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Racing games seem to be in there numbers on the PS2 these days, there are loads of them, some good, some bad, and some ok. There is quite a large range in both how good they are, and the types of racing they offer. Now I could go on a write about which are the better ones, but that’s not the point of this post, here I am going to focus on one area of a racing game that often makes me decide whether I like it or not.... damage.
Yes, its true that damage is not everything, as GT3 has gone to show, it may all be about the controls and the AI, but for me the damage on the cars makes up a big thing for me. I suppose that this call comes down to the graphics but it does play a big part and I know im not alone in this way of thinking, many of you here always talk about how you wish they would include damage in GT3.
So why do I think like this? Well, damage in the game adds so much more to it, depth, tactical and fun comes more into the game when it is included. There is so more depth in the games when this is included as the likes of Colin McRae rally has shown. It can give you the mission to keep your car in as good of condition as you can so it does not cost you time and money to keep fixing it, and this obviously makes you be more careful on the track, it makes you drive more seriously and prohibits you from taking the short cut of flying around the corner so fast that you hit the railings but don’t loose much speed, or even it stops you from hitting other cars on the track to knock them out of the way. This too is partly tactical.
But one thing is for sure; you have to admit that the racing games that do have car damage on are far the more fun to play. I remember at times on the likes of Toca I would just ride around trashing my car as it looked good to see it start out in mint condition and come back into the pits like it had been in a war...if the pit stop people were real im sure i would have been sued on the spot!
Not only is it fun to do, but its fun to watch as well, seeing you car being destroyed after a spectacular crash as it spins in the air, gracefully...and then crushes its self as its land under its own weight.
If the developers get it right though it can looks so realistic. For me, the best game that has ever done car damage justice was Destruction Derby 2. This game had everything, speed, the graphics and the sheer amount of damage that you could do to your car, there were so many impact points on the models that even the tiniest of bumps dinted the car. The damage on this game too always seem so much more life like than any other, as when you hit the front of the car on another, it really does buckle, and same with any other part of the car. What was good about the way Reflections (the developers) did this was the fact that they were able to take this great engine to the Driver series, and these games were great too.
What made Driver so much better than DD 2 was that this gaming style was taken to more familiar grounds...real life roads. Here you would drive around cities with other sprites in there cars just living out there every day life, some sensible and some not, and these were the types of drivers that would ram your car like a bad woman driver! What made this better too was the police that were there, and the damage made these chases a lot more fun as you raced around the roads trying to keep away luring the police cars into on coming traffic and speeding away as they hot head on. This was real police chases on your TV whenever you wanted!
As more and more racing games come out, it seems that the damage in them is a common thing, which if the initial game is good, and the damage feature is good, its a great thing to include and one that we all have started to expect. One good thing about this feature, and one that hopefully the new GT will include is that damage can breath a new lease of life back into the sequels of these old games, and rather than give us some new cars and tracks, it offers us a new type of gaming in this game. Im just hoping that the awkward car manufactures soon change there mind and give GT that final improvement it needs.
But as I say, damage in the racing games for me is a big, and great thing, and hopefully more games will follow the DD 2 and GTA 3 car damage style that we all know and love.
Yes, its true that damage is not everything, as GT3 has gone to show, it may all be about the controls and the AI, but for me the damage on the cars makes up a big thing for me. I suppose that this call comes down to the graphics but it does play a big part and I know im not alone in this way of thinking, many of you here always talk about how you wish they would include damage in GT3.
So why do I think like this? Well, damage in the game adds so much more to it, depth, tactical and fun comes more into the game when it is included. There is so more depth in the games when this is included as the likes of Colin McRae rally has shown. It can give you the mission to keep your car in as good of condition as you can so it does not cost you time and money to keep fixing it, and this obviously makes you be more careful on the track, it makes you drive more seriously and prohibits you from taking the short cut of flying around the corner so fast that you hit the railings but don’t loose much speed, or even it stops you from hitting other cars on the track to knock them out of the way. This too is partly tactical.
