PC Driving Games "Arcade" Page 17
PC Racing Games - Arcade:
Last updated - July 2008
Computer racing programs are divided into two basic forms, the simulator, and the arcade game. Arcade games tend to be (in my opinion) a bit easier to drive. You can push the car harder, drive it faster, and crash a bit more often, and it will sometimes have no discernable affect on the cars handling at all? Geared to the fast fix market sector, they are often easy to get into, requiring no setting up of the car, qualifying or even practicing. The racing can often be in a fantasy World, with weird and wonderful cars, (Motorhead anyone?) and knowing the right cheats or codes is what it is all about! Arcade racing games are great if you want a quick blast around the track at a moments notice.
Below are details of recent notable driving programs (Arcade). If you would like me to include details of other programs, or submit a review or information on a particular program yourself, please forward the details to me.
PC Driving Game Reviews - Arcade Games:
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Select a Link to see the Review:
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- GTA 3 - Produced by RockStar. Everyone has heard of the infamous GTA series of games. Drive like a maniac, kill innocent bystanders, complete missions. All this was carried out via an overhead view of the action. Well not any more. Now the view is first person perspective and in glorious 3D. The game has fabulous graphics and great soundtracks (I love the in car radio stations). Camera angles can be changed, but the basic recipe is the same. The landscapes are awesome, and fairly interactive. You can choose to do an honest days work (eg: as a taxi driver, ambulance driver or Fireman) or you can choose to be at the beck and call of the various gangs who inhabit the locations in GTA3 (Ferry prostitutes, be a getaway driver, carry out assignments as a hitman, etc). Or you can just sit back, cruise the city streets and watch life pass you by.... Fantastic fun, whatever you decide to do!
- Stunt GP - Produced by EON Digital Entertainment (Team 17). Basically you race using remote controlled battery operated buggies. Win races to get credits, to buy upgrades for the car. Sound familiar? It is. Its all been seen, heard, and done before, and its been done a lot better! I'd avoid it if I were you.
- World GP 2000 - Produced by Eidos, This GP racer is purely arcade. Graphics are ok, but not state of the art. Sound is pretty good, the arcade action is fast paced. Three difficulty levels are available, handling is definitley arcade rather than sim. You have to pass your super licence test before joining a team and racing. This gives you a brief instruction on how to drive the car. Not the best arcade racer by any means.
- E-Racer - Produced by Rage and due for release in the first half of 2001. Its an on-line driving game, which will have around eight cars and around 14 tracks. The cars will be modern fantasy cars (but based on real world modern cars) as this means the publishers do not have to pay a hefty licence fee! There will be eight drivers racing in each race, and there are single player options, a full championship mode, racing against ghost cars, and time trial modes. Rage want to encourage regular on-line tourneys, and may even offer prizes at a later date (eg: a car?)
For more info on E-Racer go: 
- Need For Speed (Motor City): - Published by Electronic Arts, yet another NFS game (do we really need any more?) This version of the old Need for Speed formula is based on a bygone era, namely 1930 to the 1950's. Win races to earn money, use the money to buy bigger and faster cars, simple eh? Anyone fancy driving a large chrome festooned American cruiser? anybody? Expect the usual arcade offering from EA. There is no firm release date yet as far as I know.
- 4x4 Evolution: - Produced by Take 2 Interactive. Its an on-line, off road, racing game. It should be released any day now. You can jump straight in and race, if you win you get cash, which you can use to upgrade the car. It should play great over a standard 56k modem connection, and you will be able to race Mac users, and Dreamcast users too. There is also a career mode.
