a serious contender to dethrone Gran Tourismo. :) I'll find some screens when I'm not on my laptop.

"__________ looks to be a serious contender to dethrone Gran Tourismo."

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that.

I just want something with Xbox Live support. If/when GT4 comes out for the PS2 with online play, my Xbox will be lucky to ever be used for a driving game ever again. I know that PGR2 is supposed to have online play but i'm not a fan of the kudos system and, frankly, there is not enough car selection in that game. The 14 or so cars just can't compare to the hundreds available in GT2/3. Not to mention the fact that you can't do anything to the cars in PGR other than a custom license plate <yawn>.

I'd love to see a game like Motor City Online come to the Xbox. A cross between Motor City Online and Gran Turismo with multiplayer online racing would be killer.

When is Colin Mcrae 3 coming out? Bestbuy.com says 2.20.03 but none of the stores in my state have it or have any on order.

I bought PGR and RSR for $20 on ebay. The graphics were awesome and the driving expereince pretty decent, but i just couldnt "get" into them.

I played burnout on my friends GC and fell in love with it. I picked it up for $9.99 at BB used.

I guess i am not a fan of "total immersion" racing of Gran Turismo and the other wannbe GT's.

I am more into "fun" and less technical driving games. I enjoy mario kart, diddy kong, etc --> so i guess that is why burnout appeals to me.

Quite frankly i am not looking forward to any of the potential releases, however I may seriously consider buying a racing game that can be played on xBox LIVE.

Jason, I thought I was the only one who didn't like GT3!

Are you serious? Lots of people hate GT3. I assume that's due to the high difficulty level, steep learning curve, and all that techincal stuff.

my question is, are there any XBOX Live enabled racing game out or comming out soon? I would really like to get one of these....

Apex looks incredible.... I want to see how well it plays tho.

Get MotoGP for your Online fix. It's a motorcycle but it is still great online racing action.

I'm worried about Apex. It's been out for days and not a single review?

D

Great graphics for a lot of these games, interested to see how they play

I got it and I love it - it so smooth and fast. I wasn't clear in my post, I was refering automobiles, boats, snowboarding, flyers, etc...

I mean, can you imagine playing something like Gran Turismo, Need for Speed 2 or SSX on LIVE... something along those lines. If they can make MOTO GP online, then the others should be an option, IMO... :)

Thanks for starting the thread.

I just picked up my Xbox and PS2 at Christmas, finally had money for them, and despite the fact I am a huge racing fan, all I currently have is Sega GT. I personnaly love the game. I must state I am a big Sega fan though.

I want to pick up GT3, see what all the fuss is about, but I am in no real hurry. Hate the PS2 controller, no calibrated triggers.

Colin McRae Rally 3 and Apex look rather interesting in the future.

I wish there was a San Francisco Rush 2049 game out there for the X-Box, unless there is and I've not heard yet. I'm not into the tweaks etc. I just want a bunch of cars packed together going really fast. And the "battle" modes on Rush had my brother's and I up untill the sun was cresting the horizon the next morning.

SSX Online. That's one of the best ideas I've heard in a while. Way cool idea. :thumbsup:

Apex keeps the race in a 'pack' because of the "rubberband" AI. It's one of the things I don't like about the game. You could fall behind the pack and catch them within 15-20 seconds (assuming you stay on the road) but when out front leading the pack, you can never pull away.
I guess you can say this is good because it keeps the race close all the way through (from start to finish) but you are never rewarded for driving a clean line. The pack will always catch you if they don't crash into each other or force each other off the road. If this happens then and only then could you expect a big lead.
Still the game is fun for the arcade racer that it is. The idea of building your own empire I think is what keeps me playing along with the opportunity to race GT cars (my favorite class of auto racing right after Formula 1).

I'll give it a shot...keep in mind that this is coming from about 12 hours of playing.

CONS:

The option to 'tune' your car is severely limited. The car can be set to the following:
Handling: Drift around corners or normal.
Gear ratio: Low, Normal, High
Downforce: Low, Normal, High

Launching the car from the start is a no-brainer. You could hold down the accelerator and your car would do minimal wheelspin everytime. You don't get to "find" the optimal RPM to hold your engine at prior to the green light because it's not going to matter.

The AI is pretty good but only because it has the "rubberband" effect. You could fall behind the pack, but catch-up within 15-20 seconds if you stay on the road. When in the lead, you can never pull away even if you drive a clean line. The pack will always catch you so long as they don't force each other of the road or crash into each other going into a turn.

The sound of cars bumping each other sounds like two tool boxes hitting each other. :hscratch:

You don't really get to design your own car. You get to select from a pool of cars already designed. It's just a matter of you selecting which ones you want to build to label as your own. Very limited selection.

PROS:

Graphics, graphics, graphics!
The backgrounds and cars themselves are amazing to look at. I find myself going off the road because I'm watching the scenery. It feels so 'alive'. Firetrucks are moving, police lights are turning, balloons, planes landing, flags moving in the wind, waterfall, and that's just to name a few.

The bass from the engine rev of some of these cars is shaking my windows! :thumbsup:

Custom soundtrack is supported which is a plus, but I drive with the music set 'OFF' anyway.

"Rubberband AI" can also be viewed as a plus since it keeps the game close. You are always fighting for 1st place from start to finish. This keeps the game fun. Although you could never pull away, good/defensive driving will keep you in the lead.

Building your own Auto Empire is a fun novelty but I wonder how long this will last. It is fun to watch your manufacturing plant grow and become more modernized. The number of staff members will grow as well.

So there it is. The game is definitely an arcade racer and is nowhere close to being a sim. I personally enjoy it more than PGR because I'm not a fan of the kudos system. The handling around turns feels better in Sega GT2002 but that's to be expected because of the arcade-feel to this game.

Feel free to post questions.

Thanks for the review. :) I wasn't even aware this was out already... must've slipped my mind.