But one thing is for sure; you have to admit that the racing games that do have car damage on are far the more fun to play. I remember at times on the likes of Toca I would just ride around trashing my car as it looked good to see it start out in mint condition and come back into the pits like it had been in a war...if the pit stop people were real im sure i would have been sued on the spot!
Not only is it fun to do, but its fun to watch as well, seeing you car being destroyed after a spectacular crash as it spins in the air, gracefully...and then crushes its self as its land under its own weight.
If the developers get it right though it can looks so realistic. For me, the best game that has ever done car damage justice was Destruction Derby 2. This game had everything, speed, the graphics and the sheer amount of damage that you could do to your car, there were so many impact points on the models that even the tiniest of bumps dinted the car. The damage on this game too always seem so much more life like than any other, as when you hit the front of the car on another, it really does buckle, and same with any other part of the car. What was good about the way Reflections (the developers) did this was the fact that they were able to take this great engine to the Driver series, and these games were great too.
What made Driver so much better than DD 2 was that this gaming style was taken to more familiar grounds...real life roads. Here you would drive around cities with other sprites in there cars just living out there every day life, some sensible and some not, and these were the types of drivers that would ram your car like a bad woman driver! What made this better too was the police that were there, and the damage made these chases a lot more fun as you raced around the roads trying to keep away luring the police cars into on coming traffic and speeding away as they hot head on. This was real police chases on your TV whenever you wanted!
As more and more racing games come out, it seems that the damage in them is a common thing, which if the initial game is good, and the damage feature is good, its a great thing to include and one that we all have started to expect. One good thing about this feature, and one that hopefully the new GT will include is that damage can breath a new lease of life back into the sequels of these old games, and rather than give us some new cars and tracks, it offers us a new type of gaming in this game. Im just hoping that the awkward car manufactures soon change there mind and give GT that final improvement it needs.
But as I say, damage in the racing games for me is a big, and great thing, and hopefully more games will follow the DD 2 and GTA 3 car damage style that we all know and love.
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Racing games seem to be in there numbers on the PS2 these days, there are loads of them, some good, some bad, and some ok. There is quite a large range in both how good they are, and the types of racing they offer. Now I could go on a write about which are the better ones, but that’s not the point of this post, here I am going to focus on one area of a racing game that often makes me decide whether I like it or not.... damage.
Yes, its true that damage is not everything, as GT3 has gone to show, it may all be about the controls and the AI, but for me the damage on the cars makes up a big thing for me. I suppose that this call comes down to the graphics but it does play a big part and I know im not alone in this way of thinking, many of you here always talk about how you wish they would include damage in GT3.
So why do I think like this? Well, damage in the game adds so much more to it, depth, tactical and fun comes more into the game when it is included. There is so more depth in the games when this is included as the likes of Colin McRae rally has shown. It can give you the mission to keep your car in as good of condition as you can so it does not cost you time and money to keep fixing it, and this obviously makes you be more careful on the track, it makes you drive more seriously and prohibits you from taking the short cut of flying around the corner so fast that you hit the railings but don’t loose much speed, or even it stops you from hitting other cars on the track to knock them out of the way. This too is partly tactical.
But one thing is for sure; you have to admit that the racing games that do have car damage on are far the more fun to play. I remember at times on the likes of Toca I would just ride around trashing my car as it looked good to see it start out in mint condition and come back into the pits like it had been in a war...if the pit stop people were real im sure i would have been sued on the spot!
Not only is it fun to do, but its fun to watch as well, seeing you car being destroyed after a spectacular crash as it spins in the air, gracefully...and then crushes its self as its land under its own weight.
If the developers get it right though it can looks so realistic. For me, the best game that has ever done car damage justice was Destruction Derby 2. This game had everything, speed, the graphics and the sheer amount of damage that you could do to your car, there were so many impact points on the models that even the tiniest of bumps dinted the car. The damage on this game too always seem so much more life like than any other, as when you hit the front of the car on another, it really does buckle, and same with any other part of the car. What was good about the way Reflections (the developers) did this was the fact that they were able to take this great engine to the Driver series, and these games were great too.
