Guys, I know it may sound strange, but in the last few years I've never played a racing game. I'm mostly into fps, action games and flight sims. I'd like to hear your suggestions which game(s) I should pick up for a start. I don't have any preference so I can't be more specific. I once used to play gran turismo 4 on a friend`s ps2 and absolutely loved it, but unfortunately the GT series is not available for PCs. I have a six-core gtx480 equipped rig so specs aren't gonna be an issue. Oh and something else: Do I need a wheel or any other specialized hardware? Till now I've only played with keyboard and mouse.
The original hot pursuit for ps1 was an absolute blast. Even if the new one only has the same gameplay and contemporary graphics I'm gonna be satisfied.
I'm not a big racing game player myself, but I got Burnout Paradise and even though it's more arcadey (which btw I prefer, I'm not hardcore at all) but the game is alot of fun and for the price it's pretty good. Open world setting, different racing modes, the story is a bit lame (but who really cares), and alot of smashing fun!
Burnout Paradise or any Need For Speed game, Although Forza 3 has a lot of assists and when you become more used to driving games is extremely realistic and an all round good driving simulator.
Not that long ago Steam had a sale on all of the following for around $17.00: DIRT (mostly single player) Dirt 2 FUEL GRID TOCA Race Driver 3 There are also a couple free games you might like: Need for Speed World Trackmania Nations (Forever is free on Steam) Flatout Ultimate Carnage is also fun.
You probably wouldn't NEED a wheel, but I'd highly recommend it for better control. Force-feedback wheels can also give you an idea of the road conditions, such as how much traction you currently have. (Loose wheel = no traction.) It's sort of like playing your flight sims without a proper flight stick. Gamepads are more of a stopgap measure, given that those small twiddlysticks don't allow for as fine control of steering as a proper wheel. The only time I'd reverse this suggestion is for Burnout Paradise; that whole series is pretty much tuned for gamepad input, and there will be several occasions where you need to hit max steering in one direction quickly rather than keeping it steady at a certain point. A very forgiving physics engine helps with that. DiRT 2 would probably be a good start, with a fairly forgiving driving model and the Flashback feature keeping you from restarting the whole race if you screw up in the middle. rFactor is popular among the simulation crowd, but you do have to mod it to get the most of it. Oh, and be careful as to what driving habits you learn from some of the more simplistic titles. If you dare to step up to Grand Prix Legends or Richard Burns Rally later on, you'll probably learn the hard way what NOT to do to keep your times low while not ending up off the track, in a totaled car. Better save those for much later unless you're sure that you like racing games in general and are willing to step up to the unrelenting challenge.
Dirt 2 is good fun, Flatout 2, Burnout: Paradise, NFS: Most Wanted.. and all these can be played well with a gamepad. You can even use a gamepad with Race 07, GTR2 or GT Legends, though it's not the ideal setup it still seems to work fine.
Unfortunately I haven't found a game like GT on PC. Nothing where you buy cars from different makes and upgrade all sorts of parts and compete in different styles of championships. That seems to be a console thing.
Burnout Paradise is the only one I can suggest since it's the only racing game I've really played in about a decade, but I absolutely love it. It's a ton of fun, the level of difficulty/challenge is nearly perfect, and it's a real dream to just blast around the city checking out the sights. Definitely a good time!
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