- Atmosphere and sense of speed, and the sounds are not the best in the World, but there are lots of vehicles, and you can drive absolutely anywhere, although if you want to win, you need to stick to the track and pass through the checkpoints. To win, you will need to upgrade your car, so newbies with bog standard cars will get left behind by experienced users, but all in all, a good idea, a very similar idea to Insane in fact, but I think Insane is better. Try for more info:
- Off Road: - Developed by Rage, this is an off road, Paris-Dakkar rally 4 wheel drive type effort, with (semi) realistic handling over rough terrain in six locations. Multiple camera angles, nifty graphics (featuring dust clouds, exhaust fumes and engine flames), and various modes of play (arcade, time trials, full season and instant race modes) are all on offer. For more info checkout the website
- Screamer 4x4: - Published by Virgin Interactive and developed by Clever Development. Its a 4X4 racing game. Graphics look ok, & sound effects are good. It has multiplayer options via the Net and LAN. Try for more info:
- Colin MCrae Rally 2: - Published by Codemasters, this is the long awaited follow up to the very popular original Colin MCrae Rally, which was slightly too arcadish for some, but a hit in the stores. This new version is even more realistic, and has even better handling and even more detail, more damage, etc, etc. And it needs all this, if it is to topple the excellent RC2000 from its current top spot. Which I think it does, just! It will also have stiff competition from Ubisofts Rally Simulator when it is released. CMR2 has great graphics, sound and handling, what more do you want? Its not a true sim, but its far better than most arcade titles. Colin MaCrae Rally 2 is definitely one to go out and buy.
- Insane: - Published by Codemasters. Race off road vehicles on a wide variety of circuits (around 20 of them). There are five categories of vehicle to choose from, including 8 wheeled monsters! Vehicles range from buggies, to monster trucks, to military vehicles, with 4WD & AWD & front & rear wheel steering. Racing is an informal affair trying to get to check points as soon as possible, with no rules and no holds barred, short cuts can also be used, and damage modelling is used to affect the vehicles performance, parts fly off, and the cars actually look like they are damaged.
- There are around 20 locations to choose from, including deserts, mountains, dry weather, wet weather, and day and night races too. The game is aimed at the on-line racing community and Codemasters are offering their own multi-player network. I have tried Insane, and my reaction to its release and magazine reviews have been pretty positive, so it is definitely worth a try...
- For more details go LATEST: a demo (32Mb) has been released, To get the demo, go The demo is also available on many free PC gaming magazine CD's & DVD's.
A screenshot from Codemasters - Insane:
- Midtown Madness 2: - Published by Microsoft, this is the sequel to the popular original Midtown Madness. This game brings more cars, more missions, and more locations. The game also features a London location, and a San Francisco location. There is also a crash course mode, where you get to play a hollywood stunt man, or a London Cabbie! (which presumeably means you drive around overcharging tourists, cutting people up and swearing at other road users!) There is also bonus cars and locations to unlock. If you liked the original, its more of the same.
- Super 1 Karting: - Produced by Interactive Entertainment, (Of Castrol Honda Superbike fame). This is an arcade, come sim racer karting game. The program includes 10 tracks, three differing karting classes, split screen mode, network mode, practice sessions, single races and a full karting season. At the start choose sim or arcade mode. Arcade mode is jump in and race. Sim race is jump in and set-up the kart, practice, qualify, then race. Graphics are ok, nothing fantastic, handling is a bit suspect in my opinion, the karts seem to drift slowly, rather than turn sharply as they should. But definitely worth a look...
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- Formula One 99: - Published by Psygnosis & Take 2, This is an officially licensed F1 game. Features include weather, 8 player network play, all the 1999 season regulations, stop & go penalties, flags, jump starts, etc. Also has all the tracks and info from the 1999 season. Screenshots look very similar to the older Formula One 97 game? (which was not a very good game at all unless you are a diehard arcade fan). This has now been released but is not really state of the art in my humble opinion. For more info checkout the website HERE:
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- Ford Racing: - Published by Empire Interactive. You can race at ten real World tracks, using various Ford models, from the NASCAR winning Taurus to (Colin MaCrae's current favourite rally car) the Ford Focus. Screenshots look good, but I'm just not sure why anyone is even bothering with this one? Early signs on the net and in review magazines, are that this one is not too good. The cars do not handle too well apparently? It only got 19% in one magazine! (It seems so easy to get nice graphics, but a lot harder to get decent handling cars?) For more info checkout the website HERE:
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Le Mans 24 Hours: - Published by Infogrames, this is as far as I know, the first attempt at recreating the famous 24 hour race? The program has of course, a very accurately detailed track, all the real cars (BMW, Panoz, Porche, etc). Graphics look ok, car set-ups and strategy will be all important in this type of racing and are included. There are various camera angles, and you can race the full 24 hours, Yes, you can actually race the *FULL* 24 hours if you are so inclined! or you can go for various options right down to a 12 minute race? and you can save the game mid race thus avoiding driving for 23 hours then losing that vital place cos you just *HAD* to go to the loo! (Fx: Phew!) Looks interesting but early indications from the net are that it does not handle too well? (It *is* available on the Playstation too, so did we really expect it to drive great!!!) and it may only have limited appeal? For more info visit the 24 Hour Le Mans Website HERE:
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- Spirit of Speed: - Published by Hasbro, and a clear attempt at copying the success of GPL. Based on the 1930's era, there are 12 cars (Bentley, ERA, Mercedes, etc) and nine tracks (Brooklands, and Monza included) to choose from. Graphics look great, apparently the car sounds are quite good. Modes of racing include arcade, single race, and the whole 1937 championship season. Multiplay via LAN is available, but not sure about Internet play? Early reviews on simracing newsgroups and in gaming magazines have stated the cars do not handle too well. A bit of a lemon then?
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- Sega Rally 2: - Published by Sega (Empire Sports). This is a direct coversion of the arcade classic (and is the first game to be simultaneously developed for both the PC and the Dreamcast console). But, there are loads of good rally games already available. So whats on offer here? Well, the graphics look great, if you have a high spec PC that is? There were a few stutters on my system (a Celeron 450 with 128Mb ram) it also takes up a whopping 680Mb of hard disk space on a full install! The sound is pretty good but a bit quiet, and the tyres only seem to screech at the very last minute when the car has just about spun off.
- There is a ten year career/championship option, time trials, practice sessions, ghost laps, variable weather, limited car set-ups, a split screen two player mode, and on-line racing is also available. The first Sega Rally coversion, wasn't all that good, and therefore didn't do too well. This version is better, but by no means perfect. The cars handling is a bit suspect, and not very precise. Braking is virtually instantaneous! while hitting a wall or going off road do not appear to affect speed much? I tried a Thrustmaster T2 and an F1 Sim wheel, and the game didn't handle well with either. The steering seemed to snap from one lock to another? Despite this the AI seemed pretty easy to beat too. My copy has gone back to the shop, I was dissapointed.
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- Grand Theft Auto 2 (GTA 2): - The sequel to the classic GTA is here. The top down view with gorgeous graphics are still there. The option to drive loads of vehicles is still there. The multiplay is still there. The gratuitous violence is still there. The fun is still there too. Its more of the same, but everything is done that little bit better, with a touch more finesse and thought. More weapons, more vehicles, more missions, more law enforcement, bonus levels, even a plot. DMA have produced another classic. Go get it.
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- M25 Racer: - No, I kid you not, that is the title, I know racing and M25 are not terms that normally go together but.... "M25 Racer" is another new release. Published by Infogrames, The game has some accurate representations of parts of London and the surrounding areas (Hence the M25 tag). The purpose of the game is to race seven AI cars around these familiar surroundings (nobody says why?) You can drive a variety of cars (The Nimi, and the Trafaguar, to name but two, so they obviously couldn't afford the price of a licence for a Mini or a Jaguar or any of the others?) The in-game collision detection is a bit suspect, and the cars handling is simplistic to say the least, and there is no multiplay option. The novelty value of racing on vaguely familiar roads should wear off after about two minutes. One to avoid in my opinion.
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- Re-Volt - Not bad? a racing game that races.....Remote controlled cars. Its arcade, its not a sim, its fun. Graphics are great (3Dfx'd up!) sound is a bit limited to the background music, squealing of the cars tyres and the whirring of the little leccy motors. Handling of the cars is fairly predictable, keep the throttle down and slide/skid them around the corners seems to work best! You can also jump things as well! Basically you can practice the tracks on your own, collect stars around a stunt track (very hard, as they are hard to get at so you need one of the faster cars?) or race against AI controlled cars (Ho Yuss!!!)
- Some tracks are locked at the start, until you have won a few races to unlock them. Power ups are available to use while racing, and include oil slicks, rockets, and a bomb! (pick this one up and the little aerial on the car turns into a fuse, and unless you can touch another car within a few seconds, you blow up!!!) He he, great fun. Each of the tracks can be reversed and raced backwards (to help it from getting boring, which I'm sure it would get after you have won on every track.) On each track there are various routes, and you need to figure out the shortcuts to win the races, as the AI are pretty quick too. To progress you need to finish in the top three in any race, which is a bit of a bummer for those of you that may find it a bit hard (unlikely?) A good game for a quick blast, and it can be played multiplayer via a LAN or the Net.
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- Driver - Released with much hype, which, I personally don't think it has really lived up to? Lots of people seem dissapointed with the cars handling, and the fact that the streets and pedestrian and car movements are very repetative, (unlike Midtown Madness?) and there is a lack of freedom in the game itself, you cannot drive anywhere you like? The Police cars are apparently very quick and very determined too, which makes the missions rather hard? The graphics are of course state of the art, and it looks great.
- The game is based around a mission scheme (much like GTA) where you play a getaway driver trying to reach checkpoints without attracting the attention of Mr Plod. But most of the fun seems to be from just driving around like a maniac trying to do the best Starsky and Hutch impression that you can muster! A little map on the screen acts as a radar showing you where you are, where old blue flashing lights is, and which direction your next objective can be found. A missed opportunity here, it looked like it had a lot more potential which sadly hasn't been realised. It looks good, but doesn't play so well.
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- Midtown Madness -The graphics in Midtown Madness are very slick indeed. You get the chance to drive around a fairly large city, in all manner of cars, vans, etc in various time trials or races. You can drive almost anywhere, without too many restrictions. The city you drive around has pedestrians going about their daily duties, traffic lights change, other cars weave through the traffic. In fact, its great fun just to drive around watching the city and its occupants doing their own thing! Not the best racing game, and difficult to categorise, as its not your average arcade driving game? A good buy though, if you fancy something a little bit different.
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- Motorhead - Awesome graphics, possibly the best lighting effects yet? Based in the future, using fantasy tracks and cars. You can practice on your own, try time trials, race on a single track or try a whole season. The cars handle as per your average arcade racer, keep the throttle full on at all times and handbrake round corners bashing into things as you go, doing no damage to the car what so ever? Multiplay is good, Net play can be good fun as the racing can be very close? Menu screens are a bit confusing, but the overall presentation is very slick. Some tracks and cars are locked at the start, until you win a few races and obtain codes to unlock them. The graphics are the real star here. A good one to show off to your mates!
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- GTA (Grand Theft Auto) - Not really a sim or an arcade racer? But a great game anyway. Ground breaking in its design, and controversial in its content! A simple idea, a top down view of you and your car, with gorgeous graphics to boot. You drive cars around a city accomplishing tasks. Or, you drive cars around a city causing as much mayhem as possibly (which one are people gonna choose do you think?) Did anyone ever finish all the missions? I never got past the first couple, cos after that I just wanted to blow things up, crash into things, run over pedestrians, and jump buildings! Various weapons and vehicles are at your disposal, (more are available once you obtain the codes) and much fun can be had using them too. A classic game.
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- Screamer 2 - To date, three Screamer games have been produced. Screamer, Screamer 2 and Screamer Rally. I've seen all three and prefer this version to the other two. Multiplay is great, link up two PC's on a LAN and you have yourself a blast racing with your pals, and before you know it a couple of hours have passed by? Graphics on this version are good (a 3Dfx patch is available) But the later version, Screamer Rally, is fully 3Dfx'd up! Circuits are varied and there are different cars to drive. You can try time trials, a race, or a full championship. In game music is well worth a mention, as are the car sounds. The weather plays a part as some tracks are on snow and ice. A good all round arcade racer, which is perfect for a quick race.
- Other good arcade racing games to look out for include: Ultimate Race Pro - Good graphics, But a bit monotonous after a while;
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