What made Driver so much better than DD 2 was that this gaming style was taken to more familiar grounds...real life roads. Here you would drive around cities with other sprites in there cars just living out there every day life, some sensible and some not, and these were the types of drivers that would ram your car like a bad woman driver! What made this better too was the police that were there, and the damage made these chases a lot more fun as you raced around the roads trying to keep away luring the police cars into on coming traffic and speeding away as they hot head on. This was real police chases on your TV whenever you wanted!
As more and more racing games come out, it seems that the damage in them is a common thing, which if the initial game is good, and the damage feature is good, its a great thing to include and one that we all have started to expect. One good thing about this feature, and one that hopefully the new GT will include is that damage can breath a new lease of life back into the sequels of these old games, and rather than give us some new cars and tracks, it offers us a new type of gaming in this game. Im just hoping that the awkward car manufactures soon change there mind and give GT that final improvement it needs.
But as I say, damage in the racing games for me is a big, and great thing, and hopefully more games will follow the DD 2 and GTA 3 car damage style that we all know and love.
Yes, its true that damage is not everything, as GT3 has gone to show, it may all be about the controls and the AI, but for me the damage on the cars makes up a big thing for me. I suppose that this call comes down to the graphics but it does play a big part and I know im not alone in this way of thinking, many of you here always talk about how you wish they would include damage in GT3.
So why do I think like this? Well, damage in the game adds so much more to it, depth, tactical and fun comes more into the game when it is included. There is so more depth in the games when this is included as the likes of Colin McRae rally has shown. It can give you the mission to keep your car in as good of condition as you can so it does not cost you time and money to keep fixing it, and this obviously makes you be more careful on the track, it makes you drive more seriously and prohibits you from taking the short cut of flying around the corner so fast that you hit the railings but don’t loose much speed, or even it stops you from hitting other cars on the track to knock them out of the way. This too is partly tactical.
But one thing is for sure; you have to admit that the racing games that do have car damage on are far the more fun to play. I remember at times on the likes of Toca I would just ride around trashing my car as it looked good to see it start out in mint condition and come back into the pits like it had been in a war...if the pit stop people were real im sure i would have been sued on the spot!
Not only is it fun to do, but its fun to watch as well, seeing you car being destroyed after a spectacular crash as it spins in the air, gracefully...and then crushes its self as its land under its own weight.
If the developers get it right though it can looks so realistic. For me, the best game that has ever done car damage justice was Destruction Derby 2. This game had everything, speed, the graphics and the sheer amount of damage that you could do to your car, there were so many impact points on the models that even the tiniest of bumps dinted the car. The damage on this game too always seem so much more life like than any other, as when you hit the front of the car on another, it really does buckle, and same with any other part of the car. What was good about the way Reflections (the developers) did this was the fact that they were able to take this great engine to the Driver series, and these games were great too.
What made Driver so much better than DD 2 was that this gaming style was taken to more familiar grounds...real life roads. Here you would drive around cities with other sprites in there cars just living out there every day life, some sensible and some not, and these were the types of drivers that would ram your car like a bad woman driver! What made this better too was the police that were there, and the damage made these chases a lot more fun as you raced around the roads trying to keep away luring the police cars into on coming traffic and speeding away as they hot head on. This was real police chases on your TV whenever you wanted!
As more and more racing games come out, it seems that the damage in them is a common thing, which if the initial game is good, and the damage feature is good, its a great thing to include and one that we all have started to expect. One good thing about this feature, and one that hopefully the new GT will include is that damage can breath a new lease of life back into the sequels of these old games, and rather than give us some new cars and tracks, it offers us a new type of gaming in this game. Im just hoping that the awkward car manufactures soon change there mind and give GT that final improvement it needs.
But as I say, damage in the racing games for me is a big, and great thing, and hopefully more games will follow the DD 2 and GTA 3 car damage style that we all know and love.
Page: