We continue with the second and last part of the special opened yesterday on the history of car games .
Today we make the leap into the history of car games on its way to 3D and we find a panorama that, despite continuing to be burned in our minds, does not manage to awaken us the same nostalgia.
Or so you might think, but I assure you that what you will find down here promises to be a review of a history lived by many of us and doing it, remembering some images, listening to some tunes, my skin has prickled. I am not entertaining you anymore, the traffic light is green. Welcome to the final stretch of car game history .
‘Virtua Racing’
The decay of the pixel was accompanied by a new system that at that time sounded totally Chinese to us, the polygon.
One of the first car games to incorporate this revolutionary technology was ‘Virtua Racing’, an arcade released by SEGA that was hugely successful on MegaDrive.
SEGA took advantage of what they learned to create the great ‘Daytona USA’ and the experience provided by both allowed years later to launch one of the best driving titles in history, the great:
‘Sega Rally’
Only with that melody and that acceleration after listening to the legendary ‘Sega Rally Championship ”, the bombardment of memories that falls on my mind is amazing.
That Christmas of 1995, when I opened my gift and found my resplendent Sega Saturn next to ‘Dragon Ball Z Legend’ and the fantastic title that now occupies us, I think it will be one of those moments that the passing of the years will never be able to erase.
I’ve been so excited that I’ve even ridden it again to play a few games.
‘Ignition’
More than ten years ago I downloaded one of the demos that I have replayed the most in my life.
Some time ago when the title passed to the abandonware category I replayed it and, if you do not know it, I highly recommend it. With a certain MicroMachine aesthetic, ‘Ignition’ is one of the funniest car titles I’ve ever tried.
‘Crazy Taxi’
The great Dreamcast, my favorite console. I adored that machine, its control, its games and even today I keep them with suspicion from the hands of others. If I had to choose one among all of them it would undoubtedly be ‘Jet Set Radio’, but the second on the list that kept me glued to the screen the most hours was ‘Crazy Taxi’.
The high point of the Japanese company, a time when creating an arcade taxi driver simulator (reread the phrase please, it is something worth reconsidering) could become a mass success only if it came from the hand of the great SEGA . Unfortunately it was also a turning point and, from there, everything is sorrow and misfortune.
Remember, if at any time you dare to call me a fanboy, it will only be true if you call me a SEGA fanboy.
‘Gran Turismo’
No, I don’t like ‘Gran Turismo’, I already said it. Despite this, I recognize that it was a turning point in the history of car games and it deserves as the one who most enjoys a place on this list. Perhaps the reason was that despite being one of the best simulators in the history of car games, we also reached a time of decadence of the purest arcade.
After him came his second, third, fourth and fifth parts, some with prologues in between. Despite having it today, kept like gold on a cloth, I only dedicated a couple of weeks to it every time I saw a movie like ’60 Seconds’, ‘Bullit’ or something like that.
‘Ridge Racer Type-4’
The summer of 99 has two names for me: ‘Ape Escape’ and the great game like the top of a pine tree that concerns us. ‘Ridge Racer Type-4’ became one of my favorite titles at lightning speed.
I had not had the opportunity to test its previous parts and after spending some time hooked on the realistic physics of ‘Gran Turismo 2’ its arrival meant, for my story at the controls of racing games, the resurrection of the arcade genre.
Those huge curves to go skidding at full speed, that mini jet, the rocket car, or overcome the last phase listening to that mythical song. A real joy.
‘Metropolis Street Racer’
It was the forerunner of a fashion that would last for years, the first hybrid between simulation and arcade. ‘Metropolis Street Racer’ came to Dreamcast with a firm proposal.
Now the cars are real, the scenarios too, but the car races that are cool are those of skids and jumps, not those of braking before each curve and that is precisely ‘Metropolis Street Racer’.
‘Need for Speed Most Wanted’
I missed all the previous ‘Need for Speed’ (titles that later I have had the opportunity to try and enjoy) but by taking ‘Need for Speed Most Wanted’ I think I made up the lost time.
As addictive as it is fun, ‘Most Wanted’ is one of my favorite ‘Need for Speed’ and along with ‘Burnout’ one of the car games that has run the longest on my PS2 reader.
‘Project Gotham Racing 4’
If the first game when I bought Xbox 360 was ‘Gears of War’ and the second ‘Dead Rising’, I was very clear that the third had to be ‘Project Gotham Racing 4’.
I had missed the previous ones and trying the version of the prodigal son of ‘Metropolis Street Racer’ was one of my pending subjects. The fear of having the high title passed after a couple of races and since then it is my favorite driving game.
‘Forza Motorsport 2’
Known around these parts as the ‘Gran Turismo’ of Xbox 360, ‘Forza Motorsport 2’, although fun, has not managed to hook me as ‘Project Gotham Racing 4’.
It is not to detract from it, as a simulator it is a great game and one of the best you can find in the market, but you already know that my heart will always be arcade.
‘Gran Turismo 5 Prologue’
I think it’s fair to end the prologue of what promises to be one of the best simulators of the current generation.
Despite still being a saga that did not quite convince me, I was able to test it with a feedback wheel and it turned out to be a highly addictive combination.
And so far this second part of the history of car games.
I know that I have left many in the pipeline. Great classics like ‘Carmageddon’, ‘Moto Racer’, ‘Moto GP’, ‘Destruction Derby’, ‘Formula 1’, PC simulators (much better than any ‘GT’ or ‘Forza’ worth its salt) like ‘ GTR Evolution ‘, or another of my favorite sagas:’ Burnout ‘with its latest and greatest exponent in the excellent’ Burnout Paradise ‘.
But there are more days than poppies and today’s journey ends here. I am convinced that, between the articles of my colleagues that will be appearing these days and you in the comments, you will be able to properly polish this review of the history of car games .
Vídeo | ‘Virtua Racing’, ‘Sega Rally’, ‘Ignition’, ‘Formula 1 97’, ‘Ridge Racer’, ‘Crazy Taxi’, ‘Gran Turismo’, ‘Ridge Racer Type 4’, ‘Metropolis Street Racer’, ‘Need for Speed Most Wanted’, ‘Project Gotham Racing 4’, ‘Forza Motorsport 2’, ‘Gran Turismo 5 Prologue’
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