To the racers here: sim or arcade? (1 Viewer)

[Inspector Hammer!]

I've discovered something about myself since getting my PS2 last year: I just suck at driving simulators! Believe me i've tried, Gran Turismo 3 is just far too imposing and complex for me to even touch (it's days in my collection are numbered), I even suck at NASCAR Thunder 2003. I can't control my cars no matter how many times I try or how hard I try, or how many tips i'm given, I keep hitting the wall or other cars. I just can't do it. It's almost as if my ability to learn breaks down when it comes to sims, I just cannot learn!
I discovered this after buying Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2, I was a big fan of the third one because I was good at it, and the new one is the same way. Conclusion: arcade racers are my cup of tea, they're easy and fun without all the sim stuff getting in the way like taking a corner the right way, breaking the right way etc.
Which do you prefer and which are you good at?

 

[Jeff Kleist]

There are no other racing games except Daytona USA (Saturn/Dreamcast only need apply outside of the arcade)

 

[BrianB]

Arcade all the way for me. Racing simulations (ala Gran Turismo) bore me rotten. The closest I get to it is the likes of Project Gotham & Le Mans 24 on the DC. I definitely prefer a once around Rallisport or Daytona to GT.

 

[Mike Pattee]

I love the sim type racers. Learning why a car acts like it does and then being able to apply that to the game is great. Sega GT does a great job of letting you tweak the handling befre you need to do anything to horsepower. I find the arcade type games especially PGR much more frustrating. At least with games like Sega gt and GT3 if you can't win a race to start with you can just bump up some handling or bump up some HP and you're good. And then later when you've mastered the viper or whatever car. You can do it the hard way.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I guess another reason I don't like sim racers is the way they make me feel about myself, I feel so completely ignorant whenever I lose, and I feel like a real failure. They make me feel like a complete child, especially in front of friends. It doesn't help that I know that i'll never get any better at them either.

Put 'NfSHP2' in however and watch me go! I can race at breakneck speeds and actually win races.

 

[NickSo]

im a sim racer myself.. I love Ferarri F355 Challenge on dreamcast
However i do dabble into arcade. MSR is my 2nd fav racer on the dreamcast

 

[Graeme Clark]

I like a good mix of the two, but I probably side on the arcade side a little bit more. I love Daytona, and other Sega arcade racers, really have a lot of fun with the Need For Speed series, but still enjoy something a little more realistic like Gran Tourismo.

Although... I don't consider GT to be a hard core sim in any way. While the driving physics might be a little more realistic, it is still very much an arcadish and not terribly realistic in the actual racing.

I have also played games like the Grand Prix series, which I also like, but I have no love for doing any of the car setup, and get frustrated because I'm so used to arcade racers I tend to fly off the track.

One racing series I really liked was the Formula 1 series from Psygnosis on the PS1. The racing required some technical skill, but was still kind of an arcade racer, had a decent engine (for the time), and was a lot of fun. I just wish it was a touch more realistic in terms of following the rules, having to fight with the other drivers to pass and keep them behind, and the pit stop system stunk. Something like that tweaked a bit mroe would be my close to ideal racing game.

 

[Dan B]

I like realistic physics but I don't care for the tuning at all in sim racers. I think games like Project Gotham Racing strike a good balance between the two.

 

[Romier S]

I like realistic physics but I don't care for the tuning at all in sim racers.

Same here. I bought Gran Turismo 3 when it was first released and I all I ever played was the arcade mode. Tried the simulation mode and was bored after a little while.

Not all racing games are like that for me though. I got very much into MotoGP's "sim" mode but that was partly because of the outstanding physics of the game.

 

[Jerry Gracia]

So...is Nascar Thunder 2003 gonna be on your hit list too?
Getting rid of GT3?
Poor John can't learn simulators! LOL
Just messing with ya!
You gotta do what you gotta do.
There ain't nothing wrong with ARCADE racers. I can play both types, there both fun for me.
My current favs right now are (in no order):
NEED FOR SPEED: HP2 (yes, I fianlly admit, the PS2 version is more FUN to play than the XBOX version!)
BURNOUT 2 This game is a blast!
Nascar Thunder 2003
My all time fav is:
Gran Turismo 3: Nothing beats this game. From the beatifully rendered cars to the beatifully rendered tracks...this game has ART written all over it! No racing game on any console beats this one IMO.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I knew I was going to catch hell from you Jerry!
Nah, not going to dump NASCAR Thunder 2003 just yet. Agreed that Gran Turismo 3 is just a gorgeous game, but if I can't play it, what's the point of owning it right?
I'm not going to get much for it anyway so who knows, I may just hang on to it for a while longer.

 

[ChrisV]

I prefer sim racers, for sure. I used to like arcade style racers, and was befuddled when I started playing racers where I actually needed to touch the brake button. Once I got into driving properly, I found that I really enjoy it. I still like the arcadey ones from time to time, but I doubt I will be buying one again (one involving cars, anyway).

 

[Clinton McClure]

I'm a sim racer from way back, but my favorite racing game still has to be Stun Runner (arcade) followed closely by Rock 'N' Roll Racing for the Super Nintendo.

 

[EdR]

I prefer games that combine elements of sim and arcade. I've come to dislike full-blown sims, I just get bored of them.

By the same token, there needs to be some degree of difficulty and depth in the handling. I recently bought Need For Speed: HP2 and Burnout 2, I had to return B2 because the handling was too cartoonish for my taste, and while NFS is a far cry from a sim, there is some depth (and a good deal of polish in general), and the sheer adrenaline rush in NFS keeps me coming back.

One of my favorites is WRC, which I think is a near-perfect blend of sim and arcade. The cars are too responsive to be real, but make for a lot of fun whipping around tight turns. The track design is superb, the courses have lots of bumps and undulations - something oddly lacking in a lot of rally games.

I recently bought V-Rally 3 which I'm still getting used to, but it too seems to have a nice mixture of sim and arcade elements. The handling is twitchy, but manageable after some learning time. The damage modelling is wonderful. It's a difficult game because it's very sensitive to collisions, so it forces you to take care and maintain control. There seems to be plenty of depth to the physics.

A game that I really enjoy but find frustrating at times is World of Outlaws Sprintcars. It's really more sim than arcade, IMO (depending on the difficulty setting). But it's a very exciting game. I tell people that if you liked watching short-track speed skating during the Olympics, that you'll probably like Sprintcar racing. But winning races is hard, the game really demands a lot of focus. To do well, you have to drive right on the edge of losing control without going over.

OK, I've rambled long enough...

 

[Andre F]

I like realistic physics but I don't care for the tuning at all in sim racers

I agree. I like arcade racers style, but I can still get into a sim racer on occassion. However, I should I didn't get much use out of Gran Tursimo 3...

 

[Masood Ali]

I prefer sim and sim/arcade, like MotoGP, F1 2001 and Rallisport.

MotoGP has actually spoiled me rotten. The weather effects, sense of speed, and control scheme are just impeccable.

 

[Dan B]

A game that I really enjoy but find frustrating at times is World of Outlaws Sprintcars.

I've been a fan of Ratbag, the developer, ever since their first game Powerslide. Powerslide is still one of my favorite racing games of all time. It has basically the same physics engine as the Sprintcar game, but the track design is wide-open & some of them are through caves in mountains, etc. Just fantastic. Playing that game online multi-player is still the best online gaming I've ever experienced. Plus there was the cool "fox-n-hounds" mode, which was basically a game of tag with optional missiles & bombs, but it was also fun as hell.